Lahore, Nov 11: PCB Director General Salim Altaf has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer of the Board. He replaces Shafqat Naghmi who was sacked last month.

In other important PCB appointments after new PCB chief Ijaz Butt took over, former Test opener Aamir Sohail was appointed as the National Cricket Academy (NCA) director, replacing Mudassar Nazar who left for a coaching post with the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month.

London, Nov. 11: Manchester United and Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been told by the club to prove his loyalty before demanding a pay hike.

Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes met Red Devils chiefs yesterday to discuss the possibility of a new deal, but according to The Sun, United made it clear they will not upgrade Ronnie’s 120,000-pound-per-week contract unless he demonstrates his desire to stay at Old Trafford.

London, Nov. 11: UK Sport and Football Association officials are due to meet in the next couple of months to draw up the register – designed to thwart stars who take drugs like cocaine and performance-enhancing substances.

It will include at least 15 aces from England squads, ranging from senior level to youth team prospects. The rest of the list will be made up of the country’s top foreign stars.

According to The Sun, 30 of the Premier League’s top footballers are to be placed on a new “hit-list” in a bid to combat drug taking in the game.

Lahore, Nov 11: After thrashing the world champions, Australia, by 172 runs in the fourth and last Test in Nagpur yesterday and winning the series 2-0, India has gained seven ratings points to be placed at the second spot, along with South Africa with 116 points, according to the latest ICC ratings.

With the historic win, India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after five years.

Graeme Smith’s South African team now slips just below India to third position by a fraction of a ratings point, the Daily Times reported.

Sydney, Nov 11 : Aussie cricketing greats and former skippers have blasted captain Ricky Ponting for his selection of bowlers on day four of the last Test in Nagpur which India won by 172 runs, thereby winning the four-match series 2-0.

Hamburg - Germany coach Joachim Loew will have some clear words to say to the squad he names Thursday for next week's classic encounter with old rivals England.

Loew is to use the opportunity of the friendly international in Berlin to lay down some rules and guidelines on how he expects his players to behave for the rest of the qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.