New Zealand’s captain and de facto coach Daniel Vettori believes former skipper Stephen Fleming would make a wonderful Black Caps coach.
Vettori will lead the team to the United Arab Emirates for a one-day and Twenty20 series against Pakistan as both captain and coach following Andy Moles' decision on Saturday to step down as coach after a review process revealed he was ill-equipped to continue in the role.
With Moles not stepping up to the mark, Vettori has been effectively coaching the team for the past six months,
The Sunday Star-Times quoted Vettori as saying that he was happy to continue as player-coach for the next few months, including the home test series against Pakistan next month, but after that he would prefer to see someone come into the role.
"Stephen and I keep in regular contact and he's been quite a big help in going through all this stuff and some other things that have gone on. He has concerns about my workload and he wants to be a sounding board and do anything he can to help," Vettori said.
"He's definitely got coach written all over him and he could be an extremely successful one; it's just whether he wants to get back into that life of touring the world and in that regard it probably is too soon for him. But he would make a wonderful coach," he added.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan, when asked if Fleming was a coach candidate, said: "I don't think this is the right time."
In the short-term manager Dave Currie will have his leadership responsibilities upgraded to help Vettori, while current assistant coach Mark O'Donnell will remain with the team, stuff.co.nz reports.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Australia beat India in one-day thriller
World champions Australia claimed a four-run victory in the opening one-day international on Sunday after India went close to reaching a daunting target of 293.
A plucky eighth-wicket stand of 84 by Harbhajan Singh (49) and Praveen Kumar (40 not out) almost gave India victory after they had slid to 201 for seven.
India needed nine off the last over from Peter Siddle but the paceman bowled accurately, conceding just four runs and clean bowling Harbhajan.
Earlier, Australian batsmen, led by captain Ricky Ponting, fed on some listless Indian bowling on a flat Reliance Stadium track to post an imposing 292 for 8 in the first of the best-of-seven-match ODI series here today.
Electing to bat, Australia suffered an early blow before recovering superbly through a near-century stand between Ponting (74) and opener Tim Paine (50).
The sound beginning was build upon by half centuries from Cameron White (51) and Michael Hussey (73) as the Indian bowling, which has struggled of late, was put to the sword in merciless fashion in hot conditions.
In the morning, the hosts struck an early blow by sending back Australian opener Shane Watson, on a high coming into the series with back-to-back hundreds in the semifinal and final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
The burly batsman straight-drove the first ball of the series from Praveen Kumar for a boundary but then was trapped in front by an incoming ball from Ashish Nehra in the second over to which he played back.
Watson's early dismissal left Australia at five for one after eight balls and brought in visiting team's skipper Ricky Ponting to the crease.
Ponting, on a roll in one-dayers since the best-of-seven ODI series against England with two centuries and four half centuries under his belt from his last 10 innings, and Tim Paine -playing for the first time in a ODI in India -dominated the bowlers.
The duo kept the run rate at a healthy five plus to raise the 100 of their innings in the 19th over when wicketkeeper Paine tried to slash Ishant Sharma to be caught behind for 50.
Paine, who struck nine fours in his 62-ball innings, and Ponting shared 97 runs for the second wicket in 107 balls.
Ponting looked in total command, striking the ball beautifully, and hooked left arm pacer Ashish Nehra for a six.
He looked good for a 100 when he left, trapped leg before by young left-arm slow bowler Ravindra Jadeja while trying to turn the ball to the leg.
The Australia skipper faced 85 balls and hit eight fours and two sixes, the second one off Jadeja over a leaping Nehra at long off, and his dismissal at team total of 151 in the 30th over brought down the scoring rate a bit.
But that was a brief respite for the home team as Cameron White (51) and Michael Hussey (73) again stepped up the run rate after the 35th over to help Australia reach 213 for three at the end of the 40th. They added 76 runs in 77 balls.
Australia added 54 runs in the last 10 overs to leave India with an asking rate of 5.86.
Hussey, out of form before this series and a question mark against his name for the next Test series against West Indies, departed in the last over after facing 54 balls and striking the ball cleanly to hit eight fours and a six.
Indian bowling was a mixed bag. Nehra impressed right through but Kumar was expensive though he was unlucky that twice he got the edge of Paine's bat but the ball did not carry to the slip fielders.
Kumar was hoisted over the roof of the pavilion by Hussey in the 49th over of the innings to end up with no wicket for 77 runs.
Ishant, who has struggled of late, started unimpressively but then settled down to show glimpses of what he is capable of when in rhythm in his opening spell. Coming back in the slog overs he leaked runs but picked up the wickets of Hussey and Brett Lee and ended up with figures of 3/50 from his 10 overs.
Another disappointment was spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh who bowled a poor line and was punished for 20 runs in his first three overs and 27 in his second spell of five overs. He ended up with the wicket of Adam Voges in the slog overs after conceding 57 runs.
Jadeja did reasonably well and got the prize wicket of Ponting, and ended with impressive figures of one for 39 from his nine overs.
The Indian fielding was generally below par with many slow movers in the line-up.
Earlier, India had to leave out Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering from a finger injury sustained before the start of Champions Trophy, along with Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra and Sudeep Tyagi.
Australia benched Doug Bollinger, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus and Shaun Marsh.
A plucky eighth-wicket stand of 84 by Harbhajan Singh (49) and Praveen Kumar (40 not out) almost gave India victory after they had slid to 201 for seven.
India needed nine off the last over from Peter Siddle but the paceman bowled accurately, conceding just four runs and clean bowling Harbhajan.
Earlier, Australian batsmen, led by captain Ricky Ponting, fed on some listless Indian bowling on a flat Reliance Stadium track to post an imposing 292 for 8 in the first of the best-of-seven-match ODI series here today.
Electing to bat, Australia suffered an early blow before recovering superbly through a near-century stand between Ponting (74) and opener Tim Paine (50).
The sound beginning was build upon by half centuries from Cameron White (51) and Michael Hussey (73) as the Indian bowling, which has struggled of late, was put to the sword in merciless fashion in hot conditions.
In the morning, the hosts struck an early blow by sending back Australian opener Shane Watson, on a high coming into the series with back-to-back hundreds in the semifinal and final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
The burly batsman straight-drove the first ball of the series from Praveen Kumar for a boundary but then was trapped in front by an incoming ball from Ashish Nehra in the second over to which he played back.
Watson's early dismissal left Australia at five for one after eight balls and brought in visiting team's skipper Ricky Ponting to the crease.
Ponting, on a roll in one-dayers since the best-of-seven ODI series against England with two centuries and four half centuries under his belt from his last 10 innings, and Tim Paine -playing for the first time in a ODI in India -dominated the bowlers.
The duo kept the run rate at a healthy five plus to raise the 100 of their innings in the 19th over when wicketkeeper Paine tried to slash Ishant Sharma to be caught behind for 50.
Paine, who struck nine fours in his 62-ball innings, and Ponting shared 97 runs for the second wicket in 107 balls.
Ponting looked in total command, striking the ball beautifully, and hooked left arm pacer Ashish Nehra for a six.
He looked good for a 100 when he left, trapped leg before by young left-arm slow bowler Ravindra Jadeja while trying to turn the ball to the leg.
The Australia skipper faced 85 balls and hit eight fours and two sixes, the second one off Jadeja over a leaping Nehra at long off, and his dismissal at team total of 151 in the 30th over brought down the scoring rate a bit.
But that was a brief respite for the home team as Cameron White (51) and Michael Hussey (73) again stepped up the run rate after the 35th over to help Australia reach 213 for three at the end of the 40th. They added 76 runs in 77 balls.
Australia added 54 runs in the last 10 overs to leave India with an asking rate of 5.86.
Hussey, out of form before this series and a question mark against his name for the next Test series against West Indies, departed in the last over after facing 54 balls and striking the ball cleanly to hit eight fours and a six.
Indian bowling was a mixed bag. Nehra impressed right through but Kumar was expensive though he was unlucky that twice he got the edge of Paine's bat but the ball did not carry to the slip fielders.
Kumar was hoisted over the roof of the pavilion by Hussey in the 49th over of the innings to end up with no wicket for 77 runs.
Ishant, who has struggled of late, started unimpressively but then settled down to show glimpses of what he is capable of when in rhythm in his opening spell. Coming back in the slog overs he leaked runs but picked up the wickets of Hussey and Brett Lee and ended up with figures of 3/50 from his 10 overs.
Another disappointment was spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh who bowled a poor line and was punished for 20 runs in his first three overs and 27 in his second spell of five overs. He ended up with the wicket of Adam Voges in the slog overs after conceding 57 runs.
Jadeja did reasonably well and got the prize wicket of Ponting, and ended with impressive figures of one for 39 from his nine overs.
The Indian fielding was generally below par with many slow movers in the line-up.
Earlier, India had to leave out Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering from a finger injury sustained before the start of Champions Trophy, along with Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra and Sudeep Tyagi.
Australia benched Doug Bollinger, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus and Shaun Marsh.
People in Sports | Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant: He's just 21, but the Oklahoma City Thunder star sounds like a grizzled veteran when he notes that for all the potential his team has with himself, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden — all among the top five picks in the past three NBA drafts — there also comes peril.
"You're going to have highs and lows, especially with us growing as a team, us being young," he said. "But we've got to make up for that with working hard and playing hard in games. I think that'll limit that. It starts with me being a leader."
Durant averaged 25.3 points — sixth in the NBA in 2008-09 — but the Thunder led the league in turnovers.
The glimmer of hope comes from the end of last season, when the Thunder — in its first campaign since moving from Seattle — finished 20-30 after a horrid 3-29 start.
"You're going to have highs and lows, especially with us growing as a team, us being young," he said. "But we've got to make up for that with working hard and playing hard in games. I think that'll limit that. It starts with me being a leader."
Durant averaged 25.3 points — sixth in the NBA in 2008-09 — but the Thunder led the league in turnovers.
The glimmer of hope comes from the end of last season, when the Thunder — in its first campaign since moving from Seattle — finished 20-30 after a horrid 3-29 start.
College Football Sunday: TCU ready for the big time
After TCU’s dismantling of BYU it will be interesting to see where the Horned Frogs will be in the discussion for the BCS.
Personally, I think the Horned Frogs are one of the best teams in the nation. And before everybody starts sending emails telling me how the Mountain West doesn’t play anybody does anymore remember the beat down that Utah put on Alabama, from the all-mighty SEC, last year in the Sugar Bowl.
TCU can play with anyone in the country. They beat Clemson in Clemson earlier this year and they should run through the Mountain West. Their only tough game left on the schedule is Utah – but Utah isn’t the same team they were a year ago.
If TCU runs the table, and other teams have a loss, then they should play for the National Championship.
The Horned Frogs could give Florida or Alabama from the all-mighty SEC a run for its money.
The SEC prides itself on being the class of the college football world. If that’s the case why is their non-conference schedule full of Division 1-AA teams?
Alabama didn’t look so hot against Utah last year.
But, maybe, that’s the perception the SEC wants. Our conference is so tough that we have to play cupcakes in the beginning of the year.
How about next year Florida, Mississippi and a few others schedule some games that matter in September. Schedule a TCU, BYU or Boise State so we can really see how good you are.
More west talk: It might be Mountain West day here at College Football Sunday. We talked about Utah not being as good as last year, but they are still winning.
The four best teams in the Mountain West are TCU, BYU, Utah and Air Force.
Air Force is a tough team to play, just ask TCU and Utah, because of the dreaded triple option attack. Their triple option is a little different just because they are able to throw the ball more.
Army and Navy run 90 percent of the time out of the option, just ask Wake Forest as Navy ran the ball 64 times and didn’t attempt a pass, where the Falcons are more diverse.
The Falcons gave Utah fits and should have won that game. They also gave TCU fits and made the Horned Frogs battle till the end for that win.
Tide rolling along: Is Alabama the best team in the country?
They didn’t look like it on Saturday against Tennessee. The Tide looked a little sluggish in their win, but they won. I am not sold on Alabama being the best team in the country.
Right now I don’t know who is as Florida has looked sluggish in their last two wins. I think you could see one of these two teams lose a game before the SEC championship game.
If Georgia can right the ship on defense, then next week’s game against Florida could be a little interesting.
Metro’s top 5
Florida
Alabama
Texas
TCU
Cincinnati
Metro’s leading Heisman
Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame)
Tim Tebow (Florida)
Colt McCoy (Texas)
Personally, I think the Horned Frogs are one of the best teams in the nation. And before everybody starts sending emails telling me how the Mountain West doesn’t play anybody does anymore remember the beat down that Utah put on Alabama, from the all-mighty SEC, last year in the Sugar Bowl.
TCU can play with anyone in the country. They beat Clemson in Clemson earlier this year and they should run through the Mountain West. Their only tough game left on the schedule is Utah – but Utah isn’t the same team they were a year ago.
If TCU runs the table, and other teams have a loss, then they should play for the National Championship.
The Horned Frogs could give Florida or Alabama from the all-mighty SEC a run for its money.
The SEC prides itself on being the class of the college football world. If that’s the case why is their non-conference schedule full of Division 1-AA teams?
Alabama didn’t look so hot against Utah last year.
But, maybe, that’s the perception the SEC wants. Our conference is so tough that we have to play cupcakes in the beginning of the year.
How about next year Florida, Mississippi and a few others schedule some games that matter in September. Schedule a TCU, BYU or Boise State so we can really see how good you are.
More west talk: It might be Mountain West day here at College Football Sunday. We talked about Utah not being as good as last year, but they are still winning.
The four best teams in the Mountain West are TCU, BYU, Utah and Air Force.
Air Force is a tough team to play, just ask TCU and Utah, because of the dreaded triple option attack. Their triple option is a little different just because they are able to throw the ball more.
Army and Navy run 90 percent of the time out of the option, just ask Wake Forest as Navy ran the ball 64 times and didn’t attempt a pass, where the Falcons are more diverse.
The Falcons gave Utah fits and should have won that game. They also gave TCU fits and made the Horned Frogs battle till the end for that win.
Tide rolling along: Is Alabama the best team in the country?
They didn’t look like it on Saturday against Tennessee. The Tide looked a little sluggish in their win, but they won. I am not sold on Alabama being the best team in the country.
Right now I don’t know who is as Florida has looked sluggish in their last two wins. I think you could see one of these two teams lose a game before the SEC championship game.
If Georgia can right the ship on defense, then next week’s game against Florida could be a little interesting.
Metro’s top 5
Florida
Alabama
Texas
TCU
Cincinnati
Metro’s leading Heisman
Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame)
Tim Tebow (Florida)
Colt McCoy (Texas)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Bangalore beat Delhi by 8 wickets, both sides out of CL T20
Bangalore Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils crashed out of the Champions League Twenty20 after the formers' eight-wicket victory over their Indian Premier League opponents here.
In a dramatic League B Super Eight match played last night at the packed Chainnaswamy Stadium, Ross Taylor smashed a blistering 65 off just 38 balls to help Bangalore surpass the target of 139 with nearly five overs to spare.
Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Anil Kumble led from the front by grabbing three wickets to restrict Delhi Daredevils to a modest 138 for six.
Bangalore were only playing for pride as they were already out of contention for a semifinal berth after Cape Cobras' victory over Victoria Bushrangers in another League B match yesterday.
The eventful day saw the first match being delayed by one hour and 40 minutes and reduced it to 17-over-a-side affair due to bomb scare.
The result of the second match between the two Indian Premier League sides meant none of them will play in the semifinals of the USD six-million tournament.
South African side Cape Cobras and Australia's Victoria Bushrangers made it to the semifinals from League B as both have collected four points each.
Delhi's last match at home against Cape Cobras tomorrow thus will be rendered inconsequential. Bangalore made a subdued start not wanting to take risk against Delhi opening bowlers Aashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes, who bowled consistently above 150 km per hour.
They also suffered a jolt in the second over as Manish Pandey retired hurt after a desperate lunge forward to reach the crease.
But, New Zealander Ross Taylor was in a punishing mood. He showed his intentions clear by hitting three fours off Glenn McGrath in the fifth over.
The actual run riot, however, began from towards the midway mark as he hit boundaries almost at will before he was out off Nannes for 65 in the 14th over. He hit six fours and our sixes in his 38-ball stay at the crease.
Taylor was though given life twice when he was on 18 and 32 -- the first by Nehra and then by Rajat Bhatia off his own bowling and Delhi had to pay a price for their mistakes.
The Kiwi hit two consecutive sixes off Amit Mishra in the 12th over and raised his 50 from just 29 balls from one such hit over the rope.
Bangalore were 68 for one after the 10th over but the run riot by Taylor and later by Dravid, who made unbeaten 32 off 26 balls (3X4; 1X6) and Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten 24 from 10 balls included five fours, ensured that Bangalore reach 139 in 15.1 overs.
Dravid ended the match in style hitting Nehra for a six.
For Delhi, Nannes took two wickets for 19 from his four overs. Amit Mishra was the most expensive, conceding 59 runs without wicket from his four overs.Earlier, Kumble, who celebrated his 39th birthday yesterday, was instrumental in puttingbrakes on Delhi Daredevils who were on to a rollicking start after he put the opposition in after winning the toss.
For Delhi, Virender Sehwag top-scored with an explosive 47 which he made from 29 balls with the help of four fours and
a six. Dilshan contributed 20.
Delhi openers Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were intent to make Kumble pay for his decision by hitting a torrent of boundaries in the innings' initial overs.
The Delhi duo struck seven fours in the first five overs to take the score to 47 for no loss with Sehwag, who hit three consecutive boundaries off Praveen Kumar, contributing 31.
Sehwag struck two more fours off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fourth over but lost his opening partner Gambhir two overs later, edging a Dale Steyn delivery to Mark Boucher for 11.
Delhi lost way after the midway mark and once Sehwag was out in the 10th over, they failed to put up any worthwhile partnership.
Sehwag was going strong when he was out, holing out to Manish Pandey off Roelof van der Merwe at 77 for two.
Two wickets fell quickly, both claimed by birthday boy Kumble, which reduced Delhi to 91 for four in the 13th over.
Kumble introduced himself in 11th over and on his third ball dismissed Dinesh Karthik (2). Two overs later, he caught Dilshan off his own bowling to reduce Delhi to 91 for 4.
Owais Shah (17) and Manoj Tiwary (11) failed to contribute much.
In a dramatic League B Super Eight match played last night at the packed Chainnaswamy Stadium, Ross Taylor smashed a blistering 65 off just 38 balls to help Bangalore surpass the target of 139 with nearly five overs to spare.
Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Anil Kumble led from the front by grabbing three wickets to restrict Delhi Daredevils to a modest 138 for six.
Bangalore were only playing for pride as they were already out of contention for a semifinal berth after Cape Cobras' victory over Victoria Bushrangers in another League B match yesterday.
The eventful day saw the first match being delayed by one hour and 40 minutes and reduced it to 17-over-a-side affair due to bomb scare.
The result of the second match between the two Indian Premier League sides meant none of them will play in the semifinals of the USD six-million tournament.
South African side Cape Cobras and Australia's Victoria Bushrangers made it to the semifinals from League B as both have collected four points each.
Delhi's last match at home against Cape Cobras tomorrow thus will be rendered inconsequential. Bangalore made a subdued start not wanting to take risk against Delhi opening bowlers Aashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes, who bowled consistently above 150 km per hour.
They also suffered a jolt in the second over as Manish Pandey retired hurt after a desperate lunge forward to reach the crease.
But, New Zealander Ross Taylor was in a punishing mood. He showed his intentions clear by hitting three fours off Glenn McGrath in the fifth over.
The actual run riot, however, began from towards the midway mark as he hit boundaries almost at will before he was out off Nannes for 65 in the 14th over. He hit six fours and our sixes in his 38-ball stay at the crease.
Taylor was though given life twice when he was on 18 and 32 -- the first by Nehra and then by Rajat Bhatia off his own bowling and Delhi had to pay a price for their mistakes.
The Kiwi hit two consecutive sixes off Amit Mishra in the 12th over and raised his 50 from just 29 balls from one such hit over the rope.
Bangalore were 68 for one after the 10th over but the run riot by Taylor and later by Dravid, who made unbeaten 32 off 26 balls (3X4; 1X6) and Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten 24 from 10 balls included five fours, ensured that Bangalore reach 139 in 15.1 overs.
Dravid ended the match in style hitting Nehra for a six.
For Delhi, Nannes took two wickets for 19 from his four overs. Amit Mishra was the most expensive, conceding 59 runs without wicket from his four overs.Earlier, Kumble, who celebrated his 39th birthday yesterday, was instrumental in puttingbrakes on Delhi Daredevils who were on to a rollicking start after he put the opposition in after winning the toss.
For Delhi, Virender Sehwag top-scored with an explosive 47 which he made from 29 balls with the help of four fours and
a six. Dilshan contributed 20.
Delhi openers Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were intent to make Kumble pay for his decision by hitting a torrent of boundaries in the innings' initial overs.
The Delhi duo struck seven fours in the first five overs to take the score to 47 for no loss with Sehwag, who hit three consecutive boundaries off Praveen Kumar, contributing 31.
Sehwag struck two more fours off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fourth over but lost his opening partner Gambhir two overs later, edging a Dale Steyn delivery to Mark Boucher for 11.
Delhi lost way after the midway mark and once Sehwag was out in the 10th over, they failed to put up any worthwhile partnership.
Sehwag was going strong when he was out, holing out to Manish Pandey off Roelof van der Merwe at 77 for two.
Two wickets fell quickly, both claimed by birthday boy Kumble, which reduced Delhi to 91 for four in the 13th over.
Kumble introduced himself in 11th over and on his third ball dismissed Dinesh Karthik (2). Two overs later, he caught Dilshan off his own bowling to reduce Delhi to 91 for 4.
Owais Shah (17) and Manoj Tiwary (11) failed to contribute much.
Footballers kick off World Cup anti-malaria fight
Footballers are teaming up with governments, companies and international health campaigners to push for action against malaria ahead of next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.
The 'United Against Malaria' campaign, which will start next month and run until the end of the World Cup, has won the backing of singer Bono, actress Ashley Judd and philanthropist Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill.
Players such as US captain Landon Donovan and the Ivory Coast team have already said they are behind the campaign, while other prominent footballers backing the movement will be revealed when the campaign is officially launched.
Malaria, which spreads through the bites from infected mosquitoes, kills nearly one million people a year, almost all in Africa where a child dies from the disease every 30 seconds.
The United Nations is trying to get universal access to diagnostic tests, mosquito nets and malaria medicine as part of its bid to cut the number of deaths to zero by 2015.
"Malaria is a disease that you have at household level. You use football to bring messages on prevention measures or how to treat people," Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, told Reuters on Saturday.
"This will reach them as they will watch everything on football and if messages are linked to that it will be a very important vehicle for information for us," she said on the sidelines of FIFA's medical conference in Zurich.
The Roll Back Malaria Partnership comprises UN agencies, the World Bank, leading drug makers and aid experts.
Coll-Seck, who was in Zurich to present the campaign to representatives of countries from across the world, said that through football it was possible to gather more support from people in developed countries who could act as donors.
Malaria affects 247 million people each year, with 86% of cases in Africa.
Coll-Seck said there was a slight risk players could get malaria when they are in South Africa next summer but this could be reduced by informing people about the disease.
"It's not a part of Africa that has too many cases, but it can happen and people need to be careful," she said.
"We will make it clear why malaria matters. If you look at malaria, at least 40 percent of the world's population is at risk of this disease," Coll-Seck said.
"At the same time, it's a disease which affects particularly children and pregnant women and they are the vulnerable ones in our society. Malaria also has an impact on the economies of countries, on the education of people, on poverty," she said.
"It is also a disease that people can defeat because its treatable and preventable and if you have all this why not use all means, including football, to fight this disease," she said.
FIFA has recently introduced 'The 11 for Health' programme to teach the youth of Africa about the main diseases affecting the continent within the parameters of football and one of its messages includes using treated bed nets.
The 'United Against Malaria' campaign, which will start next month and run until the end of the World Cup, has won the backing of singer Bono, actress Ashley Judd and philanthropist Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill.
Players such as US captain Landon Donovan and the Ivory Coast team have already said they are behind the campaign, while other prominent footballers backing the movement will be revealed when the campaign is officially launched.
Malaria, which spreads through the bites from infected mosquitoes, kills nearly one million people a year, almost all in Africa where a child dies from the disease every 30 seconds.
The United Nations is trying to get universal access to diagnostic tests, mosquito nets and malaria medicine as part of its bid to cut the number of deaths to zero by 2015.
"Malaria is a disease that you have at household level. You use football to bring messages on prevention measures or how to treat people," Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, told Reuters on Saturday.
"This will reach them as they will watch everything on football and if messages are linked to that it will be a very important vehicle for information for us," she said on the sidelines of FIFA's medical conference in Zurich.
The Roll Back Malaria Partnership comprises UN agencies, the World Bank, leading drug makers and aid experts.
Coll-Seck, who was in Zurich to present the campaign to representatives of countries from across the world, said that through football it was possible to gather more support from people in developed countries who could act as donors.
Malaria affects 247 million people each year, with 86% of cases in Africa.
Coll-Seck said there was a slight risk players could get malaria when they are in South Africa next summer but this could be reduced by informing people about the disease.
"It's not a part of Africa that has too many cases, but it can happen and people need to be careful," she said.
"We will make it clear why malaria matters. If you look at malaria, at least 40 percent of the world's population is at risk of this disease," Coll-Seck said.
"At the same time, it's a disease which affects particularly children and pregnant women and they are the vulnerable ones in our society. Malaria also has an impact on the economies of countries, on the education of people, on poverty," she said.
"It is also a disease that people can defeat because its treatable and preventable and if you have all this why not use all means, including football, to fight this disease," she said.
FIFA has recently introduced 'The 11 for Health' programme to teach the youth of Africa about the main diseases affecting the continent within the parameters of football and one of its messages includes using treated bed nets.
Fergie asks Ferdinand to raise his game or forget World Cup
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has asked Rio Ferdinand to raise his game or else his World Cup dream could die. The Manchester United defender is having a miserable season and was badly at fault in England's 1-0 defeat in Ukraine a week ago.
"He has to get good form. That's an important issue for the coach to pick the right team. In defence you've maybe got more options than other positions. He will need to get his form right," The Sun quoted Ferguson, as saying. Ferdinand has dropped clangers in two matches for Fabio Capello's England.
"I'm sure he's taken the criticism on board. Do I think he'll go to the World Cup? Yes, of course," Ferguson said. Ferdinand, who has suffered a string of injuries during recent months, had admitted that he is sweating over whether he will make it to the World Cup Finals.
Ferdinand knows boss Fabio Capello will show no mercy when he selects the 23 players to play in the World Cup next summer. He has played in only 18 of the last 40 games for United and England since March and featured in only two internationals in the last year.
"I'd be foolish to think no one would ask me the question about injuries. For the last 12 months, every now and again I've had to miss games through injuries. There hadn't been a period before that, so it's going to stand out," Ferdinand said.
"He has to get good form. That's an important issue for the coach to pick the right team. In defence you've maybe got more options than other positions. He will need to get his form right," The Sun quoted Ferguson, as saying. Ferdinand has dropped clangers in two matches for Fabio Capello's England.
"I'm sure he's taken the criticism on board. Do I think he'll go to the World Cup? Yes, of course," Ferguson said. Ferdinand, who has suffered a string of injuries during recent months, had admitted that he is sweating over whether he will make it to the World Cup Finals.
Ferdinand knows boss Fabio Capello will show no mercy when he selects the 23 players to play in the World Cup next summer. He has played in only 18 of the last 40 games for United and England since March and featured in only two internationals in the last year.
"I'd be foolish to think no one would ask me the question about injuries. For the last 12 months, every now and again I've had to miss games through injuries. There hadn't been a period before that, so it's going to stand out," Ferdinand said.
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