Barça hoping to dominate UEFA.com Team of the Year

Less than a week before the vote closes, eight Barça players plus manager Pep Guardiola are in the running for a place in the UEFA.com Team of the Year 2011.Following on from a near monopoly of the teams of the year announced by the prestigious sports papers L'Équipe and La Gazzetta dello Sport, Barça is hoping to extend the Club's dominance to the UEFA.com Team of the Year.  Eight Barça players are among the contenders: Víctor Valdés (goalkeeper), Alves (right-back),Piqué and Mascherano (central defenders), Abidal (left-back), Xavi (central midfield), Iniesta (attacking midfield) and Messi (forward). Pep Guardiola has also been nominated for coach of the year.

Voting will close on 6th January at noon. Last year the website registered more than five million votes.  The candidates are chosen by the editors of UEFA.com on the basis of their performances with their club and national teams. Barça has had a fantastic 2011 winning the Spanish league, the Champions League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup and the World Club Cup.

Chelsea cannot win the league after Aston Villa performance, admits manager André Villas-Boas

André Villas-Boas admits Chelsea's poor form in December has cost them any chance of winning the Premier League title race.But the manager remains confident his position is not under threat despite his admission that his side's performances have fallen well short of expectations. Villas-Boas's side sank to a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa - their third home league defeat of the season - extending their recent run to four games without a win. The defeat meant they were unable to take advantage of Manchester United's defeat to Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur's failure to beat Swansea City, and allowed Arsenal to leapfrog them into fourth place. Villas-Boas - whose Chelsea side face Wolves on January 2 - said it was frustrating that his side had not been able to pick up points in a month when other title contenders had been dropping them. "It's disappointing on the fact that, in the last three fixtures, all the top teams have dropped points."We spoke about how December could have been decisive in the running of the league. "From what is happening now, Arsenal made the most of a good December. Liverpool, too, in some way. The rest of the teams have struggled. "All of them dropped points, but we couldn't make the most of it. It's difficult for us to be in perspective for league contention this year." Villas-Boas, who was brought to the club at great expense by billionaire owner Roman Abramovich after a successful season with Porto, said that there were no hard luck stories regarding his side. "There is no running away with excuses. What we regret more is that, from the last four games, we've lost a big opportunity to shorten the distance to the leaders. "Massive opportunities lost. We would have been running for the title if we'd had a better December. "I don't think the title is realistic. Our reality is a fourth place finish, but that is not good enough." The 34-year-old, who began his coaching career with a year with the British Virgin Islands, said he could not comment on his future. "Ask that question to the owner, but I have no other information on the contract." Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead with a first half penalty, his 150th goal for the club.The striker celebrated by saluting all four stands, prompting suggestions he was saying goodbye before the January transfer window opens.But Villas-Boas believes the striker was simply bidding farewell ahead of the African Cup of Nations - although the manager hopes to persuade the Ivory Coast FA to allow the player to face Portsmouth in next weekend's FA Cup tie.Stephen Ireland levelled for Villa before Stiliyan Petrov and Darren Bent secured the win with two late goals.Ireland had been spoken to by manager Alex McLeish after a picture was posted on Twitter of the midfielder apparently smoking a shisha pipe and drinking a large glass of wine.But McLeish was delighted with the player's reaction."He must have caught everybody's eye today. He was excellent."I asked him to be an enforcer in midfield - closing down, harrying and pressing. He did it really well against Arsenal and did it extremely well for the whole game today.His reading of the game was reminiscent of his Manchester City form. He's got to take that forward.That's got to be the standard every game."It's his head. Sometimes you don't have the confidence. Marc Albrighton struggled with confidence for the first few weeks of the season, but it can turn like that."McLeish has come in for criticism this season but admitted the win at Stamford Bridge was his best day as Villa manager.It's my most satisfying day so far, but I'm hoping there are many more to come."I'm a guy who perseveres, who gets back up after being knocked down pretty regularly. I'd like to maintain some stability in the club into the new year."

'We choked them really nicely' - Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya believes Sri Lanka's historic win over South Africa in Durban could rival their triumph over England at The Oval 13 years ago as the country's most significant victory outside the subcontinent. Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lanka captain, scored a sensational double-hundred while Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets in that match, which was achieved under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga. The Kingsmead win was Sri Lanka's first since Muralitharan retired 16 months ago and gave Tillakaratne Dilshan his first success as captain."This win is very important because of all these dramas the cricketers have gone through," a delighted Jayasuiya. "The team has not been doing well and they have had some administrative problems and mentally, they were quite down. They have done a very good thing now and they are on a high."Russell Arnold, who was in Sri Lanka's squad for the 1998 England tour,  in his post-matchanalysis he regarded the South African success as even sweeter than the win over England because of the current state of the team. With two of their bowling stalwarts, Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, retired and their impressive batting line-up, which includes Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, constantly under-performing in the last six months, Arnold said Sri Lanka's performance in Durban defied belief. No-one, not even Arnold, thought they would be able to compete and challenge South Africa on home soil.Sri Lanka were shot out for 180 and 150 in the first Test in Centurion and Jayasuriya said their failure to adapt to conditions was worrying, but not insurmountable. On a less hostile surface, which allowed for a more even contest between bat and ball, it was South Africa who looked unable to adjust. Sri Lanka boasted two hundreds in the match, having only had one of their countrymen score a century in South Africa before, as both Thilan Samaraweera and Sangakkara achieved milestones.

"It was exactly what I said before. We needed partnerships and one of the top six to get a hundred. That was the key," Jayasuriya said, "Once we were able to put on more than 300, it gives the bowlers something to work with." Sri Lanka scored 338 in the first innings, thanks to Samaraweera's efforts and a crucial partnership with debutant wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.The bowlers made use of the uneven bounce and turn out of the rough to run through South Africa for 168 and then Sangakkara returned to form with a century that took the match away from the hosts. Sangakkara had scores of 1, 2 and 0 in his previous three innings and was dropped on 3 in Durban, something which Jayasuriya said would have been his signal to end his barren patch. "Any batsman will hurt a lot after going through a bad patch," said Jayasuriya. "But he got a chance and capitalised on it. When Sanga gets a start, he goes on to make big runs."Chandimal also featured in a century stand in the second innings, with Sangakkara, to cap off a solid maiden Test. "I am very happy for him," said Jayasuriya. "The selectors gave him an opportunity and he used it well."Collectively, as Arnold said, rather than through a handful of performances from top players, Sri Lanka preyed on South Africa's weaknesses - which ranged from tentativeness against a disciplined attack to an incurable mindset, stuck in the three previous defeats they have sunk to in Durban. It was this mental aspect that Jayasuriya said opened a crack for Sri Lanka and they did well not to waste it."We choked them really nicely," Jayasuriya said, using a word that will no doubt cause the South African squad to bristle. "We've seen with their history when it comes to crunch situations they don't do well."Jayasuriya expects South Africa to make the home advantage count in the decider in Cape Town, which starts on Tuesday. "They won't want a flat wicket, so they will probably prepare something with pace and bounce," he said. However, the Newlands pitch is the surface which best accommodates spin, which will be welcome news for Rangana Herath and Sri Lanka's batsmen, who will likely feel a little more at home in South Africa now.

Big Match: Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder

Big Match

Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder

Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan Leading wicket taker (Hobart Hurricanes)

Chris Gayle: Leading runs scorer in the tournament (Sydney Thunder)

Hurricanes: Remained unbeaten in the tournament

Thunder: won 2 matches out of 3 matches they have played

Timing: (19:00 local | 08:00 GMT | 13:00 PKT)

Whatmore steps down as Knight Riders' coach

Dav Whatmore has resigned as head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL franchise. Whatmore is the favourite to become the next coach of Pakistan, and cited his inability to discharge his duties with the Knight Riders as he pursues an international role.The PCB has invited Whatmore to Pakistan in the second week of January to discuss his appointment, and the Knight Riders expressed their support of his desire to coach a national team again. Whatmore is a former coach of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh."We have been most supportive of Dav's keen interest in pursuing an international coaching role and wish him the very best," Venky Mysore, the chief executive of the Knight Riders, said. "His decision to resign is to ensure that Kolkata Knight Riders are able to plan for the transition and we thank him for that. We also thank him for all his contributions over the past two years"Whatmore 's tenure with the Knight Riders lasted two seasons. In his first year, they finished sixth out of eight teams but a completely revamped side under captain Gautam Gambhir reached the knockouts in 2011 before losing to the Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator."The team has progressed in the right direction and as always, I wish the team continued success and look forward to them progressing to silverware in 2012," Whatmore said in a statement. Many thanks to those who have supported and believed in me."The Knight Riders have begun a search for a new head coach and would like to have a replacement named before the IPL player auction on February 4. "The head coach is a very important role,"

Pak will have to perform above potential to defeat England: Taufeeq Umar

Pakistan’s opening batsman Taufeeq Umar has predicted his side will have to perform beyond its potential to defeat the current No. 1 Test team England in the forthcoming series in the United Arab Emirates. “I’m really looking forward to the very important series against England. We’ll try our level best to perform well in the series. The England team are a very good side who have been performing very well and their team combination is a very strong one with all of their players in good form,” Pak Passion.net quoted Umar, as saying.  “We saw last summer in England when India was touring there, just what a powerful team England are. I think the series against England will undoubtedly be a very competitive and tough one for Pakistan. I think that in order for Pakistan to defeat England we will have to play above our level of ability,” he added. Umar said Pakistan’s batting line up should focus on tackling England’s bowling attack, irrespective of the pitch conditions.He described 2011 as a successful year for Pakistan’s cricket taking into account four Test series wins against New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a drawn series in the West Indies. Umar, who made 819 runs in Test cricket this year, emerged as Pakistan’s leading run scorer in 2011, after making a comeback to international cricket in November 2010 against South Africa. “I’m really satisfied with the way things have gone for me since my comeback and it was really pleasing to be Pakistan’s top scorer in Tests last year. I’m really proud of this achievement but most importantly it meant that my performance helped the team perform well through the year,” he said Umar who has opened Pakistan’s batting alongwith Mohammad Hafeez on 22 occasions, said the left handed and right handed batsman combination is yielding results for his side. He also said that the current Pakistan team is capable of beating any Test side.

WAHAB RIAZ CHARGED UP FOR ENGLAND CHALLENGE

The Pakistani fast bowler, Wahab Riaz, has been re-called in to the Pakistan Test squad to face England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first Test match of the series starts in Dubai on January 17^th, 2012. The fast bowler is geared up for the ensuing series.He last played a Test match for Pakistan in May 2011 against the West Indies, and since then he has remained out of favour, and did not feature in the Test series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. There was nothing wrong with his form and fitness, but the selectors still ignored him, insisting that Wahab had been given rest.On the contrary, sources within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that Wahab had been sidelined due to his suspect involvement in the spot fixing scandal.Following the clearance from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the left-arm pacer has been included in the national squad for the high profile series against the Poms.Wahab spoke about his time out of the national team, referring to it as a testing time."It was a testing time for me while I was out of the Pakistan team. But I am just relieved now that I am back in the Pakistan squad and I am rearing to play against England," he said.Wahab refrained from giving any clear answers on his exclusion, saying that he was clueless."It was a nagging situation for me when I was out and it's obviously difficult when you are not part of the national team despite having all the ability to represent it.  But what I know now is that I am ready for yet another stint as I have been playing a lot of domestic cricket and the stint with English county, Kent this year has also helped me become an improved bowler,'' added the 26-year-old quick who has played in seven Tests so far.The Lahore-born pacer stepped into stardom following his magnificent five-wicket haul in the World Cup semi-final against India. With the presence of another left-arm quick Junaid Khan, there is competition for places in the team, but the paceman is determined to make up for lost time.

Blackburn's shock win over Man Utd

After battling back from 2-0 down, United were dealt the final blow 10 minutes from time courtesy of a goal from Grant Hanley. "It is a disaster," said the United manager, whose side failed to replace Manchester City at the top of the Premier League on his 70th birthday. "I never expected it. We lost two terrible goals and you can't do that." United fell behind to two strikes from Yakubu, either side of the break, before Dimitar Berbatov hauled his side back level with two of his own in quick succession. However, Blackburn stunned United late on, when 20-year-old Hanley beat keeper David de Gea to Morten Gamst Pedersen's corner, and again rose highest to head in the follow-up. "We all could have done better," he said, when asked about De Gea. "It was a bad goal to lose. "At 2-2, I thought we were going to win it. It looked like the momentum was with us, but that third goal was a killer." Ferguson pointed to the injuries in defence that forced him to field senior players out of their usual positions."We've had problems with four central defenders out," added the Scot. "We missed Michael Carrick's craft in the middle. We played Park Ji-sung and Rafael in centre midfield, but they aren't centre midfielders. Rovers boss Steve Kean was delighted with the victory which follows the draw at Liverpool last week. "To come to a place like this and get a result is up there with our best," he said, with his club going into 2012 off the bottom of the table. "As soon as it went to 2-1, we were thinking it was going to be tough. And at 2-2, it would have been a good point." Kean, who some fans of the club want to see leave, paid particular praise to the young players, such as scorer Hanley, Adam Henley and Josh Morris. "We built on what we did at Anfield [1-1 draw against Liverpool], although maybe the side was a little bit younger today," he continued."The lads that came through the academy, along with the senior guys, can all take credit. "We're going through a transition period. We have new owners and although I'm not new to the club, I'm new to the position. "We're trying to integrate the young players and develop the backbone of the club." Hanley, scorer of the winner, said the young Rovers team have had to "grow up quickly". "It was a great result today," he commented. "We got the organisation and shape right.