World Cup 2011: India-Pak semifinal put out of bounds for news channels

NEW DELHI: Putting a spanner in the coverage of the much-awaited India- Pakistan cricket semifinal, the ICC has unexpectedly cancelled the media accreditation of television channels. The decision has been strongly criticized by TV channels as "infringement of media rights".

An e-mail sent by ICC to TV channels on Sunday said, "Please be advised that your accreditation has been cancelled for Wednesday's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match between India and Pakistan in Mohali. You will therefore not be granted a media match-day ticket and will not be allowed to enter the ground. In addition, you will not have access to any event-related activities such as pre and post-match media conferences and team training sessions.''

The move comes on the back of allegations by the ICC that TV channels were using more TV footage than was agreed upon. An ICC spokesman said, "There have been serious violations of news access guidelines, as well as media terms and conditions, which the non-rights holders had signed on and agreed to abide by while applying for media accreditation for the ICC Cricket World Cup."

The News Broadcasters Association has reacted strongly to this "restrictive" step. "The last two-three days, news broadcasters were getting threatening letters from the ICC asking them to sign an undertaking which was restrictive and unacceptable at this crucial juncture of the World Cup. The issue was discussed in the board meeting and all broadcasters have decided to voluntarily desist from accessing the match venue or availing any other accreditation benefits. We are all united in this," Annie Joseph, secretary general, NBA said.

Reacting to the media ban Shazi Zaman, Broadcast Editor's Association president said," ICC is withdrawing accreditation of the entire electronic media. This means that we are deprived of covering not just the match but also the Indo-Pak political event. This is an infringement of media rights".


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Afridid targets Sachin again before big match

Just a little over 24 hours left for the big World Cup semifinal clash between India and Pakistan at Mohali and the excitement has reached fever pitch. Ahead of the mouth-watering clash on Wednesday (March 30) Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi yet again took a dig at Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, saying that even his century have sometimes failed to save India.

First Afridi said Pakistan will not let Sachin score his hundredth ton in international cricket and three days after that he takes it a step further.

He said, "No one doubts the greatness of Tendulkar. But if someone asks me about him and the semifinal clash against India, obviously I will not say we will allow him to make runs. There are instances where Sachin has scored a century and India has lost the match."

However, the inclusion of Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akthar in the playing eleven still stays murky.

Afridi said, "We have not taken a final decision on Shoaib Akhtar. We will take decision by tomorrow after considering his fitness level and bowling. We feel that Shoaib should play the match but all these things have to be taken into consideration. We don't want Shoaib Akhtar to play only for 5-6 overs. We want Shoaib to play for 10 overs."

Source : http://www.timesnow.tv/Afridid-targets-Sachin-again-before-big-match/articleshow/4368989.cms