World Cup damaged

It’s been a week for unexpected setbacks with the World Cup. A sightscreen halted play, then there was a fire scare at the South Africa and Pakistan players' hotel, then they had to play on a pitch they weren't happy with.

Now the latest news concerns the cup itself – it’s been damaged in Calcutta. Funnily enough no party has yet come forward to take the blame.

Back with Pakistan: the players will use Urdu in press conferences, and not English, their coach Bob Woolmer has confirmed. "The Pakistani players feel comfortable in their national language," he said (in English)."They can express themselves freely in Urdu and they are proud of their language and their country. Our media manager Pervez Mir will act as interpreter during the press conferences."

Mir says such a decision is not unusual: "It happens everywhere in the world. Football players speak in French, Latin and various other languages as they feel comfortable talking to the media in their mother tongue."