PCB puts forward three proposals to BCCI for resuming cricket ties

In a bid to resume bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put forward three proposals to its Indian counterpart. The PCB has proposed that either India can tour Pakistan or play it at a neutral venue. The third proposal is PCB hosting its home series in India, says a report in The Hindu.

The PCB Chairman, Zaka Ashraf, on Wednesday said that the Board has put forward the proposal to hire two stadiums in India to host its home series against India. The resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral cricketing ties were severed after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks

Meanwhile according to a report in The Tribune, France's Thomas Voeckler won the 194.5km 10th stage of the Tour de France between Macon and Bellegarde sur Valserine on Wednesday. Italy's Michele Scarponi was second and Germany's Jens Voigt was third. Briton Bradley Wiggins retained the overall lead. Before the start of this year’s race, there had been doubts over the participation of Voeckler because of a dodgy knee, but he saw off challenges from Luis Leon Sanchez and Scarponi too in a thrilling end to seal the stage win and take the King of the Mountains' polka dot jersey.

According to media reports, Indian challenge in the World Junior Squash Championships came to an end as Mahesh Mangaonkar and Anaka Alankamony lost their respective quarterfinal matches to Egyptian rivals in the men's and women's competitions at Doha. Mangaonkar went down to second seed Mohamed Abouelghar 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10 in a marathon battle that lasted 90 minutes while Alankamony lost to higher-ranked Yathreb Adel 4-11, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11 in 37 minutes at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex.

According to a report in The Tribune, former Brazilian star midfielder Ronadinho’s act of sipping Pepsi at a press conference cost him dear as rivals Coke pulled the plug on his endorsement deal. The former Barcelona man had himself to blame for his pocket being $760,000 lighter. Coke released Ronaldinho for giving Pepsi the advertisement Coke were paying for. Coca Cola marketing chief Marcelo Pontes said: "The fact that the player has appeared with a can of Pepsi was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Meanwhile, Pole-vault star Yelena Isinbayeva won the gold at the European Athletics Outdoor Premium Meeting with a relatively modest height, 4.75 metres, but insists she’s not bothered by the unconvincing performance during which she rattled the bar. "I'm so happy that I got the victory, that's the most important, the good results will come later," said Isinbayeva. Gunning for her third successive Olympics gold in London, Isinbayeva, 30, has shortened her preparation period for the Games, citing the difficulties of maintaining the peak condition for an athlete of her age over a long period of time.