COLOMBO: As a player, Waqar Younis had nothing but bad memories of the World Cup. Now as a coach, he has the challenge of turning around Pakistan's talented yet unpredictable team. “Well, it's true that the World Cup hasn't been too kind to me, but that is motivation and challenge enough to fight on and take another chance as coach of a talented team which can win the tournament,” Waqar said. Waqar, now 39, was regarded as one of the most potent fast bowlers in his prime, producing wicket-taking deliveries on any surface, the most notable being his toe-crushing yorker. Waqar was considered Pakistan's main weapon in the 1992 World Cup in Australia, but a week before the event started he had to return home in tears without playing a match due to injury. “It was a nightmare to return with an injury,” remembers Waqar. By 1996, Waqar had matured into a world class bowler, but his World Cup jinx continued. Pakistan, again title favorites in the event jointly hosted by them, India and Sri Lanka, crashed out in the quarterfinals. By 1999, he and Wasim Akram developed some serious differences. Akram preferred express paceman Shoaib Akhtar over Waqar, who managed to play just one match in the event held in England – that too in an embarrassing defeat to minnows Bangladesh. “It was unfortunate that we couldn't manage to win any of these World Cups because we had the best teams from 1996-2003,” said Waqar, who retired in 2004 after claiming 373 Test and 416 one-day wickets. This time around, Waqar is very confident the World Cup jinx will be broken. Bank severs links with trio Pakistan's largest bank said Monday it had decided not to renew the contracts of three leading cricketers banned on corruption charges. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were on the National Bank payroll for playing on the institution's cricket team in domestic tournaments. “The contracts of the three players expired on December 31, 2010 and the bank has decided not to renew the contracts,” National Bank's sports department head Iqbal Qasim said. All-out war on mosquitoes Bangladesh has launched an all-out war on mosquitoes in and around cricket stadiums to ensure a bite-free World Cup for spectators and players, an official said Monday. The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has deployed spray teams to wipe out mosquitoes at the city's two stadiums, which will host the opening ceremony and six World Cup matches, health chief Brigadier General Nasir Uddin said. “We have taken special measures to kill mosquitoes in the stadiums and for three kilometers around them,” he said. Australia not to complain Australia ruled out lodging a complaint against hot-headed Indian paceman S. Sreesanth, whose abrasive brand of cricket has the unstinted support of his coach. The highly irritable right-arm bowler had a heated exchange with Australian skipper Ricky Ponting during Sunday's World Cup warm-up match in Bangalore which India won by 38 runs. After a caught behind appeal had been turned down against Ponting, Sreesanth was seen giving the Australian a piece of his mind before gesturing with his thumb and forefinger that formed an ‘L' which, many believe, implied ‘Loser'. Australia, however, ruled out lodging an official complaint. “Absolutely not,” an Australian team spokesman said when asked if matters would be taken any further against the Indian. Kolkata, Mumbai cleared Kolkata and Mumbai grounds have been given the final clearance to stage Cricket World Cup matches after concerns about their readiness, the head of the governing body siad Monday. “Those venues have all been squared off, they're ready,” International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a telephone interview ahead of the Feb 19
