Sunday, June 14, 2009 LONDON: Lancashire have confirmed they hope to stage Pakistan's 'home' Tests against Australia next summer. Discussions between the ECB, Cricket Australia and the PCB have been underway for Pakistan to 'host' Australia for two Tests and two Twenty20s in England, but venues have yet to be confirmed. "The ECB asked us about this and we have declared our interest," Jim Cumbes, Lancashire's chief executive said a UK-based newspaper. "We have a great Asian population here. We have staged a World Cup match between India and Pakistan at Old Trafford, so we know the interest Pakistan's return would create." The venues for the series are yet to be decided though cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham - traditionally home to large British Asian populations - are likely to be on any shortlist. "Playing here would be good for us and our younger players," said Pakistan captain Younis Khan. Australia were due to tour Pakistan for a full series in March 2008 but pulled out because of security concerns. The tour was postponed, but after the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March this year and the subsequent ICC move to take the 2011 World Cup away from Pakistan, international cricket within Pakistan is all but ruled out for the next few years. The PCB, therefore, is looking for ways to minimise the impact on its FTP and is actively looking at neutral venues where it can stage future home commitments.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
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