ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Quarter Final Teams Clashes

ICC Cricket World Cup Quarter final(s)/knockout  Schedule and Team vs Team Estimations or Clashes. Which team face which team in upcoming Quarter final Matches

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the match officials that will take charge of the quarter-finals of the Cricket World Cup.

The quarter-final line-up sees Pakistan take on the West Indies, India host Australia, South Africa play New Zealand and Sri Lanka welcoming England to Colombo.

Billy Bowden and Steve Davis will take charge of the first match between Pakistan and the West Indies in Dhaka while Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould will umpire the clash between India and Australia in Ahmedabad.

The third match between South Africa and New Zealand will be overseen by Aleem Dar and Rod Tucker before the game involving England and Sri Lanka sees Billy Doctrove and Simon Taufel standing.

World Cup quarter-final Umpires

23rd March: Pakistan v West Indies, Dhaka: Chris Broad (match referee), Billy Bowden and Steve Davis (both on-field), Daryl Harper (third umpire), Bruce Oxenford (fourth umpire)

24th March: India v Australia, Ahmedabad: Ranjan Madugalle (match referee), Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould (both on-field), Richard Kettleborough (third umpire), Asad Rauf (fourth umpire)

25th March: Roshan Mahanama (match referee), Aleem Dar and Rod Tucker (both on-field), Kumar Dharmasena (third umpire), Nigel Llong (fourth umpire)

26th March: Jeff Crowe (match referee), Billy Doctrove and Simon Taufel (both on-field), Tony Hill (third umpire), Shavir Tarapore

Festival of Motorsport

A parade of Porsches and thundering V8-powered Formula 5000s headline the Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport this weekend.

A Porsche 962 that won Le Mans, as well as the outrageous 911-based 'Moby Dick' sports car, have been freed from the Porsche museum in Germany for hot laps at Australia's biggest historic race meeting.  On the Formula 5000 front, a huge international field with drivers from Europe, the USA, New Zealand and Australia will compete at a track where the single seaters are able to stretch their legs to more than 280km/h. More than 500 cars are entered at Phillip Island in a range of races for everything from pre-war classics through to relatively modern sports and sedan cars.

There are capacity grids for both the historic touring cars and production sports cars. Off the track, there a special displays to celebrate a range of anniversaries - the 60th year of Porsche in Australia, the 50th birthday of the Jaguar E-Type, and the 40th anniversary of the Falcon XY GT and the 1971 Bathurst 500 victory by the famous GTHO.

The best racing is likely to be in the Formula 5000 contests and the races for big-banger sports cars, where four Le Mans Porsches, six V8-  powered Lolas, a Ford GT4 and a Sauber-Mercedes C9 will be battling for first place. Practice and qualifying at Phillip Island starts today (SUBS: Friday) with races tomorrow and Sunday.

2011 Geneva Auto Show

GENEVA -- The air at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show was ... ahem ... electric (with concept cars, that is). From the bottom of the spectrum with the new Toyota Yaris hybrid, all the way to the top with the purely electric Rolls-Royce Phantom-based 102EX, not since the 1881 Exhibition of Electricity in Paris, which congregated electric technologists from all over the world, has so much wattage been on display.

And yet, it wasn't just the electrically powered machines that had the crowd buzzing. Alternative fuels and unconventional propulsion systems have apparently taken deep root in the world's automotive labs. A four-wheel-drive Ferrari? Did you think you'd live to see the day? And who could have imagined a BMW that talks to inanimate objects?

The mood in Geneva was also decidedly upbeat, an indication that the auto industry has rebounded from the global economic downturn. At least the major players are showing signs of health, judging from the money they've been spending on R&D. Pardon the pun, but if Geneva's grab bag of tangible alternative-fuel, plug-in electric, and hybrid machinery indicates industry mood, the levity is almost shocking.

2011 Jeep Compass

I hadn't driven a Jeep Compass in a couple of years, and back then I wasn't impressed -- it looked goofy and was loud inside, plus it had interior plastics and a continuously variable transmission that left much to be desired. What's more, it was a Jeep with no serious off-road credentials.

Now, though, after a day spent driving a new 2011 Compass with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and the optional Freedom Drive II Off-Road Group, I'm pleased to report that the bulk of these issues have been addressed.

In styling, the new 2011 Compass represents a huge improvement, now looking much like the Grand Cherokee's little brother; in fact, the quad-reflector headlights are the same parts in both vehicles. A new hood, front fenders and front fascia, plus a seven-slot Jeep grille, give the compact five-seat 2011 Compass a more serious and refined look, and black lower body cladding does its part to make the vehicle look not nearly as tall as its predecessor.

And it drives like a different vehicle as well. On the icy and snowy roads near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the 2011 Jeep Compass impressed. It's very quiet inside, thanks to added sound-absorption materials in the rear wheel wells, the rear quarter panels and the C-pillars. The 172-hp four-cylinder engine is hard to hear at idle, making its presence known only during acceleration and passing maneuvers, where the mileage-enhancing CVT still exhibits a motorboat sensation in which engine rpm is seemingly unrelated to vehicle speed. On a positive note, the tuning of the Compass suspension (struts in front, multilink in back) is excellent, a bit firmer than before for added nimbleness and generally better control of ride motions, aided in part by a larger rear anti-roll bar.

Improvements continue inside, where high-quality soft-touch materials abound, and a stout new corporate steering wheel shared by other Jeeps gives the Compass a substantial feel. In addition to standard cruise control on all models, the interior features standard side-curtain airbags as well as back-lit switches for the door locks, windows and power mirror controls.

Perhaps most important, the Compass I drove was fitted with the new Freedom Drive II Off-Road Package, a $1,600 option that features a full-time active 4WD system with a special CVT2L that offers 19:1 low-range gearing. Also included as part of the package are a 1-inch-higher ride height, a new front fascia that allows for a 29.6-degree approach angle (stock is 20), skidplates, tow hooks, fog lamps, a full-size spare tire, a manual seat-height adjuster and 17-inch aluminum wheels shod with all-terrain tires.

Alfa Romeo Pandion concept

The last three years have been tough for Bertone. After stunning the automotive world with exceptional concepts for decades, the Italian design think tank struggled and fell on hard times, largely due to missed orders. Ermelinda “Lilli” Bertone, the widow of former CEO Nuccio Bertone, was forced to sell the production plant in Grugliasco to Fiat, although she kept the design and R&D facilities in Caprie (which led to an unpleasant fight with her two daugthers). But, the result of her perseverance could finally be seen at the Geneva Auto Show—a fully functional design study called the Alfa Romeo Pandion.

The Alfa Romeo Pandion is a 2+2 sports coupe, and like the eagle it is named after, this concept car folds up its scissor doors like wings. How high? Try 12 ft. Why? “Glamour,” stated Bertone design director, Mike Robinson. The 53-year-old U.S.-born Robinson, who previously worked for Fiat, just stepped into his new position last autumn. He motivated his young and talented team to create a true Bertone concept for Alfa Romeo in less than five months. And not only does this concept look fabulous, but it also incorporates some remarkable details.

The Pandion’s mission is to shift Alfa Romeo into the future as the brand celebrates its 100th birthday this summer. For as beautiful (and dynamically superb) as the Alfa 8C sports car might be, stylistically it’s old fashioned, as it refers back to the Giulietta Sprint that Bertone once produced. With the Pandion, the typical Alfa face gets an LED shape of the future. The rear, on the other hand, which is made up of hundreds of blades, is for show only.

Styling is one thing, new technologies another. While the Pandion uses a shortened Maserati GT chassis and its 444-bhp V-8 drivetrain as its backbone, many of the body parts are made out of carbon-fiber. With the Pandion’s claimed curb weight of less than 2645 lb., it’s easy to imagine the performance improvement, along with fuel mileage and emissions.

The Pandion’s cabin is spacious, with ultra-thin bucket seats and no dashboard—all controls are arranged around the long steering column, while only the infotainment touch screen is placed between driver and passenger.

Will the Pandion become a reality like the Alfa Romeo Montreal, which transformed from study to production car? Robinson uses a metaphor: “One can lead a horse to the water. But it needs to drink itself.”

Dubai World’s Debt NOT Guaranteed by Government

Dubai’s government said it hasn’t guaranteed the debt of Dubai World, the state-controlled holding company struggling with $59 billion in liabilities, and that creditors must help it restructure.

“It is correct that the government owns Dubai World, but the decision when it was set up was that it should receive financing based on the viability of its projects, not on government guarantees,” Abdulrahman Al Saleh, director general of the emirate’s Department of Finance, said in an interview with Dubai TV, when asked whether the government was backing the debt. “The lenders should bear part of the responsibility.”

Dubai’s government said Nov. 25 that Dubai World would seek a standstill agreement with creditors and an extension of loan maturities until at least May 30, 2010. The announcement led to the biggest declines in Asian shares in three months last week and Europe’s worst rout since April. Investors were concerned the proposal risks triggering the biggest sovereign default since Argentina in 2001.

Dubai shares tumbled and Abu Dhabi’s stock index today fell the most in at least eight years on the first trading day since the announcement. The Dubai Financial Market General Index dropped 7.3 percent to 1,940.36, the biggest decline since October 2008. Abu Dhabi’s ADX Index fell 8.3 percent, the most since Bloomberg began compiling the data in 2001.

Nakheel Bond Suspension

Nakheel PJSC, Dubai World’s property unit whose $3.52 billion Islamic bond is due Dec. 14, asked the Nasdaq Dubai stock market today to suspend its securities “until it is in a position to fully inform the market.”

“The times of implicit support are clearly over,” said Philipp Lotter, vice-president of Moody’s Investors Service in Dubai. “In the past entities such as Dubai World certainly represented themselves as quasi-government entities, whereas there was no legal obligation on behalf of the government to support, and that has certainly shifted with last week’s announcement.”

In the prospectus for its first Islamic bond sale in October, the government said “certain strategic government- related entities of the emirate have significant borrowings which are not direct obligations of the government of Dubai.” The government raised $1.93 billion from local and international investors in the sale. 

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Schedule

March 2011
08 Tue   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
New Zealand v Pakistan at Pallekele, 24th Match, Group A
09 Wed   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
India v Netherlands at Delhi, 25th Match, Group B
10 Thu   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Pallekele, 26th Match, Group A
11 Fri   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Ireland v West Indies at Mohali, 27th Match, Group B
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Bangladesh v England at Chittagong, 28th Match, Group B
12 Sat   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
India v South Africa at Nagpur, 29th Match, Group B
13 Sun   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Canada v New Zealand at Mumbai, 30th Match, Group A
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Australia v Kenya at Bangalore, 31st Match, Group A
14 Mon   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Bangladesh v Netherlands at Chittagong, 32nd Match, Group B
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Pallekele, 33rd Match, Group A
15 Tue   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Ireland v South Africa at Kolkata, 34th Match, Group B
16 Wed   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Australia v Canada at Bangalore, 35th Match, Group A
17 Thu   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
England v West Indies at Chennai, 36th Match, Group B
18 Fri   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Ireland v Netherlands at Kolkata, 37th Match, Group B
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Mumbai, 38th Match, Group A
19 Sat   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Bangladesh v South Africa at Dhaka, 39th Match, Group B
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Australia v Pakistan at Colombo (RPS), 40th Match, Group A
20 Sun   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
Kenya v Zimbabwe at Kolkata, 41st Match, Group A
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
India v West Indies at Chennai, 42nd Match, Group B
21 Mon   
22 Tue   
23 Wed   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Dhaka, Quarter Final C
24 Thu   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Ahmedabad, Quarter Final D
25 Fri   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Dhaka, Quarter Final E
26 Sat   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Colombo (RPS), Quarter Final F
27 Sun   
28 Mon   
29 Tue   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Colombo (RPS), Semi Final
30 Wed   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Mohali, Semi Final
31 Thu   
Top
April 2011
01 Fri   
02 Sat   
ICC Cricket World Cup, 2010/11
TBD v TBD at Mumbai, Final

Pakistan VS Canada 17th Match, Group-A, Colombo

Pakistan will face Canada on Thursday in the 17th game of ICC cricket World Cup 2011, group-A. R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo is hosting this game. This is the third match of Pakistan and has won its both first matches. Canada has to face defeats with heavy margins in the both matches it played. CurrentlyPakistan is holding the second position in group-A with 4 points while Canada is on last position in the group ranking with 0 points.

This is the second encounter between the  both teams in the cricket history. In the only match Pakistan beat Canada by 8 wickets in 1979 World Cup at Leeds. In the current World Cup green shirts are in their brilliant from. In their initial match of World Cup Journey,   Pakistan beat Kenya by 205 runs while co-host of Mega Event Sri Lanka has to face a defeat of 11 runs in the second match.

On the other hand Canadian side is looking towards their first victory, in the twice matches Canada received defeats of 215 runs from Sri Lanka while of 175 runs from Zimbabwe.

Pakistani Spinner Abdur Rehman and batsman Misbah-ul-Haq are not fit enough to play the match while speedstar Shoaib Akhtar has declined to take rest and is looking forward to have a full go at the minnows to regain his wicket-taking form.

Hackers expose credit card details of Lush shoppers

ALMOST 40,000 online shoppers will have to cancel their credit cards after a privacy breach of the popular handmade cosmetics store Lush's website.

Lush admitted it did not know how long its servers had been compromised but was informed yesterday by the web-hosting company that its servers had been breached, the company's director, Mark Lincoln, said.

"Yesterday we were contacted by the web hosting provider to say there had been an unauthorised access of the website and data had been downloaded," he said.

"That was picked up by some extra monitoring that we had put in place.

"Once we got that information, we got the ball rolling trying to get a hold of a forensic investigator to help us understand, what was going on, and (we began) talking to banks and credit card holders and working through the process of how to address the problem and what steps we need to take."

Mr Lincoln said that his focus had been to contact customers first to warn them to cancel their cards.

"The customer database for Australian was 39,000," he said.

"We've contact every customer because at this early stage in the investigation we do not know who has been affected. We do not know how long this has been a problem."

Mr Lincoln was unable to say if the credit card details of customers were disguised when stored in the website's database as required under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard guidelines.

Mr Lincoln said the breach was so serious that the decision was made to immediately take the site down.

"We believe that this was a serious issue that we needed to communicate to our customers and not put them at risk," he said.

"We are in the process of building a new website. We'll incorporate any new enhancements out of this incident and would hope to have the new website up and running in the next eight weeks.

"We haven't thought that far ahead."

"There is a breach of trust.

"We would hope that by being upfront and open as soon as possible customers would see we are an ethical business and we are upfront and we will make the enhancements required."

In an email sent to customers this morning, the company urged customers who have placed an online order with the company to contact their bank to discuss cancelling their credit cards.

"While our website is not linked with the Lush UK website, it appears the Australian and New Zealand Lush sites have also been targeted," the letter read.

"As a precautionary matter, we have removed access to our website while we carry out further security checks."