Ajmal sparks new debate over his bowling action.

Offspinner Saeed Ajmal has added to the debate over his bowling action by claiming that he has received special dispensation from the International Cricket Council. “ICC allowed me to bowl 23.5 degrees because my arm is not good, because of an accident,” Ajmal told. Bowlers are not allowed to bend their arm beyond a 15 degree limit. The comments attracted criticism from England coach Andy Flower, who said it would be “ridiculous” for the ICC to allow Ajmal to adopt an illegal action. But Pakistan team manager Naveed Akram Cheema said Ajmal’s comments have been misinterpreted because the bowler was referring to the angle of the “upper arm to the forearm” and not the bend of his bowling arm. The ICC’s general manager of cricket, David Richardson, said there was a big difference between the elbow abduction and the degree of elbow extension. “There was nothing preventing a bowler bowling with a bent arm, provided he does not straighten it beyond the permitted degrees of tolerance,” Richardson said. Ajmal was reported for a suspect bowling action in 2009, but was cleared by the ICC. The off spinner was the top wicket-taker in test matches last year with 50. He also claimed 24 wickets in Pakistan’s 3-0 whitewash of England.

The second match of the Commonwealth Bank triangular series is being played between India and Sri Lanka at Perth on today.

Earlier‚ Australia beat India by sixty five runs in the first match the series.

SPORTS NEWS

Marseille draws 2-2 with Lyon in French league.

Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou fired into the bottom corner to open the scoring in the 16th minute. Brazilian striker Brandao volleyed home a cross from Morgan Amalfitano to double Marseille s lead in the 34th. Lyon pulled one back with a close-range effort from Bafetimbi Gomis in the 36th before leveling from an own goal by Marseille center back Souleymane Diawara in the 45th. "We got off to a poor start," Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. "We conceded two goals that were a bit stupid. We could have avoided the first goal. "Both Lyon and Marseille don t have much maneuvering room left." Lyon remained in fourth place, 10 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain and one clear of Marseille. "It s a big disappointment for us," Marseille midfielder Alou Diarra said. "We paid dearly for lacking focus for a split second and allowed Lyon to rally. "We still have to go and get points to finish at least in third place." PSG defeated Evian 3-1 on Saturday to keep a three-point lead over second-place Montpellier at the top of the league. Also, it was: Montpellier 1, Brest 0; Nancy 0, Rennes 0; Bordeaux 2, Toulouse 0; Dijon 1, Valenciennes 2; and Ajaccio 1, Nice 1. Three games were postponed because of a frozen pitch following a cold snap. Match between Saint-Etienne and Lorient was abandoned after 10 minutes. Sunday s matches pitting Sochaux against Lille and Caen against Auxerre were called off, too. The French league has not set a new date for the postponed matches. Marseille created the first chance in the second minute when fullback Jeremy Morel charged down the left flank to make a low cross for Morgan Amalfitano, who controlled the ball before curling a shot over the bar.

SPORTS NEWS

On the fourth day of the Dubai cricket test against Pakistan‚ England resumes their second innings on today at the overnight score of 36 runs for no loss.

Earlier Pakistan in their second innings were all out for 365 taking a lead of 323 runs. The main scorers from Pakistan were Azhar Ali with 157 and Younas Khan 127 runs. The Scores so far: Pakistan: 99 and 365. England: 141 and 36 without any loss. Pakistan is leading the three match series by 2-0.

Sports News

On the fourth day of the Dubai cricket test against Pakistan‚ England resumes their second innings on today at the overnight score of 36 runs for no loss.

Earlier Pakistan in their second innings were all out for 365 taking a lead of 323 runs. The main scorers from Pakistan were Azhar Ali with 157 and Younas Khan 127 runs. The Scores so far: Pakistan: 99 and 365. England: 141 and 36 without any loss. Pakistan is leading the three match series by 2-0.

Marseille draws 2-2 with Lyon in French league.

Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou fired into the bottom corner to open the scoring in the 16th minute. Brazilian striker Brandao volleyed home a cross from Morgan Amalfitano to double Marseille s lead in the 34th. Lyon pulled one back with a close-range effort from Bafetimbi Gomis in the 36th before leveling from an own goal by Marseille center back Souleymane Diawara in the 45th. "We got off to a poor start," Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. "We conceded two goals that were a bit stupid. We could have avoided the first goal. "Both Lyon and Marseille don t have much maneuvering room left." Lyon remained in fourth place, 10 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain and one clear of Marseille. "It s a big disappointment for us," Marseille midfielder Alou Diarra said. "We paid dearly for lacking focus for a split second and allowed Lyon to rally. "We still have to go and get points to finish at least in third place." PSG defeated Evian 3-1 on Saturday to keep a three-point lead over second-place Montpellier at the top of the league. Also, it was: Montpellier 1, Brest 0; Nancy 0, Rennes 0; Bordeaux 2, Toulouse 0; Dijon 1, Valenciennes 2; and Ajaccio 1, Nice 1. Three games were postponed because of a frozen pitch following a cold snap. Match between Saint-Etienne and Lorient was abandoned after 10 minutes. Sunday s matches pitting Sochaux against Lille and Caen against Auxerre were called off, too. The French league has not set a new date for the postponed matches. Marseille created the first chance in the second minute when fullback Jeremy Morel charged down the left flank to make a low cross for Morgan Amalfitano, who controlled the ball before curling a shot over the bar.