England beat Canada in Cricket World Cup warm-up match in Dhaka

KEVIN PIETERSEN will open all hours for England at the World Cup – and believes he will be a hit at the top of the shop.

As England scrambled a 16-run win over no-hopers Canada in their opening warm-up match in Dhaka, ­Pietersen’s surprise promotion to face the new ball with Andrew Strauss was unveiled as their shock weapon.

From skunk hairstyles to red carpets, little of KP’s career has been subject to the Official Secrets Act. But England kept his latest incarnation under wraps so keenly they did not even try it during the one-day series in Australia.

After chiselling out 24 on a track with less life than a mortuary slab, Pietersen cannot yet claim he has mastered his new role.

And after nearly being ­embarrassed by big-hitting ­Canadian Rizwan Cheema, England were grateful for a five-wicket ­comeback from Stuart Broad and Matt Prior’s feisty 78.


Pietersen’s brief experience of opening includes a century against India’s A team, and his ability to clear the ropes will set him apart from the nudgers and nurdlers on sluggish pitches in India and Bangladesh.

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Dope Test ahead of ICC World Cup 2011 for Shoaib Akhtar and Kamran Akmal

Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal were amongst the first players to be taken for random dope testing ahead of the ICC World Cup 2011, according to a source.

35-year-old Akhtar and 29-year-old Akmal were tested after a practice session on Wednesday by the International Cricket Council's drug inspectors, the source said.

"It's normal to test players before and during a tournament," SAMAA TV quoted the source, as saying.

"Nothing fishy about it. Others will also be tested," he added.

Akhtar, who has been recalled for the World Cup after being out of action for a major part of the last three years due to a spate of injuries, had tested positive for a banned drug nandrolone in 2006.

Pakistan face England in a practice match in the Bangladeshi town of Fatullah on Friday, where the ageing Akhtar needs to perform to show his fitness level, before Pakistan's World Cup opener against Kenya on February 23. (ANI)

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Dhaka city is ready for glitzy ICC World Cup opening ceremony 2011

Dhaka: The ICC Cricket World Cup is set to be ushered in with a grand opening ceremony here on Thursday as the game's showpiece event returns to the sub-continent after 15 years, shrugging off the controversy of Eden Gardens being stripped off a marquee match, involving co-hosts India.

The Bangladeshi capital, which has spruced up itself for the biggest event in their cricketing history, will take centrestage of the cricketing world with a two-hour spectacle of song, dance and laser shows at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Internationally-acclaimed rock star Bryan Adams, Indian singing trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Sonu Nigam will be among the performers to set the stage for the tournament, reflecting the increasing role the entertainment aspect has started to be associated with the game.

Two days later, Bangladesh and co-hosts India clash in the inaugural game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur, on Dhaka's outskirts to herald the beginning of 43 days of action spread across 13 venues in three countries.

The other host country Sri Lanka start off their campaign against lowly Canada in a Group A encounter in Colombo on Sunday.

ICC World Cup 2011 tickets go on sale amidst clashes

A large number of cricket fans clashed with the police in Bangladesh as they swarmed the banks to buy tickets for the ICC World Cup 2011.The crowd clashed with the police when the bank authorities said that each branch would only sell 500 tickets due to strict scrutiny of buyers’ identification papers.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has made 15,000 tickets available per match for the cricket crazy fans all over the country. The tickets went on sale at 80 branches of the private City Bank and the state-owned Agrani Bank on Sunday.

Only a handful of cricket fans could get hold of the tickets for the event despite many on them lining up in queues since Saturday noon in the cold weather. There were chaotic situations all over the country as the police tried to beat up the crowd in order to disperse them.

The heartbroken fans clashed with the police at Mirpur, Bangabandhu Avenue, Uttara, Dhanmondi, and capital of the country, Dhaka.

The fans included many aggrieved students who retorted to raise slogans against the BCB and International Cricket Council. They vandalised at least eight to ten vehicles in front of the Mirpur branch of the City Bank after which the police intervened.

There were no threatening injuries but a few fans and a photographer had reportedly suffered minor injuries during the protests.

Shah Alam, a police inspector, while talking to a local TV channel said, “They raised slogans and held demonstrations.” However, the inspector maintained that the police calmly dispersed the protesters.

Bangladesh is the co-host of the event along with India and Sri Lanka. The opening match will be held between India and Bangladesh on 19 February at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Bangladesh.

The fans were angered when officials announced that 15,167 tickets would be sold to the public even though the stadium has a seating capacity of over 25,000. The remaining tickets will be reserved for foreign officials and stakeholders.

There are fifty outlets of the City Bank and thirty branches of the Agrani Bank that will be selling around 100,000 tickets for 6 games to be held in Bangladesh.

However, cricket fans were wary of the fact that they might not be able to support their home team in the World Cup due to the limited number of tickets.

The BCB is yet to comment on the availability and mismanagement of the ticket sales.