The PCB has been asked to file a case against security officials for their alleged negligence during the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
The directive came from the National Assembly's standing committee on sports.
The Chairman of the committee Jamshed Dasti told reporters after a hearing that PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt, must as a witness to the whole incident, file an FIR against the guilty officials with the police in 10 days time.
"If Butt fails to do this then this committee will take up this matter directly with the Prime Minister and ask him to file cases against these officers who were found guilty of negligence in their duty which allowed the militants to attack the Sri Lankan team," Dasti said.
He said the committee had taken strong note of Butt's absence from today's hearing and the fact that none of the officers, who were deputed or were supposed to provide top level security to the visiting team, had been suspended as yet.
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"The committee has demanded that these officers be dismissed from service immediately because their negligence led to the image of Pakistan being spoilt and cricket being dealt a body blow in Pakistan," he said. .
The National Assembly's standing committee on sports today directed the Pakistan Cricket Board to file a case against security officials for their alleged negligence during the March terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
The Chairman of the committee Jamshed Dasti told reporters after a hearing that PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt, must as a witness to the whole incident, file an FIR against the guilty officials with the police in 10 days time.
"If Butt fails to do this then this committee will take up this matter directly with the Prime Minister and ask him to file cases against these officers who were found guilty of negligence in their duty which allowed the militants to attack the Sri Lankan team," Dasti said.
He said the committee had taken strong note of Butt's absence from today's hearing and the fact that none of the officers, who were deputed or were supposed to provide top level security to the visiting team, had been suspended as yet.
"The committee has demanded that these officers be dismissed from service immediately because their negligence led to the image of Pakistan being spoilt and cricket being dealt a body blow in Pakistan," he said.
Dasti said it was time everyone took the proceedings of the committee seriously.
"The committee is appalled that despite a government inquiry tribunal holding the police officers guilty of negligence in their duties and despite our recommendations no action has been taken these people who spoilt the name of Pakistan," he said.
Dasti said the committee has decided to pursue the case vigorously and the PCB Chairman will have to file cases against the negligent officers within 10 days time or himself face the music.
The Lankans were attacked in Lahore while on a Test tour here, leading to six players being injured in March.
The committee also expressed its apprehensions over the happenings in Pakistan cricket and the way Muhammad Yousuf was named captain in Abu Dhabi for the New Zealand tour.
Dhoni: Sehwag is licensed to thrill
There is no need to straitjacket Virender Sehwag's characteristic daredevilry, Mahendra Singh Dhoni said today.
Sehwag has been in his devil-may-care self in the Test series against Sri Lanka, getting off to rollicking starts but not staying long enough to convert them into big knocks.
But asked Dhoni if the Delhi dasher needs to tone down his cavalier attitude in the second Test starting tomorrow, he replied in the negative.
"You don't really want to tell a player like him what to do. That is how he plays the game and is known for. He is more of an aggressor and is not the kind of guy who would stick to the wicket for one-and-half days. He is always looking to get on with game," Dhoni explained.
Conveying the think-tank's unconditional support for Sehwag's brand of batsmanship, Dhoni said, "We want him to play his natural game. He is a very experienced player and we don't need him to tell anything." .
India probably can afford to let Sehwag play his natural game since the other opener, Gambhir, has evolved into a complete batsman, who can shelve his natural aggression and graft for hours, something he displayed in the drawn first Test in Ahmedabad.
Effusive in his praise for the left-hander, Dhoni said, "He is a great character. Thrust him into whatever condition and he would play accordingly. He can shift gears easily and uses his feet well against the spinners.
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"He has been consistently in good form over the past one-and-half years and whenever the team needed, he delivered.
Once he sets himself well, he goes for big innings," added the captain.
Dhoni was his usual coy self when asked about team combination.
"It has always been an issue in the media but you have to wait till tomorrow," he said.
Asked how he rated S Sreesanth in the nets, Dhoni said the Kerala speedster was impressive but also sprang in defence of Ishant Sharma that revealed little about his preference if it comes to chose one between them.
"Sreesanth has bowled well in the nets. He bowled with great pace and swung it a lot but we will have to wait till tomorrow," Dhoni said.
"Ishant, meanwhile, is back in rhythm, as we saw in Ahmedabad. He is putting in a lot of efforts and the improvement is there to see," he said.
After the runfeast in Ahmedabad, Dhoni reckoned the pitch at the Green Park Stadium here would have more for the bowlers.
"Compared to Motera, the pitch here looks different. It has got some grass and the base is dry. But you cannot really predict how the wicket would play the next five days.
"Here the weather is cooler and as we know, initially there would be some help for the seamers. The outfield is nor lush, so there would be some reverse swing for the fast bowlers. It will break as well. Overall, I feel it would be a better wicket for the bowlers," he explained.
India's famed line-up looked vulnerable in the morning sessions in Ahmedabad and Dhoni said a little bit of caution would negate the issue.
"I think it depends on individual approach. With some assistance for the pacers, you at times get out to good deliveries. You have to keep that good delivery out and bat," he said. .
One thing that has left Dhoni dithering is whether to bat first or not of he wins the toss.
"First sessions will be important. Everyday there would be a bit of help for the pacers. Even in ODIs, we see the first 30-45 minutes are important. Now here you have to decide whether to bat first and go hard at the first one hour. Once you see through the hour, it becomes easy to keep batting. Or you bat in the fourth innings and at the receiving end of a pitch where the ball would be turning," he said.
Dhoni assured there was no worry about Harbhajan Singh, who skipped today's practice, and said Dinesh Karthik - drafted in as his cover -- would return to play Ranji Trophy.
"Harbhajan is fine. It being an optional practice, we leave it to the players to decide how they want to prepare.
Yes, Dinesh was called in because I was having some problems.
But now he, along with a few others, would go back to play Ranji," the India skipper said.
Approaching milestones
- Sachin Tendulkar (12877) requires 123 runs more to become the first batsman to complete 13,000 runs in Tests.
- Harbhajan Singh (216) needs 4 wickets to surpass Kapil Dev's tally of 219 wickets on Indian soil and to move into the second place after Anil Kumble (350).
- Sachin Tendulkar (19) requires one century to become the first Indian to complete 20 centuries on Indian soil.
- Sachin (199) requires just one wicket to complete his 200 international wickets. The break-up of his wickets is 154 in ODIs, 44 in Tests and 1 in Twenty20I.
- VVS Laxman (2909) requires 91 runs to complete his 3,000 runs on Indian soil.
- Having recorded a hundred each in successive Tests at Napier, Wellington and Ahmedabad, Gautam Gambhir, in case of a century at Green Park, Kanpur, would become the third Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid to make four centuries in successive Tests.
- Muttiah Muralitharan (91) requires four wickets to become the leading wicket-taker against India and to surpass the tally of Imran Khan (94).
- Muralitharan (91) needs 9 wickets in the remaining two Tests to become the first bowler to complete 100 wickets against India.
- With just one fifty, Tendulkar (99) would be completing 100 fifties in First-class cricket.
Ground Records - Green Park, Kanpur
First Test: India vs. England January 12-14, 1952
Last Test: India vs. S.Africa April 11-13, 2008
Ponting expects tip-top Gayle
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has predicted Chris Gayle's hurried preparation for the opening Test will have minimal impact on how the West Indies captain performs at the Gabba.
Gayle rushed home to Jamaica last week on the eve of the Windies' four-day tour match against Queensland to be with his sick mother.
Her condition has since improved and Gayle is now en route to Brisbane and plans to take his place at the top of the order when the first Test gets under way on Thursday.
The talented batsman is expected to arrive late tomorrow and some pundits have questioned how influential he will be due to the lack of match practice or time in the nets, on top of jetlag.
Ponting believes otherwise, suggesting Gayle's trademark ice-cool character will ensure he overcomes the less than ideal preparation.
"It'd be hard, but Chris finds a way not to get out of first gear too much," Ponting said after Australia's first training session in Brisbane today.
"He's a dynamic player, but he's pretty relaxed in the way he goes about things, so I don't think there will be any muscle strains or hammys blowing off the bone.
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"He's an experienced player, he's been around the world and played a lot ... so he should be able to handle it pretty well.
"Being their captain he might have missed out on a little bit of stuff over the last week, but they'll manage as well as they can."
Gayle, who has not been a part of the West Indian XI since July due to the infamous contract dispute, has been unable to stamp his leadership style on what is an inexperienced squad.
Leg-spinning great Shane Warne was one who took the view that Gayle's arrival could spur the men from the Caribbean after a relatively tame performance against the Bulls.
"That will give them a lift," Warne said after captaining the ACA All*Stars in last night's Twenty20.
"They probably didn't expect him to be there for the first Test, (and) he's made a big effort to come back again."
Warne was of a similar view to Ponting when quizzed on whether Gayle's free-flowing style would suffer due to his chaotic start to the tour of Australia.
"He's not one of those guys who is going to occupy the crease for hours and hours," he said.
"I don't think it's going to matter too much that he might miss a net session before the Test."
Tennis News
Murray off to ideal start
Andy Murray was thrilled to be first out of the blocks as he opened his Barclays ATP World Tour Finals campaign.
He started well with a three-set victory over US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro at London's O2 Arena.
The British number one had the honour of playing the first singles match at the prestigious eight-man event and began in style, winning the first five games before digging deep to seal a 6-3 3-6 6-2 triumph.
"It was a really good start," said the 22-year-old, who reached the semi-finals on his tournament debut last year.
"The start of the match was important. Me and Juan haven't played that much since the US Open so I kind of expected a little bit of a scrappy match maybe.
"He didn't start particularly well but after 5-0 I thought the standard was very good. We played some great points.
"Obviously I'm happy I managed to come back in the third because he was playing well."
The first set was a strange affair, with Murray saving two break points in the opening game before going on to take a 5-0 lead.
Del Potro took a medical time-out for attention to a nosebleed after the third game but he could not stem the flow of errors coming from his racquet.
Having saved two set points to avoid a whitewash, the Argentinian retrieved one of the breaks before Murray finally clinched the opener at the eighth time of asking.
However, the danger signs were there for the world number four and a sloppy service game at the start of the second set allowed his opponent to open up a 3-0 lead.
The topsy-turvy nature of the contest continued, Murray first breaking back after Del Potro's volleying again let him down only for the 21-year-old to power into a 4-2 lead with yet another break.
And three games later the world number five took advantage of his second set point to level proceedings.
Murray was on the back foot but seized his chance at the start of the decider, letting out a huge roar after breaking for a 2-0 lead.
And once again Del Potro eventually proved to be his own worst enemy, successive double faults giving Murray two match points and the Scot clinched victory with a crisp backhand winner.
Del Potro has now lost five of his six matches against Murray and said: "Against Andy, always the match is very tough.
"We play three sets in every tournament, every match.
"Today was a little strange but he played great tennis in the third set. He was a little lucky but you need the luck to win. And today it was with him."
mfl
The second Group A clash of the day featured world number one Federer and dangerous Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, and it was the top seed who came through - but only after a big scare.
Verdasco had not so much as taken a set off Federer in three previous meetings but four points into the match he was a break up.
That proved enough for the world number eight to take the first set as the top seed struggled to find his rhythm and range, and the match was effectively decided in a high-quality second set.
Verdasco finally came unstuck in the 12th game, Federer levelling the match on his first break point. And the decider was one-way traffic as a by-now supremely confident Swiss served out a 4-6 7-5 6-1 victory.
After his terrible start, Federer admitted it was key to the outcome that he took his chance when it came in the second set.
He said: "The whole first set I was struggling to really put normal returns into play. And that can happen at times. I thought he did a good job of mixing it up and playing aggressive at times.
"My first break points came for set points and it was a crucial moment for me because I knew the longer the match went, the more my belief was going up and his was going down. Then in the third, I was able to play more freely."
Verdasco highlighted the 11th game of the second set, when the Spaniard had Federer at 0-30 but an attempted winner missed by inches, as the moment when the match slipped from his grasp.
"This passing shot going out for nothing, tennis is like that," said the world number eight. "After that, my fitness, it started going down. He also got confidence and the match changed."
Good start for Murray
Andy Murray edged Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 3-6 6-2 in the opening match of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
The British number one is competing at the prestigious eight-man event for the second time after reaching the semi-finals on his debut in Shanghai last year and dug deep to get his Group A campaign off to the perfect start.
Del Potro, who was won only two matches since his New York triumph in September, put in a very inconsistent display, with some scorching winners punctuated by simple errors.
The first set was a strange affair, Murray saving two break points in the opening game before going on to take a 5-0 lead.
Del Potro took a medical time-out after the third game to receive treatment to his face, but he was certainly struggling to find his range and some basic errors left the Scot barely able to believe his luck.
It was almost inevitable Del Potro's malaise would not last and, having saved two set points to avoid a whitewash, he retrieved one of the breaks before Murray finally clinched the opener at the eighth time of asking.
The Scot had won four of their previous five matches but the clashes have often been close and he would have expected the Argentinian to come out firing in the second set.
And that is exactly what transpired, a sloppy Murray service game allowing Del Potro to break to love then open up a 3-0 lead.
Murray broke back but soon dropped his serve again and Del Potro went on to level the match.
The home favourite was certainly not at his best and seemed to be struggling for rhythm, understandably so given the pattern of the match.
He recovered from 15-30 to hold serve in the opening game of the decider and finally got the crowd really behind him when he capitalised on a second break point to move into a 2-0 lead.
Del Potro rallied in the fourth game and then put his opponent under pressure with some more huge groundstrokes but Murray served well and sealed victory with a backhand winner after Del Potro had put himself in trouble with successive double faults.
Murray said: "It was always going to be tough. I played well today, started really good, he came back into it but I stayed tough in the third set."
Both these players were competing at the prestigious end-of-season tournament for the second time in their careers, with Murray having reached the semi-finals on his debut last year while Del Potro failed to make it past the group stage.
The Scot had won four of their previous five matches but the clashes have often been close and he would have expected the Argentinian to come out firing in the second set.
And that is exactly what transpired, a sloppy Murray service game allowing Del Potro to break to love then open up a 3-0 lead.
The world number four got on the board one game later, although not before a thumping forehand from his opponent had drawn an audible gasp from the crowd.
Volleying had let Del Potro down in the first set, though, and a simple backhand dumped into the top of the net proved costly again as Murray broke back to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Perhaps because of the topsy-turvy nature of the contest, the crowd were strangely subdued, but a lengthy rally at the end of the sixth game increased the noise levels - Del Potro finally drawing the error on the Murray backhand to move ahead again.
The 22-year-old was beginning to look a little weary of the barrage of groundstrokes being fired at him. A superb crosscourt pass took him to deuce on Del Potro's serve but this time the Argentinian held firm.
Murray battled hard to save the first set point but on the second Del Potro thumped a forehand onto the line to take it 6-3 and level proceedings.
Murray was certainly not at his best and seemed to be struggling for rhythm, understandably so given the pattern of the match.
He recovered from 15-30 to hold serve in the opening game of the decider and finally got the crowd really behind him when he capitalised on a second break point to move into a 2-0 lead.
A roar showed what that meant to the Scot and, with Del Potro seemingly having returned to the inconsistency of the opening set, Murray easily cemented his advantage.
The Argentinian rallied in the fourth game and then put his opponent under pressure with some more huge groundstrokes but Murray's serve proved a useful weapon as he moved to the brink of victory.
Del Potro then put himself in serious trouble with successive double faults, giving Murray two match points.
He saved one but the world number four powered a backhand winner on the second to seal a 6-3 3-6 6-2 victory.
Djokovic hopes to defend title
Novak Djokovic is hoping to put Melbourne behind him as he prepares to defend his Masters title in London.
The Serbian had the tennis world at his feet when he won the Australian Open last January at the age of 20 but, instead of lifting a weight off his shoulders, Djokovic spent 18 months struggling to live up to his own and others' expectations.
Indeed, his victory at last year's end-of-season showpiece came as something of a surprise and it is only in the last couple of months Djokovic has rediscovered the form that made him the Tour's most exciting young player.
The defence of his title in Melbourne ended in retirement against a rejuvenated Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals but he feels he is now better placed to deal with the situation.
The 22-year-old said: "This year I have tasted, in Australia, for the first time the role of defending a major title and it wasn't really a fun time. I was mentally very frustrated at times and unfortunately I finished in the quarter-finals the way I finished.
"But, on the bright side, I've learned a lot of things and I've tried to take the best out of it. I rate the World Tour Finals alongside grand slams as the biggest event in our sport so being a title defender is obviously a big responsibility.
"At the start of the year, even though I had the best clay-court season in my whole career up to Roland Garros, I was going through tough times because I made some major changes with my racquet.
"It's a big change to make and I took the responsibility. It kind of affected me on the court and I was maybe paying too much attention to some things off the court, I maybe kept my focus out of tennis too much.
"But I stabilised the last two months and matured more, and I know what I want to do on the court. I'm happy."
By beating Roger Federer in the final of the world number one's hometown tournament in Basle then lifting the trophy at the Paris Masters, Djokovic has established himself as arguably the man to beat in London this week.
The Serb opens his campaign in the round-robin event against Nikolay Davydenko on Monday, while Rafael Nadal faces Robin Soderling in the other Group B match.
The draw means Djokovic will renew his rivalry with world number two Nadal, who he demolished in the semi-finals in Paris.
And the Spaniard does not hold out much hope of reversing the result, saying: "He played very well. If I played my best tennis and he played like he did, it's going to be almost impossible to beat him. He's definitely the player who arrives playing best."
Djokovic's run of success means he also arrives in London as the player who has spent the most time on court recently and, at the end of a long season in which he has played almost 100 matches, that may yet take its toll.
The world number three, though, is optimistic he can hold it together for one more week.
"I think it's a very mental game and generally a lot of things come from your head and, even though you're running out of physical energy, you can still motivate your body to do well on the court," he added.
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Neville hits out at pampered stars
Gary Neville has backed Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's assertion that many modern players are mollycoddled.
Ferguson said in a speech at a League Managers Association dinner last week players were "cocooned" by their agents and had become "fragile".
Neville, writing in the Sunday Times of Malta, said: "I completely agree with his sentiments.
"It is one of my pet hates when I see players who have agents that do everything for them.
"They don't know how to set up their own bank account, they don't know what they're spending their money on and they can't make their own decisions.
"Not every player is like that, but some are now totally dependent on agents and advisers.
"For me, life is an education and you learn things as you go through it.
"I think a footballer should sit down and negotiate with a club, even if his agent is sitting with him. It is in a player's best interests to be there and see what is going on.
"The idea of allowing someone to look after your financial and professional existence is something I cannot agree with.
"There are some agents who do a good job looking after players, but there are others who stifle and mollycoddle players.
"Some agents will come into a player's life when he is 20, leave his life at 34 and never want to know that player again.
"Every footballer needs an adviser at some point.
"But a player doesn't need to pay between five and 15% of his wages to a guy to set up a bank account, buy him a new fridge, or ask his club's chief executive for a pay rise."
Premier League Sunday Review
Tottenham destroyed Wigan 9-1 while Blackburn and Stoke recorded deserved victories in Sunday's Premier League action.
Paul Scharner appeared to handle when he grabbed Wigan's goal - at which point they momentarily trailed 3-1 - but there was no controversy as Defoe was rampant.
Aaron Lennon, Peter Crouch, a Chris Kirkland own goal and Niko Kranjcar accounted for Tottenham's other four goals.
The clash was played on a Sunday following an agreement between the clubs so players could rest after the international break - and Defoe seemed the freshest of the players on display by grabbing his goals in the second half.
Premier League Sunday Gallery
Blackburn ended a run of 10 successive defeats on the road in the Barclays Premier League with a 2-0 win at Bolton that gave a welcome boost to the absent Sam Allardyce.
Allardyce is set to have surgery on a heart condition and missed the game with the club he played for and managed.
His team did him proud though with midfielder David Dunn capping a superb performance by making the breakthrough.
Bolton's misery was complete when full-back Sam Ricketts scored a bizarre own goal in the second half.
In the day's final game, striker Ricardo Fuller applied a clinical finish to a neat passing move to give Stoke a 1-0 victory at home to Portsmouth.
The Jamaican's turn and shot in the 74th minute came after a swift interchange of passes between Matthew Etherington and Dean Whitehead.
Pompey, who lost England goalkeeper David James to a calf injury in the warm-up, had earlier missed an eighth-minute penalty from Kevin-Prince Boateng.
"Dope cases yet to be confirmed"
The IWF said the "strong action" it has promised against repeat dope-offender India is a only a position statement as of now.
The IWF revealed that is because the country's six dope cases are still in the process of being confirmed,
IWF has promised to take strict action against India, which has been banned twice in the past, for the six recent dope cases that came to light last month.
The lifters had flunked the out-of-competition dope tests conducted by WADA in September in Pune. But the international body has not set any time-frame for coming out with its decision on the matter.
"The Indian doping cases are still in progress which means that the cases are not closed yet, and in accordance with the WADA and IWF Anti-Doping Policy, no official and final decision can be taken before the last case is concluded," the IWF told PTI.
"Therefore the Executive Board took a temporary decision, i.e. a position statement in the event that the adverse analytical findings (positive results) are confirmed," it added. .
The IWF Executive Board met in Goyang City, Korea this weekend where international doping cases were also discussed.
The IWF statement indicates that dope-tainted lifters may have sought a 'B' sample test at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Cologne, Germany.
According to sources, only one of the six has asked for a second test, while the other five have accepted the findings of the 'A' sample test.
The IWF said the decision on India's case has not been deferred because of the ongoing World Championships, where the country has not fielded a team because of the doping scandal.
"The timing of the decision has nothing to do with the World Championships, only with the end of the processes of the relevant doping violation cases of the Indian lifters.
Logically, after the last one," it said.
Under IWF rules, a national federation can be banned for a maximum period of four years with or without fine if four or more of their lifters test positive.
A ban of more than a year means India could face the ignominy of not being able to field its lifters in next year's Commonwealth Games to be held here from the October 3-14.
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