Sachin Tendulkar misses out on historic 100th century
India legend Sachin Tendulkar fell six runs short of his 100th international hundred as he was out for 94 in the third and final Test against West Indies in his home city of Mumbai.
Having cruised from 67 to 94 on the fourth morning, he sliced Ravi Rampaul to skipper Darren Sammy at second slip.
Tendulkar, who has 51 Test centuries and 48 in one-day internationals, has been stuck on 99 hundreds since March.
But this is the closest he has come to the landmark of a century of centuries.
The crowd, who were packed into the Wankhede Stadium in anticipation of Tendulkar's achievement, were left stunned as their idol came so close to the feat that has been expected of him since the World Cup earlier this year.
Anticipation has grown after he made his 99th hundred against South Africa at the World Cup, and interest centred on him throughout India's troubled summer tour of England. - where the nearest he came to three figures was scoring 91 on the last day of the Test series at The Oval.
Tendulkar began day four in confident fashion, hitting paceman Rampaul for two fours off successive overs despite overnight partner VVS Laxman falling to the first ball he faced.
The "Little Master" then took 14 off an over from Fidel Edwards, including a cover-driven four and a six over the slips, to move into the 90s.
But on the last ball of the 87th over, Rampaul struck to leave India's fans playing the waiting game again as their remaining batsmen battled to save the follow-on.
The local media were left as stunned as the supporters - with NDTV describing it as "the biggest heartbreak ever".
With bat overpowering ball for most of the match, it looks most likely to finish as a draw - and with India having avoided the follow-on, Tendulkar is unlikely to get a chance to bat again until the five-game one-day international series starts on Tuesday.
He remains the leading all-time Test run-scorer by a distance, having passed the 15,000 mark in the first Test of the series, and is more than 2,000 ahead of his nearest challenger - his long-term team-mate Rahul Dravid, who became only the second man to score 13,000 Test runs on his way to making 82 on Thursday.
INTERNATIONAL CENTURIONS
99 - Sachin Tendulkar
- 69 - Ricky Ponting
- 57 - Jacques Kallis
- 53 - Brian Lara
- 48 - Rahul Dravid
- 45 - Mahela Jayawardene
- 42 - Sanath Jayasuriya
- 40 - Matthew Hayden
- 39 - Mohammad Yousuf
- 38 - Mark Waugh, Sourav Ganguly, Kumar Sangakkara
(combined Test, one-day international and Twenty20 international centuries)
WI top six please Desmond Haynes
Desmond Haynes sat on the West Indies balcony on the first two days of the third Test match against India admiring the batting of the top order. The team’s batting consultant, who played 116 Test matches and is rated as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, said he was “extremely pleased” with the batting display. West Indies made 575 batting two full days on a good surface at the Wankhede Stadium. It is the team’s highest score in their tenth Test match this year. “When you looked at our team at the start of this match, with Shiv unable to play, there was a situation where India had 140 hundreds compared to our seven hundreds in Test match cricket. We had a very young batting unit and it pleased my heart to see our players, away from home after being two-nil down in the series, display the level of commitment and determination to play so well and so freely and post a very good total,” Haynes said.
“You can see they want to do well and raise their game and make West Indies cricket proud. As a batting unit we always speak about batting in partnerships and we got several very good partnerships. We have been doing some very good things in the nets and you are starting to see some results in the middle.” The West Indies created a bit of history as the top six batsmen all made over 50—the first time such a feat was achieved by a West Indies team and just the fifth time in Test match history. Teenager Kraigg Brathwaite made a career-best 68 (184 balls, 8x4) and 21-year-old Adrian Barath scored 62 (148 balls 8x4) as they added 137 for the first wicket on the opening day.
After that Kirk Edwards (86, 165 balls 13x4) and Darren Bravo (166, 284 balls 17x4) shared a stand of 164 for the third wicket, the highest for the West Indies against India in India. Bravo and 22-year-old left-hander Kieran Powell, with his career-best 81 (149 balls, 9x4) put on 160 for the fourth wicket—the highest for the West Indies against India at the Wankhede. Marlon Samuels, the most experienced batsman in the line-up, contributed a classy 61 off 103 balls with nine boundaries.
Lara, Yorke in Hall of Fame
Former West Indies captain Brian Lara and former T&T footballers Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy were among 13 sporting legends who were inducted into the First Citizens Sports Foundation’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad on Wednesday.
The other inductees were: Ann Browne-John (cricket/hockey), Hubert “Taffy” Crichlow (table tennis/basketball), Victor Gamaldo (football), Bernard Julien (cricket), Richard Nieves (hockey/football), Jeanette Georgetti-Pantin (cycling/hockey) and the late Zeno Constance (athletics), Aldwin Ferguson (football/hockey), Jack Noriega (cricket) and Pascall Roberts (cricket). The Hall of Fame was established in 1984 and has since initiated 181 athletes. Former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall delivered the feature address. Also addressing the gathering was Sports Minister Anil Roberts.
Romo rallies Dallas to 20-19 victory over Miami
Win big, win small; win pretty, win ugly. Tony Romo learned a long time ago that victories are the only thing that matter in the NFL.
So on a day when he was sloppier than he'd been in months, and when his defense was giving up plenty of long drives but only one touchdown, Romo had one chance to make it pay off - and he did. He and DeMarco Murray led an efficient final drive, setting up rookie Dan Bailey for a 28-yard field goal as time expired to give the Dallas Cowboys a 20-19 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday.
Dallas (7-4) won its fourth straight, and fourth this season decided by a kick by Bailey in the final two minutes or in overtime.
Heck, it was the second time in five days that he ended a game with a winning field goal.
"We're just finding ways to win," said Romo, who offset a pair of interceptions with a pair of touchdown passes.
That plucky formula will send the Cowboys into December leading the NFC East. They're a half-game ahead of the New York Giants , pending their game at New Orleans on Monday night. If New York wins, the clubs would be tied; a Saints win would keep Dallas on top alone.
"There is no favorite," Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman said. "I'll tell you what happens at the end of the season. We just have to keep on plugging and get some wins."
The Dolphins (3-8) had four drives that got within 10 yards of the end zone, yet settled for field goals every time. Their only touchdown came on a 35-yard pass from Matt Moore to Brandon Marshall .
However, Miami still nearly pulled it out. In the second half, the Dolphins scored on all but their final drive, and that was all it took to end a three-game winning streak.
"When you come into somebody else's place, those (deep drives) have got to be touchdowns," Miami coach Tony Sparano said. "They've been touchdowns the last few weeks and that's why you win."
Eighteen years after these teams played another Thanksgiving game decided on a last-second field goal - one best remembered for Leon Lett's gaffe on snow and ice - conditions were so balmy that the glass end-zone doors at Cowboys Stadium were opened for the first time all season.
Maybe that's what caused both teams to play so sloppy for so long. TV viewers, especially anyone fresh off a huge holiday meal, might've dozed off watching the first half.
But things got plenty interesting after halftime. Moore led Miami on three straight scoring drives of at least 70 yards, the last putting the Dolphins up 19-17 with 7:14 left.
Dallas punted on its ensuing drive, then Moore was finally stopped, too. Miami punted and Dez Bryant made a rare appearance as a returner, taking it 20 yards.
Romo took over at the Cowboys 36-yard line with 2:59 left. Jason Witten went into the huddle and told teammates, "`We need this W, whatever it takes. No penalties. We've got to get it there,"' left guard Montrae Holland said.
Witten caught consecutive passes to put Dallas at the outer edge of Bailey's range. Then it was up to Murray to drive the ball closer.
With blood streaked across the white numbers on his blue jersey, Murray churned out 27 yards on the next five carries. His constant gains - between 3 and 9 yards, including one where he went down rather than stretch for more and risk going out of bounds - took the clock from 2:41 to :17. After a kneel-down to waste more time and center the ball between the hash marks, Bailey split the uprights.
"That's what they are paying me to do, I guess - to go out there and make kicks," said Bailey, who has made 26 in a row, one shy of the club record.
Romo ended a streak of 128 straight passes without an interception, but he completed 22 of 34 for 226 yards. Many of those came while scrambling and some while also being hit or grabbed. He was patient waiting for a 5-yard touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson to develop, and the pair were in sync on an 18-yarder made with Romo moving to his left.
"He just kind of kept hanging in there," Garrett said. "I thought he moved in the pocket really well. In critical situations, he ... allowed us to make plays."
Murray ran 22 times for 87 yards, and caught four passes for 41 yards. Robinson caught seven passes for 79 yards. Witten had four catches for 43 yards and Bryant caught three balls for 35 yards.
Moore was 19 of 32 for 288 yards and a touchdown. He took four sacks and had trouble handling several snaps; one went through his hands and was recovered by Dallas only 5 yards from the end zone. That set up the first Romo-to-Robinson touchdown, with 55 seconds left in the half, ending Miami's streak of 13 quarters without allowing a touchdown.
Reggie Bush ran 16 times for 61 yards and had 35 more on three receptions. Marshall had 103 yards on five catches, including the TD pass hauled in while Newman had him in a headlock for about 5 yards.
"We felt like we played a good game all day, but we didn't make enough plays and they did," Miami safety Yeremiah Bell said. "That's the price you pay, so if we would have made more plays, we would have won the game."
Egypt prepares for mass Friday rally ahead of poll
Protesters in Cairo are preparing to hold another mass rally to demand that Egypt's military rulers step aside.
The demonstrators are demanding the postponement of parliamentary elections due to start on Monday.
The previous military-appointed civilian cabinet resigned earlier this week in the wake of violent protests in Cairo and other cities.
State media has reported that Egypt's army appointed ex-Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri to form a new government.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) is overseeing a transition to civilian rule following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in February.
But, despite promises by the council to speed up the process, many Egyptians fear they intend to cling to power.
'Last chance'
The news of the reported appointment of Mr Ganzouri - who headed Egypt's government from 1996 to 1999 under Mr Mubarak - has not been welcomed by many.
"For the second time, we are going to depend upon the old guard of Mubarak's regime. Why we do not give chance for the young, instead of those people who are 80 years old?" one protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square, Suhir Nadim, told Reuters news agency.
"Appointing Ganzouri is a crisis for the revolution. We must remain in Tahrir," another protester, 44-year-old Hossam Amer, told Reuters.
Activists, many of whom spent the night in the square, are calling Friday "the last chance" for Egyptians to demand an immediate transfer to civilian rule.
The Egyptian Independent Trade Union Federation called for a march to Tahrir Square while another labour rights group called for a general strike to back the protests.
The health ministry said 41 people had died in the violence, state television reported early on Friday, according to Reuters.
The military council has offered its condolences, as well as compensation to families of the dead.
"What we want to hear is when they are leaving," protester Khaled Mahmoud told the Associated Press news agency.
Much of the violence has taken place in a street leading from Tahrir Square to the interior ministry. Soldiers have now set up barricades of cement, metal bars and barbed wire to separate protesters and security forces.
A media watchdog group has recommended that news outlets should temporarily stop sending women to Egypt, after two reports of sexual assaults on female journalists.
Reporters Without Borders said a French journalist was the latest victim, attacked on Thursday while she worked in Cairo.
Yet many Egyptians want elections to go ahead unhindered and the main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not supporting the protests.
State newspaper al-Ahram said on its website that Mr Ganzouri, 78, had agreed in principle to lead a "national salvation government" after meeting Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of Scaf.
Mr Ganzouri, who distanced himself from Mr Mubarak's regime, has been suggested as a possible presidential candidate.
During his term as prime minister, he was known as the "minister of the poor" because he was seen as representing the less well-off, and he remains popular with Egyptians, the BBC's Yolande Knell says.
Iran arrests 12 'CIA spies' for targeting nuclear plans
Iran has arrested 12 spies of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the official IRNA news agency reports.
Parviz Sorouri, an influential lawmaker, said the agents were targeting Iran's military and its nuclear programme.
He said they were operating in co-ordination with Israel's Mossad and other regional agencies.
The United States and its allies suspect Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon program, a charge Tehran denies.
Mr Sorouri, a member of the powerful National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, did not give the nationality of the alleged agents, nor when they were arrested.
"The US and Zionist regime's espionage apparatuses were trying to use regional intelligence services, both inside and outside Iran, in order to deal a strong blow to our country," he was quoted as saying.
"Fortunately, these steps failed due to the quick measures taken by Intelligence Ministry officials," Mr Sorouri said.
Spy ring
The Iranian claim follows reports in the US that Lebanon's Hezbollah has unravelled a CIA spy ring within the Shia militant organisation. Hezbollah has close ties to Iran.
Reports quoting US intelligence officials emerged this week appearing to suggest that a number of US spies had been unmasked and that their lives were now in danger in Lebanon.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the reports were true. "Lebanese intelligence vanquished US and Israeli intelligence in what is now known as the intelligence war," he told the AFP news agency.
In June the group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said on TV that he had unmasked at least two CIA spies who had infiltrated the ranks of the organisation.
Although the US Embassy in Beirut initially said there was no substance to the accusations, the Associated Press reports that American officials later conceded that Nasrallah had been telling the truth.
In May, Iran said it had arrested 30 people after breaking up a spy network run by the CIA.
It said the network had operated out of American diplomatic missions in the Malaysia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to recruit Iranians as spies.
3 U.S. students expect to be freed in Egypt
As questions continued to swirl about the fate of three American college students arrested in Egypt for their role in ongoing protests there, a U.S. official said that diplomats were also in contact with Egyptian authorities about an award-winning filmmaker behind bars.
The three college students -- Derrik Sweeney, Gregory Porter and Luke Gates -- were ordered to be released Thursday, said Adel Saeed, the spokesman of the general prosecutor.
But late in the day, they remained in custody.
There was less clarity, meanwhile, about documentarian Jehane Noujaim.
Film producer Karim Amer said Wednesday that the Egyptian-American woman -- whose works include "The Control Room," about Al-Jazeera and the United States during the early days of the Iraq War -- was arrested while filming close to the Interior Ministry building in Cairo.
On Thursday, David Lynfield -- a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo -- said that U.S. diplomats are aware of "her place in detention" and have been "in touch with the Egyptian authorities regarding" her case.
Meanwhile, family and friends of the three detained U.S. college students continued to ride an emotional roller coaster, days after Egyptian authorities arrested them on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails during a protest in Cairo. All had been attending American University in Cairo on a semester-long, study-abroad program.
The prosecutor's office told CNN earlier Thursday that the trio had already been released. But late in the day, a friend of the students said they could remain in custody for a few more days.
Drew Harper, a 22-year-old film student from New York who has been in Cairo for three months, said the students said they were in good spirits and cited a bureaucratic slowdown for their continuing detention.
The erroneous news that they had already been freed was initially embraced by Joy Sweeney, whose son Derrik is among the three. "We are just so blessed and so grateful right now," she told CNN. "I can't wait to give him a big hug."
The students were to be taken to a physician for a medical examination, then back to the police station for paperwork to be processed, and finally to their dorm rooms, she said.
The Egyptian attorney general would not appeal the trio's release, she added.
The family is keen for Derrik to return home as soon as possible, for his own safety, Joy Sweeney added.
Roberto Powers, the U.S. consul general in Egypt, advised that as the three students' pictures had been plastered all over the media, "it wouldn't be safe or prudent for them to remain in the country," the mother said.
She said her son told her Wednesday in a telephone call that "they had done nothing wrong."
Sweeney, 19, is a Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Missouri; Porter, 19, from Glenside, Pennsylvania, attends Drexel University in Philadelphia; and Gates, 21, of Bloomington, Indiana, goes to Indiana University.
Their arrests came amid persistent protests against Egypt's ruling military council in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Security forces have clashed with the demonstrators repeatedly in recent days, though a relative calm fell over the square on Thursday. The same day, Egypt's military leaders apologized for the 38 deaths nationwide and vowed to prosecute offenders and pay the medical bills of those injured. Some 3,250 had been hurt by Thursday, said Hisham Shiha of Egypt's Health Ministry.
Harper told CNN some media reports had inaccurately portrayed the detained students as irresponsible.
Harper described the three as intelligent, well-informed and nonviolent. "I don't believe for one second that those Molotov cocktails belonged to the boys," he said.
He accused the Egyptian military of wanting to "pin the recent violence on foreigners" and said they had wrongly accused the three Americans.
Saeed, the prosecutor's spokesman, said Wednesday that a bag filled with empty bottles, a bottle of gasoline, a towel and a camera had been found with the three American students.
"They denied the bag belonged to them and said it belonged to two of their friends," Saeed said.
CNN
Indonesia Sentences Australian Boy for Drug Possession
An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced an Australian teen to two months detention for buying marijuana while on the resort island of Bali.
The unidentified 14-year-old boy could be released as early as next week, when time already served is taken into account. Under the country's tough narcotics laws, he could have faced up to 12 years in prison, but the three-judge panel decided to be lenient because he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse for his crime.
The teen was vacationing on Bali with his parents when he bought the drugs.
Yemen’s President Orders Probe Into Deadly Violence
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered a probe into deadly violence in the capital, Sana'a, Thursday, a day after he agreed to a Gulf Cooperation Council plan that calls for him to relinquish power.
Witnesses said five people were killed and at least 34 wounded after Mr. Saleh's loyalists opened fire on protesters who were upset over a provision in his power transfer deal that gives him immunity from prosecution.
Mr. Saleh, who signed the plan Wednesday to transfer power to his vice president and hold early presidential elections, condemned the killings and ordered an investigation into what happened.
An Interior Ministry official denied that the government was responsible for Thursday's violence.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday three of its aid workers, who were kidnapped by insurgents two days ago in the country's volatile south, have been released.
Yemeni officials blamed the kidnapping on the Southern Movement, a group that wants independence for Yemen's south. The kidnappers were demanding the release of prisoners held by Yemeni authorities.
Kidnappings of Western tourists or aid workers by tribes seeking ransom or concessions from the government have been frequent in Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries. Most hostages have been freed unharmed.
Also, al-Qaida-linked militants have seized control of several parts of southern Yemen as the government has struggled to contain unrest in other regions.
Prosecutor: Make doctor pay $100 million for Michael Jackson's death
When a judge sentences Dr. Conrad Murray next week for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, he can choose anything from simple probation to up to four years in prison plus a hefty payment.
Prosecutors, in a sentencing memo filed this week, asked for the maximum, four years behind bars. They also want Murray to pay Jackson's children more than $100 million in restitution.
Defense lawyers, in their filing, asked for probation, not prison time, in light of the "manifold collateral consequences" Murray is suffering because of the felony conviction, including the loss of his medical career.
A jury found Murray guilty this month of causing Jackson's death on June 25, 2009. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor set Tuesday for Murray's sentencing.
The coroner ruled Jackson died from a fatal combination of the surgical anesthetic propofol and sedatives, which prosecutors blamed on Murray's reckless efforts to help Jackson sleep.
Murray has "displayed a complete lack of remorse" about Jackson's death, and is "even worse, failing to accept even the slightest level of responsibility," deputy district attorneys David Walgren and Deborah Brazil wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday.
The prosecutors cited Murray's decision not to testify in his own defense, even while he was giving interviews for a documentary that aired days after the verdict.
"In each of these interviews, the defendant has very clearly stated that he bears no responsibility for Michael Jackson's death," the prosecutors said. "Moreover, the defendant has continued to express concern only for his individual plight and portrays himself, not the decedent, as the victim."
"I don't feel guilty because I did not do anything wrong," Murray said in the documentary quoted by the prosecution.
"Finally, the defendant consistently blames the victim for his own death, even going so far as to characterize himself as being 'entrapped' by the victim and as someone who suffered a 'betrayal' at the hands of the victim," the prosecutors said.
Jackson's death came as he was preparing for a series of comeback concerts in London, which the defense argued caused great pressure on the singer to seek sleep or risk having the concerts canceled.
The prosecutors contend in their sentencing memo that Murray should be ordered to pay Jackson's three children restitution for the subsequent "wage and profits lost," as provided under California's "victim's bill of rights" law.
"The (Michael Jackson) estate estimates Michael Jackson's projected earnings for the 50-show O2 concert series to be $100,000,000," the prosecutors said.
With nearly $2 million in funeral expenses and 10% interest added each year, the prosecution is asking Pastor to order Murray to pay Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson more than $120 million in restitution.
While it is doubtful that Murray, who is unlikely to ever practice medicine again, could pay much of that sum, it could prevent him from reaping financial benefits from any books, interviews or film projects in the future.
The defense sentencing memo asking for probation and no jail time included a biography of Murray that described him as "a self-made man of humble origins."
"He was raised in a home that lacked indoor plumbing or electricity, and he walked to school barefoot for his first couple years of school," the defense said.
Murray paid his own way through medical school without scholarships or family funds, it said.
He worked as a doctor for 20 years, with "no prior contacts with the law," and many of his patients were elderly in low-income, underserved communities, the defense said.
"It seems reasonable that the transgression for which he is to be judged should be viewed within the context of the larger life of which it is a part," it said.
The defense filing challenges the prosecution's contention that Murray is not remorseful.
"Dr. Murray wishes to make it unmistakenly clear to everyone that he deeply mourns the loss of Michael Jackson's life, and he profoundly regrets any mistakes or oversights on his part that may have contributed to it," the defense said.
The judge should also consider "the manifold collateral consequences that Dr. Murray has sustained as a result of his mistake," the defense said, including the loss of his medical career, the public disgrace and loss of privacy.
"Dr. Murray has been described as a changed, grief-stricken man, who walks around under a pall of sadness since the loss of his patient, Mr. Jackson," the defense said.
The defense memo included a letter from Murray's elderly mother, Milta Rush. She sat in court for much of her son's trial, just a few feet away from Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael Jackson.
"I sympathize with Mrs. Jackson as a mother," Rush wrote in a letter to the judge. "I sense she was very close to her son. I really wanted to approach her personally and tell her I am sorry for the loss of her son but I was unsure if she would be receptive, and I did not want to take the chance of violating court rules. I am sorry for all her loss."
While Murray's mother told the judge her son is "saddened and remorseful" about Jackson's death, she said "his compassion and his soft heartedness for others led to this dilemma."
The defense contends that Murray was trying to help Jackson, who was desperate for sleep so he could be ready for rehearsals. "His compassionate intentions should not be overlooked," it said.
"The victim was a willing recipient of the medications administered," the defense said. "In fact, Mr. Jackson had repeatedly begged Dr. Murray for propofol to overcome his insomnia so that he could sleep."
Murray does not pose a safety threat to the public, it said. "The likelihood of recurrence is essentially nonexistent since Conrad Murray's medical license has been suspended."
Aside from the arguments of what Murray deserves, the defense contends California's prison and jail overcrowding mean that "neither the space nor the public funds exist to continue imprisoning non-violent, non-dangerous offenders who do not need to be incapacitated for the sake of public safety."
"Dr. Murray is clearly such a defendant," the defense said. "He is an individual who remained free on bond for more than two years prior to the jury verdict, adhering assiduously to all of the bond conditions that had been imposed."
If Murray takes up a state prison or county jail cell, it "may mean that someone else with higher potential for violence will be released," the defense said.
Instead, the defense proposed that Murray could be sentenced to community service along with probation.
"Though he will perhaps not again be a doctor qualified to make diagnoses, he could educate and counsel patients about heart care and disease prevention," it said. "There are many non-profit clinics and organizations that would benefit from his participation, if ordered to perform community service as a condition of his sentence and a means of 'putting some water back into the public well.'"