Butt out for 10 years, Asif 7 and Amir 5

6.00pm Salman Butt gets ten years of ineligibility, five years of suspended sentence. Mohammad Asif gets a sanction of 7 years, two years of which are suspended. Mohammad Amir gets a sanction of five years' ineligibility.

5.45pm A breakthrough at last. We've just been informed by the ICC that the tribunal will be making an announcement in 15 minutes.

3.00pm The wait goes on. Over five hours since the start of the hearing and no word still about what has been happening on the 12th floor of the Qatar Financial Centre, where the hearing is taking place.

That could indicate that any possible appeal from the players to have a verdict delayed more, in light of the CPS development yesterday, has equally possibly been rejected; and that deliberations are still ongoing about the verdict and, potentially, sanctions and their severity: as the players have the right to argue against heavy sanctions, so the ICC has the right to argue against lighter ones.

All of which means that the large media contingent, hanging around one floor below in the same building, has had very little to do but sit and speculate about what may, or may not, be happening upstairs: verdict adjourned, verdict today, no verdict at all, who knows? The BBC is here, Sky TV, the Daily Telegraph, Geo TV, news agency reporters and Al-Jazeera, which seems to have found enough staff not in Cairo currently, to send here.

Also here is the sports editor of the News of the World, the newspaper that broke the story after an undercover sting operation by its investigative reporter Mazher Mahmood. It is expected that they will make an official statement after the verdict has been made public.

At least three journalists have fallen asleep now in the room where the tribunal verdict is expected to be announced. That can only mean there is still no news from the 12th floor and you have to start wondering about what that means for what we should expect at the end of it.

It feels like an airport departure lounge with no expected time of departure.

Very little about the day so far, in conclusion, feels like what should be one of the most significant days in the history of the game. There was, in any case, a sense of deflation after the CPS announcement yesterday for that goes beyond just cricket and cricketers.

12.48pm As we wait for further developments, it is worth pondering over one issue that has dogged the spot-fixing scandal from the very start: how to proceed in a case where alleged breaches of a sporting code - the ICC's anti-corruption code in this case - may involve breaches of a country's law, in this case UK criminal law.

Shahid Afridi named World Cup captain

Shahid Afridi has been named captain of Pakistan's World Cup squad, a decision that ends weeks of uncertainty over who will lead the side in the global tournament starting later this month.

Pakistan were the only side of the 14 participating teams not to have named their captain when the World Cup squads were announced in January, fuelling debate over whether Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, could take over from limited-overs leader Afridi. Misbah was named vice-captain of the World Cup squad.

Afridi has been Pakistan's ODI captain over the last year but, just before the ongoing New Zealand tour, a number of key players and team management officials raised concerns with the board over his captaincy. The development placed the board in a quandary, caught between players and the captain, ultimately compelling them to delay the announcement of a leader.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt travelled earlier this week to New Zealand, where the team has just recorded its first one-day series win in more than two years, to hold discussions with Afridi, senior players and management officials over who should lead the side.

"I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice captain," Butt said, "and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions."

Pakistan play the final match of their six-ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday in Auckland.

ICC World Cup in Hyderabad

A Hyderabad-based factory has manufactured inflatable replicas of the World Cup to be placed at each of the 13 venues

Johnson says Australia the team to beat

Perth, (AFP): After embarrassment at the Ashes, Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson says the defending champions are still the side to beat at the upcoming World Cup.
Australia's horrific 3-1 belting in the Ashes series has given way to a dominant performance in the seven-match one-day international series against England, with the home side leading 5-1 against the tiring tourists.
The final match is being played at the WACA Ground in Perth on Sunday, and the hosts have decided to rest captain Michael Clarke, coming off his best batting form in two months, and star all-rounder Shane Watson.
The pair have been replaced by local batsman Adam Voges and forgotten spinner Jason Krejza. It is Australia's last match before their World Cup defence, in which they will be aiming at a fourth straight title, and their preparation hasn't gone smoothly despite the one-sided ODI series scoreline.
The final make-up of Australia's 15-man World Cup squad remains shrouded in mystery, with squad members Ricky Ponting (finger), Mike Hussey (hamstring) and Nathan Hauritz (shoulder) all battling serious injuries.
Reserves Shaun Marsh (hamstring) and Xavier Doherty (back) are also unfit, but Johnson said confidence in the camp was rising all the time. "It is a bit of a different side, but there are a lot of guys there who have played one-day cricket for Australia," Johnson said.
"The guys coming in like Voges and Krejza have done well for their states as well. "I think we've still got a well-balanced one-day side going into this last game, and we are taking a lot of confidence into it and then onto the World Cup. We are still the number one One-day side in the world so hopefully we win this series 6-1."
Australia enter the World Cup as the number one ranked side in one-day cricket, but if they need any proof that pre-tournament form doesn't count for much they only need look back to their 2007 campaign.
They lost their last five ODIs before the World Cup in the West Indies, but then went through the tournament unbeaten. They have won their last 23 World Cup matches, their only blemish in their last 29 games the famous tie with South Africa in the semi-final at Headingley in 1999, which still enabled the Australians to advance to the final.

Sehwag 'fit' for World Cup

New Delhi, (AFP): Key Indian opener Virender Sehwag is fully fit and raring to go, local media reported on Friday, boosting the country's chances of glory at the World Cup.
Sehwag, 32, was ruled out of India's recent one-day series against South Africa due to a shoulder injury, raising doubts over his fitness ahead of the tournament, which starts on February 19.
"I was feeling some pain in my shoulder," Sehwag said. "So (I thought it was) better to quit the South Africa One-dayers. I didn't want to get injured during the South Africa tour and miss the World Cup. So I came back and went to Germany to see a couple of doctors. I got a couple of injections and now I'm fine."
"I am going to the National Cricket Academy (in Bangalore) and will spend a couple of days there to check everything - if I can bowl and throw also but if I can't, then I'll let them know. But at the moment I'm fully fit."
Sehwag, with 7,380 runs from 228 one-day internationals, is seen as key to India's batting fortunes at the showpiece event, being co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The aggressive right-hander said the team were upbeat about their opening tie against Bangladesh in Dhaka. India lost to the minnows in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, a defeat that eventually led to their early exit from the tournament.
"Because we're playing the opening game against them in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi people are expecting them to beat us again," Sehwag said. "But this time we have prepared well.
"You can say it is a revenge game for us and we won't take the game lightly. We will give our best shot and we will come hard on Bangladesh."
India, World Cup champions in 1983 in England, have been placed in Pool B alongside South Africa, England, Bangladesh, West Indies, Netherlands and Ireland.

மீனவரைக் காக்க இணையப் பிரச்சார இயக்கத்தில் அனைவரும் பங்கேற்க வேண்டும்-சீமான்.

நாம் தமிழர் கட்சித்தலைவர் செந்தமிழன் சீமான் விடுத்துள்ள அறிக்கையில் கூறி இருப்பதாவது.

சமீபத்தில் நடந்த துனிசியா புரட்சியை நாம் பத்திரிக்கைகளில் படித்து ட்விட்டர் என்ற இணையதளம் மூலமாகவே மக்கள் புரட்சிக்கு வித்திட்டிருக்கிறார்கள், இணையம் என்பது வெறும் பொழுதுபோக்கிற்கான இடம் இல்லை என்பதை அறிந்து மெய் சிலிர்த்தோம்.அம்மக்களைப் போன்று நம் தமிழ் இளைஞர்களும் ஆர்வலர்களும் சேர்ந்து சிங்களக் கடற்படையினரால் தமிழக மீனவர்கள் தொடர்ச்சியாகக் கொல்லப்படும் துயர நிகழ்வுகளுக்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்க உரிய நடவடிக்கைகளை மத்திய, மாநில அரசுகள் மேற்கொள்ள வலியுறுத்தி, இணையத்தில் பிரசாரத் தளம் ஒன்றை நிறுவியுள்ளதை அறிந்து இணையம் பார்த்து அகமகிழ்ந்தேன்.மறத் தமிழன் முத்துக்குமார் நினைவுநாளில் அந்த மகத்தான மனிதனின் தியாகத்திற்கு உண்மையான அஞ்சலி இதுவாகத்தான் இருக்கும் என்று எண்ணுகிறேன்.

உலகெங்கும் வாழும் எம் தாய்த்தமிழ் இளைஞர்கள் மிகுந்த இனப்பற்றோடும் அரசியல் மாற்றத்திற்கான தேவையை அறிந்தவர்களாகவும், அடுத்து என்ன செய்யவேண்டும் என்பதற்கான விழிப்போடும் இருக்கிறார்கள்.மத்தியிலும் மாநிலத்திலும் ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்தில் இருக்கும் தி.மு.க.,காங்கிரஸ் அரசுகளின் கையாலாகத்தனத்தாலும் எதிரிகளின் இன அழிப்பிற்கு உதவி புரிவதன் மூலமும் எங்கள் தமிழ் இளைஞர்கள் அதற்கு எதிராய் களத்தில் இறங்கத் தள்ளபட்டிருக்கிரார்கள். இணையத்தை பிரசார ஆயுதமாக்கி உலகிற்கு நம் மீனவர்களின் பிரச்சனையை எடுத்து செல்ல முனைந்திருக்கும் தமிழ்த் தம்பிகளுக்கு என் நெஞ்சார்ந்த நன்றியையும் வாழ்த்தையும் தெரிவித்துகொள்கிறேன்.இதுவரை பங்கு பெறாதவர்கள் உடனடியாக ட்விட்டர் இணையத்தில் #tnfisherman என்பதை இணைத்து நம் மீனவ சொந்தங்களின் துயரத்தை உலகிற்கு எடுத்துக் காட்டுமாறு உரிமையுடன் கேட்டுகொள்கிறேன். ஈகி முத்துக்குமார் நினைவுநாளில் நாம் தமிழராய் ஒன்றிணைத்து என்றும் மீனவர் நலனுக்காகவும் தமிழர் மேன்மைக்காகவும் எந்த சமரசமும் இல்லாது பாடுபடுவோம் என்று உறுதியெடுப்போம்.