Changes to the Laws of Cricket

                                                 International cricket is set to witness a slew of changes in all three formats with amendments to rules coming into effect from Oct 1. One of those changes - the fielding side using two new balls per innings in ODIs - will be seen in the five-match series between India and England, beginning Oct 14.

The amendments have been approved by the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Executive Board following proposals made by the ICC Cricket Committee at its meeting in London in May.

Starting with two new balls per innings, several other amendments have been made in the 50-over format.

"Each fielding team shall have two new balls for its innings, to be used in alternate overs, i.e. one from each end," said ICC in a release.

While the total number of powerplay overs remains at 20 per innings with the first block of 10 being at the commencement of the innings (for an uninterrupted match), the remaining second and third block of powerplay overs may not be taken so as to commence earlier than the 16th over nor be completed later than the 40th over.

This restriction will not apply for reduced innings of scheduled duration of less than 40 overs.

The minimum interval for an uninterrupted ODI match has been increased from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

With the latest changes by the ICC, a batsman can now be adjudged out for obstructing the field (all three formats).

"A new playing condition has been introduced, clarifying that on appeal from the fielding team, if the umpire feels that a batsman, whilst running between the wickets, has significantly changed his direction without probable cause thereby obstructing a fielder's attempt to run him out, the batsman should be given out obstructing the field. It shall not be relevant whether a run out would have been affected or not," said the release.

The circumstances described in the new playing condition (i.e. a batsman significantly changing his direction of running without probable cause) are only one example of an action which will qualify as wilfully obstructing the field.

Accordingly, it is still possible for a batsman to be given out obstructing the field in circumstances where he has not significantly changed his direction of running provided that the umpire feels that by some other actions it is clear that the batsman had intended to obstruct the field. This will depend on the circumstances of each case.

A runner will not be allowed any more across three formats.

Bowlers will now be able to attempt to run out non-striker before delivery.

Previously, the bowler could only run out a non-striker backing up if he did so before he had entered his delivery stride. This meant that as the bowler's back foot landed, the non-striker could move down the wicket before the bowler actually delivered the ball, gaining an unfair advantage.

Harbhajan axed

                                             Off-colour Harbhajan Singh was Thursday dropped while young spinner Rahul Sharma and paceman Sreenath Aravind were the two new faces in India's depleted 15-member squad for the first two cricket one-dayers in next month's ODI series against England. 

Gautam Gambhir, who missed the ODI series in the tour of England because of concussion, returned to the squad which will be without the services of a host of seniors, including Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh because of injuries.

Vidharba paceman Umesh Yadav and Jharkhand speedster Varun Aaron also figured in the team announced by new BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a marathon meeting of the selection committee here.

The team, to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has a predominantly young bowling attack with Praveen Kumar being the spearhead. The national selectors have picked as many as five fast bowlers and three spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Sharma. Parthiv Patel, who did reasonably well in the recent ODI series against England, has been retained along with upcoming batsman Ajinkya Rahane of Mumbai.

The first ODI of the five-match series will be played in Hyderabad on October 14,, while Delhi will host the second game on October 17. Mohali (Oct 20), Mumbai (Oct 23) and Kolkata (Oct 25) will stage the other three matches. Kolkata will also conduct the lone Twenty20 match against England on October 29.

The team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Sreenath Aravind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar.

Job seekers to be screened

                                              Workers from nine countries, including India, seeking jobs in the UAE, may soon have to undergo screening for infectious diseases before they fly to the Emirates, if a scheme unveiled by the Health Ministry works according to plans. Migrants from India, Pakistan Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Egypt, Syria and Sudan could face disease checks after three months, if a pilot phase targeting job seekers from Indonesia and Sri Lanka run smoothly, a news report has said. "(How we roll the rest of the scheme out) will depend on our evaluation," Ibrahim Al Qadi, director of the Ministry's preventative medicine department, told Arabian Business. 

The initial phase of the scheme will come into effect from October 1. "We are going to evaluate our situation from these two countries. After three or six months we will sit down again, and plan how we go further," Al Qadi said. The scheme is designed to bar migrants at risk of spreading infection from entering the UAE and to curb the entry of contagious diseases in the Gulf countries. Immigrants are required to undergo a second compulsory screening on their arrival in the UAE, before securing a visa. Those that test positive for contagious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis or hepatitis B will be deported. Al Qadi said the scheme would eventually apply across all categories of workers, irrespective of the incidence rates linked to their home country. "Incidence rates don't matter," he said.

"Our main plan is to completely stop the entry of any infectious diseases, because once they enter, it will create a problem for us inside the country," he added. Doctors practising in the UAE are required to inform the ministry if they treat an expatriate who is diagnosed with an infectious disease. Under existing laws, expatriates are required to undergo medical checks before securing a residency visa in the UAE. However, the ministry said in May the potentially month-long period before screening could allow for the spread of some diseases before diagnosis. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have required migrants from certain regions to undergo health checks in their home countries for some time.

Vettel VS Ferrari

                                                                               The German has often been rumoured to be on his way to the Scuderia with Fernando Alonso even extending an invitation of sorts in recent weeks.

However, instead of making the move - or even putting into place the potential for it - Vettel signed a new long-term contract with Red Bull at the start of this Championship.

And the decision is paying dividends for the 24-year-old, who is just one point away from winning his second successive Drivers' crown with Red Bull.

Asked for his thoughts on Alonso's invitation, Ecclestone told the official F1 website: "Well, seeing the situation as it is now it would be an appropriate means to slow him down..."

As for the German's massive lead in the Drivers' Championship, the F1 supremo reckons no one can stop Vettel from winning the crown, even "if he decided to go on his holidays for the rest of the season there would be no one to take it away from him."

And Ecclestone puts Vettel's success largely down to who he is as a person.

"Sebastian has an absolute will to succeed but has stayed very grounded. No win, however big, will stop him being grounded. That is immensely important in this business.

"Seb is relaxed and will always remain true to himself - that is why things come easy."

Amazon ignites tablet war

                                                                           Amazon.com Inc took the wraps off its long-awaited "Kindle Fire" on Wednesday, tacking on a mass market-friendly $199 price tag that poses a serious threat to the dominance of Apple Inc's two-year-old iPad. The eagerly anticipated gadget, while lacking many of the high-tech bells and whistles common on tablets from cameras to 3G wireless connection, may sound the death knell for a raft of devices based on Google Inc's Android. The software powers tablets made by Samsung, Motorola, Asustek, HTC and LG Electronics.

Dotcom-entrepreneur and billionaire-CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled to a packed audience the gadget he hopes will wed Amazon's books, movies, music and other content with cloud or Internet-based storage and Web browsing.

"People have been waiting for a tablet for 200 bucks for a long time and this is the best one I've seen so far," Tim Stevens, editor-in-chief of gadget review website Engadget, said.

The Kindle Fire tablet has a 7-inch screen, free data storage over the Internet and a new browser called Amazon Silk.

Amazon expects shipments to start on Nov. 15 -- hitting store shelves at Best Buy and other chains just in time for the peak holiday shopping season.

By pricing the Fire at less than half the iPad – yet stripping out costlier components and features -- the Internet retailer hopes to get the device into millions of consumers' hands, who in turn will buy Amazon content. One key differentiator that might help the Fire stand out during the cut-throat holidays is Amazon's "EC2" cloud computing service, which supports Internet browsing and helps speed loading of websites. That was not available on rival tablets, Stevens noted.

"Expect a blood bath as pricing will have to get extremely aggressive," said Mark Gerber, an analyst at Detwiler Fenton & Co. He expects Amazon to sell at least 3 million Kindle Fires this holiday season, taking the No. 2 spot in the tablet market.

The Fire was unveiled alongside several rock-bottom-priced versions of the basic Kindle reader, with the lowest at $79 -- a clear challenge to Barnes & Noble Inc's Nook that will surely force the ailing bookstore chain to try and match.

"These are premium products at non-premium prices," Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said. "We are going to sell millions of these."

Analysts had expected Amazon's tablet to be priced around $250, roughly half the price of Apple's dominant iPad, which starts at $499. The Nook Color e-reader costs $249.

The Web retailer might be angling for a lower-end slice of the market that Apple -- which maintains a careful grip over its higher-end branding and margins -- has traditionally steered clear of.

Bezos said Amazon is making "millions" of the tablet, without being more specific. However, he urged customers to pre-order the device. When the original Kindle e-reader came out in 2007, it quickly sold out.

Colin Sebastian, an analyst at RW Baird, kept his Amazon tablet sales forecasts the same on Wednesday on concern about potential supply issues. He expects two million to three million units to be sold this year and four to six million next year. "While we think the Kindle Fire could easily be the most
successful Android-based tablet to date, the Nov. 15 launch date, and the possibility of issues with ramping production -- Apple encountered significant production issues with the iPad 2 -- are the key reasons we are maintaining our current tablet estimates."

Breaking into a crowded tablet market will be difficult. Companies from Hewlett Packard Co, Motorola, Samsung and Research in Motion Ltd have launched tablets, but none has taken a big bite out of Apple's lead. Apple dominates the North American tablet market, with 80 per cent of the 7.5 million units shipped during the second quarter of 2011, according to Strategy Analytics.

Bezos took a jab at its larger rival during the New York press conference on Wednesday, noting that the Fire needs no wires for syncing. An image of a white USB cord appeared on the screen behind him, prompting laughter from the crowd.

Bezos didn't mention Apple but the picture of the cord resembled those commonly used to connect iPhones and iPads to computers.

Still, Michael Yoshikami, who oversees $1 billion at YCMNET Advisors, discounted any serious hit to Apple -- for now -- because of Apple's similarly rich library of content. But he thought Apple may need to start offering some sort of subscription-based video streaming service -- iTunes is download primarily -- to respond. Rivals without their own content or services to support their devices, such as Samsung, are most exposed, he added.

"HP's decision to get out of tablets is actually looking fairly bright," he said.

Having its own tablet is important for Amazon because the company has amassed a mountain of digital goods and services that could be sold through such a device. The tablet might also encourage customers of Amazon, the world's largest Internet retailer, to shop online for physical products more often.

Amazon recently redesigned its main shopping website to make it easier to navigate for mobile users. "Getting this device into the hands of customers means Amazon can expand their e-commerce footprint -- this is a strategic focus for the company," said Eric Best, an Amazon veteran who now runs online commerce company Mercent.

"Every Kindle Fire user, by virtue of the better browser and richer operating system, has the potential to become a more frequent Amazon shopper."

Meanwhile, competition at the high end of the market is heating up. Motorola on Wednesday announced it will offer 4G-LTE upgrades for Motorola Xoom users on Verizon Wireless, improving loading speeds.

                                                             Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was given a five-match touchline ban by the Football Association on Wednesday for comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson after his side's defeat at Chelsea this month.
In a statement, the FA said Ferguson had also been fined 30,000 pounds ($48,220) for his post-match comments which included him saying he "feared the worst" when he found out who was refereeing the match at Stamford Bridge.
The ban, which starts on March 22, includes the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley although it does not apply to Champions League matches.
"The Commission found the charge of Improper Conduct relating to media comments proven, following remarks made in relation to match official Martin Atkinson in post-match interviews after Manchester United's fixture with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday 1 March 2011," an FA statement said.
While a three-match ban was handed down on the 69-year-old Scot for his remarks about Atkinson, the FA's Independent Regulation Commission also invoked a suspended two-game touchline ban for a similar offence in October 2009.
As well as the Cup semi-final against City, Ferguson will also have to watch the potentially crucial title showdown at Arsenal on May 1 from the stands as well as the league matches against West Ham United, Fulham and Everton.
Ferguson's latest comments came after the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge when he was annoyed that Chelsea's Brazilian defender David Luiz was not shown a second yellow card for a foul on striker Wayne Rooney.
Frank Lampard's penalty earned Chelsea the points while United also had Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic sent off.
"You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway -- and we didn't get that," Ferguson told MUTV. "I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst."
Ferguson has 48 hours to appeal against the ban.
West Ham United's manager Avram Grant is also in trouble with the FA after comments he made about referee Mike Jones after his side's FA Cup defeat by Stoke City at the weekend.
The FA said the Israeli had been charged with improper conduct and has until March 21 to respond.

Kerala inching towards Great Grey Shock

Going by the alarming fall in birth rate, Kerala would soon acquire the status of an 'old age home', says experts in demographic studies. A detailed analysis of 2011 Census report indicates that the present fertility rate of the state has plunged to 1.8.

Experts have warned that the present situation is quite similar to that of Japan in 1970s, where the fertility rate had gone down to a dismal 1.5. Japan witnessed a demographic shock because of the social burden of its rapidly aging society which left the country crippled.  

Not Again

 Thai school had to apologise to a Jewish human rights group after its students caused a controversy by taking out a Nazi-themed parade featuring Adolf Hitler and his SS guards, a media report said.

In one of the photographs, a group of girls, dressed in Nazi SS guards outfit and wearing the Nazi symbolic swastika armbands, have been captured marching through the school ground, Xinhua reported.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group based in Los Angeles, Monday issued a statement protesting the "disgraceful display", accusing the school administration of "glorifying Nazis".

The outrage came after some photographs taken on a sports day in the school, in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai province, were posted online.

The high school apologised soon after receiving the protest. 

India-Pakistan

 Raising slogans promising support to each other against terrorism, several Indian and Pakistani citizens Saturday gathered near Rajghat here and formed a human chain to protest the July 13 Mumbai blasts that left at least 19 people dead and injured 130.

The event was organised by various NGOs from both sides of the border. Holding posters and flowers, those gathered raised slogans like "Atankwad ho barbad, humari dosti zindabad" (Terrorism should be destroyed, long live our friendship).

"It's high time that peace prevailed in both the countries and I think that is not possible without the cooperation of the citizens," said Sheema Kirmani of Tehrik-e-Niswan, an NGO from Karachi holding a poster that read "Shak ke bavandar se bahar aao, milkar shanti failao" (Come out of the whirlpool of suspicion, spread peace together).

Agreed Faisal Khan of Delhi-based NGO the National Alliance of People's Movement, who said that cowardly attacks like the one in Mumbai could never rattle the strong Indian democratic and secular setup.

"They (the perpetrators) think that such attacks would result in communal violence in the country. But they fail miserably every time," Khan told IANS.

The participants agreed that terrorism plagued both the nations and it was time that people got together and cleared misunderstandings, if any existed.

Theatre person and political analyst Anwer Jaferi from Karachi said: "Same kind of attacks happen in Pakistan too and these are just attempts to spread hatred between the two communities and countries."

Jaferi said his theatre group was performing an anti-war play in different Indian cities when the blast took place in Mumbai. So, they decided to join the event.

Formula one & gaga

Arjun Rampal announced Thursday that American pop star Lady Gaga will perform at the Formula-1 after party, which will be hosted by the Bollywood actor's restro-bar, Lap.

"Huge event for India to get a star of her calibre. She has one million Twitter fans and over 40 million Facebook fans. It's a great feeling to get an icon like her to perform at your club at your lounge. She is very excited to come to India and to perform here," Arjun said.

The Airtel Grand Prix of India will take place at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida Oct 28-30.

"The F1 is one of the most glamorous and expensive sports in the world. There is huge fan following for this sport. So excited to be associated with Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) for this venture. At our lounge we are excited to show the world how great Indian circuits will be in the form of Buddh Circuit. We are creating this lounge at Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort in Greater Noida from Oct 28 to Oct 30," he added.

Gaga will perform on the last day, while international DJs Roger Sanchez will perform on day one, Edward Maya second day and Tom Navy on day three.

The tickets for the first two days will be for Rs.30,000 per person while the Gaga show will cost Rs.40,000.

Formula one

British Formula One (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton Tuesday stepped on the gas to vroom, zoom and vow about 10,000 frenzied fans on a 500-metre stretch on the outskirts of this tech hub in a McLaren Mercedes.Apart from swaying the car zig-zag and going in circles with the front wheel locked while rear tyres turned rapidly emitting thick smoke, Hamilton displayed some breathtaking stunts, including back-up spin over (reversing, tucking around and straightening) with deafening screeching sound.As thousands of fans missed his first race demo due to unprecedented rush and chaotic scenes at the open venue, a sportive Hamilton readily agreed to do another round of race before the curtains came down on the one-hour show of speed, brute force and bravado.

Making his fourth visit to India but first to Bangalore, Hamilton also treated a couple of Vodafone (sponsor) contest winners and select celebrities on the fast lane for hot laps, demonstrating his extraordinary motor racing skills and expertise in handling sports cars with aplomb.