Sunday, June 16, 2013 SPORTS 29 GILES DENIES BALL TAMPERING CLAIMS

Cardiff which he has a right to. ngland limited overs coach Ashley Giles has “The ball was changed, the rest is history.” denied his players tamper with the ball fol- Giles added: “The most important thing is lowingE controversial allegations by former cap- winning cricket matches and not what Bob Wil- tain Bob Willis. lis says.” Willis told Sky Sports on Friday that Paki- Reports in the British media have highlighted stan umpire Aleem Dar and New Zealand’s Billy the role of Ravi Bopara in polishing the ball, a le- Bowden had ordered the ball to be changed while gitimate tactic, but Giles said the Essex all-round- were during their seven- er, who has starred with the bat in this tourna- Champions Trophy win over England at ment, had been selected for his cricket ability. on Thursday because it had been tampered with. “There’s even mention of one of our player’s “Let’s not beat about the bush --- Aleem Dar (Bopara’s) specific role and that player is an ex- is on England’s case. He knows that one individ- tremely good cricketer, has had an extremely ual is scratching the ball for England - who I am good series so far and we’d like to let him concen- not going to name -- and that’s why the ball was trate on playing his cricket.” changed,” Willis said. After England’s tournament-opening win over But ex-England spinner Giles, speaking yes- defending champions Australia at Edgbaston, terday ahead of his side’s key Champions Trophy Australia stand-in captain George Bailey said he match against New Zealand in Cardiff today, was “very surprised” by the speed with which said: “We don’t tamper with the ball. Giles’s side got the ball to reverse. “With the situation the other day, the ball However, Giles insisted yesterday an abra- was changed because it had gone out of shape. sive pitch at Edgbaston had played a key role in We asked the question, the captain (Alastair aiding England’s use of reverse-swing against Giles Cook) asked that question to the umpires Australia.

New investment projects given go ahead

DT Sports Desk Team Eldewanya [email protected] mittee, Hisham Mohammed Al Jowder said that under the he national clubs’ Invest- guidance of Shaikh Salman they are currently working on the triumph ment Committee, chaired byT General Secretary of the Su- completion of these projects, preme Council for Youth and pointing out Goys has been in Sports, Shaikh Salman bin Ibra- contact with the tenders coun- DT Sports Desk kind of activity which requires planning him Al Khalifa, has completed cil to put the clubs properties [email protected] and formation beforehand. During the a study on several investment for investment through the match, it’s about focus, teamwork and projects put forward by the tender. eam Eldewanya defeated Samba skill. Afterwards, win or lose, it’s all boards of directors of a num- Mr. Al Jowder stressed the TLads 1-0 in the final of the Bah- about getting better. If you think about ber of clubs and were granted committee’s keenness to com- rain Polytechnic Football Tournament it, these steps are easily taken into ac- approval. plete all tasks assigned to them played at its campus in Isa Town, while count when a person wants to develop The General Organisation for in processing the investment team Yes We Can came in third. in life.” Youth and Sports (Goys) has within clubs, noting that Goys The tournament comprised of 10 Accompanied by Dr Hassan Almulla, received green signal from the will have a comprehensive teams- eight of students and two of staff. Deputy CEO of Academic Services, committee to invest in Saar and study of the investment projects Played in one day over five hours, the they were both impressed by the level Al Hala Sports Clubs’ projects. from the clubs before submit- team with the most patience and talent of commitment and passion shown by Goys had earlier given green ting its final report and sign up prevailed in the end. all players. signal to the investments at a deal with a specialised com- Dr Mohammed Al-Aseeri, Acting “At the end of the day, all teams, be- Riffa Club and a public tender pany to assess the real value of Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Poly- fore and after their matches, have learnt has been was floated as part of these properties to be invested technic witnessed the competition with a lesson.” its commitment to show the and providing a feasibility the crowd and insisted that the reward Another point stressed by Dr Al- principle of transparency and study on this investment, which isn’t only about winning first place. Aseen is the amount of sportsmanship equal opportunities for all who would guarantee the rights of “Football or sports in general, is the displayed throughout the tournament. wish to invest. the club in the first place and President of Goys and mem- gives them a larger intake from ber of the investment com- their respective projects. Mr. Al Jowder Federer sets up Youzhny final in Halle Halle orld number three Roger Federer edged closer to his first title of the season when heW came from a set down to beat defending champion Tommy Haas 3-6 6-3 6-4 at the Halle Open yesterday to book a spot in today’s final. The 31-year-old Swiss looked sharp on the grass court after an erratic start in a repeat of last year’s final as he prepares for his title de- fence at Wimbledon this month. Federer, five-times champion at Halle, will play Russian Mikhail Youzhny who defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-2. “I felt good out there and as I had predicted it was a tough match,” Federer said in a court- side interview. “I have not won a title this year, twice I have Federer lost here in the final in the past years. It will not be easy but I am really looking forward to it.” Top three teams in the tournament.