A roundup of the best match-ups this week

Younus Khan versus Political Pygmies

Younus Khan may not be the best captain Pakistan has ever had but he is certainly the most entertaining. In the spirit of Yogi Berra, he always had an entertaining explanation of the day’s play. Today he handed in his resignation as captain after being summoned by a parliamentary committee to explain Pakistan’s defeat in the semi finals of the Champions Trophy. One expert even decided match-fixing was to blame. Younus Khan’s resignation shouldn’t come as a surprise. Capriciousness has always been a part of his make up as shown by his refusal to accept the captaincy a couple of years ago because the chairman of the PCB made him wait too long in the sitting room before meeting him. It is unfortunate, though, that he was forced out of the captaincy by people who should have nothing to do with the game.

Tiger Woods versus Y.E. Yang

Before this year’s US PGA Championship, Tiger had a 14-0 record of going on to win major championships when he was leading after the third round. Tiger cast aside Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen like crumpled candy wrappers but could not handle the wonderfully-named Young Yang, who was ranked outside the top 150 at the time. Sunday at the Presidents’ Cup Woods and Yang were matched up for the final day’s play. Yang confessed fear, while revenge was on Tiger’s mind. Providence perhaps, but Tiger’s 6&5 victory gave the US team victory over the International side.

Alex Ferguson versus The World

The Manchester United manager is not a gracious man, in victory or defeat. When a minute-and-a-half of inexplicable extra time gave Man Utd victory against Manchester City, Ferguson, instead of humbly accepting his unearned fortune, berated his opponents and claimed they should have lost by a bigger margin. A draw last Saturday led to a typically dirty diversion from Ferguson, this time against referee Alan Wiley, who he claimed was too unfit to officiate. Ferguson was forced to apologise for his remarks and while this may be the first time he has expressed remorse, it was so begrudging that he might as well have stood his ground.

Marat Safin verus Marat Safin

This hasn’t been a great year for the most talented tennis player not named Roger Federer. In his final year on the tour, Safin has failed to reach the second round of more than half his tournaments. His best performance of the year in a straight-sets victory over Fernando Gonzalez at the China Open provided hope that he may go out on top. Then Safin, as he does, capitulated 3-6, 1-6 to Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals. Nadal played well but the ease of the victory showed that Safin is still battling himself. He flung as many racquets as he won games and, as an encore, smashed a ball out of the stadium. One more month left to enjoy the Safin ride. We will never see the likes of him again.