Yorkshire signs Blewett

LIC triumph

Wrestling trials

Easy win for Prem XI

Kho-kho trials

AAAC elections on Sept 5

Hollioake, Crawley recalled

Taekwondo squad

IOA can't wait till Sept 4: Kalmadi

NEW DELHI, Aug 23 (PTI) — The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) today urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to immediately announce the team for the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games to avoid "disqualification."

"I would like to make it clear that the threat of disqualification looms large", IOA President Suresh Kalmadi told PTI here.

The cricket board yesterday finally relented after receiving a communication from the International Cricket Council (ICC) which directed it to route the team’s entries through the IOA.

Kalmadi said it was "ridiculous" on the part of the BCCI to delay the announcement of the team when all other countries, including archrivals Pakistan, had complied with the August 11 deadline and sent their entries to SUKOM, the games’ organising body.

"It (September 4) will be too late", Kalmadi said, adding formalities such as visas, travel arrangements and clothes for the players will have to be completed within a very short time.

Though it is the BCCI’s prerogative to select the team, Kalmadi made it clear that the IOA will allow "only the best squad" to represent India as the country’s prestige was at stake at the quadrennial games.

He said the issue was not whether the team will go through ICC or IOA, as made out by the BCCI, but whether India’s entry will be accepted at this point.

He said it was clear from the beginning that the team will go under the banner of the national Olympic Association only.

Stressing that the tussle between the IOA and the BCCI was not an ego problem as it was made out to be, he said "The Malaysian high commission does not have the names of the persons to whom visas should be given, and this might result in players getting stranded at the airport at the eleventh hour."

Moreover, if the team is announced on September 4, it would be able to leave at the earliest by the fifth or sixth, while India plays its first match on September 9. "The players can't just go there and walk on to the ground, they have to get acclimatised to the environment and the facilities available," he said.

Pointing to the IOA's decision of not sending an athletics squad after the Amateur Athletic Federation of India said that the athletes were preparing for the Bangkok Asian Games and it would not like to pressure them to perform now, Kalmadi said the BCCI should make it clear weather it was interested in participation.

"BCCI is unnecessarily making an issue out of it. We cannot wait till September 4," he said.

CHENNAI: Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, today said the teams for the Commonwealth Games and the Sahara Cup at Toronto would be announced only on September 4 as it would be unfair to pick a team before the ongoing coaching camp here ends.

"We are in a catch-22 situation and it is unfair to pick a team for the Commonwealth Games from among the 22 probables before the camp ends," Mr Dungarpur said reacting to IOA president, Suresh Kalmadi’s fears that the Indian team would be ‘disqualified’ from the Commonwealth Games, if the list of players was not released to the organising committee.

On Mr Kalmadi’s contention that only the best team should be sent to the games, Mr Dungarpur, who is here to preside over the Sportstar Awards function, said "board secretary Lele has already announced that two formidable teams would be sent for the Commonwealth Games and the Sahara Cup in Toronto."

"We are in the midst of a very important camp, aiming towards the World Cup in England next year. I cannot ask the national selectors to come overnight at the drop of a hat and pick teams", the BCCI president said and confirmed that the teams for these two tours would be picked on September 4 as announced earlier.

PSEB ground AI, East Bengal win

MUMBAI, Aug 23 (PTI) — Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) upset Mumbai league champions Air-India 2-1 in the play-off to book a pre-quarterfinal berth in the KBL Federation Cup Football Tournament at the Cooperage here today.

Pseb’s seasoned striker Sandip Saini opened the account in the very third minute when he smartly cashed in on a defensive lapse to give the visitors a 1-0 half-time lead.

The ball rebounded off Air-India custodian Mohammed Ansari and was mispassed by a defender and the speedy striker made no mistake.

Air-India failed to take advantage of home conditions and the uneven ground also did not help their cause.

Winger Parminder Singh made it 2-0 when he collected an attempted long clearance and covered quite a distance to slam the ball home.

Five minutes later Air-India narrowed the margin when midfielder Subir Sinha scored off a spot kick. The hosts got the penalty when PSEB defender Hardeep Singh handled the ball inside the box while trying to check substitute Nitin Shetty’s cross.

PSEB take on Indian Telephone Industries at Bangalore on August 27.

After PSEB took an early lead, Air-India seemed to have lost direction and though they tried to make a comeback in the later stages they failed to find the equaliser. PSEB came close to scoring on many other occasions.

Five minutes after the visitors surged ahead, their midfielder Madan Lal’s try from the top of the box following a rebound was well punched out by Ansari.

In the 32nd minute Air-India’s midfielder Khalid Jamil’s try, following a melee, was off the target.

Four minutes later PSEB midfielder Sukhbir Singh shot wide off an open chance even as Ansari was sprawled on the ground while thwarting Parminder Singh’s attempt. Soon after Parminder’s lob hit the upright and rebounded in and was cleared.

Mid-way through the second half PSEB winger Gurdish Singh’s stinging right footer off a Parminder cross was well punched away by Ansari.

Air India had a go in the dying minutes of the match but winger Anthony Fernandes’ header was off target.

Air India defender Henry Picardo and Khalid Jamil were shown the yellow card for rough play while PSEB defender Hardeep Singh was booked for the same reason.

E. Bengal win
CUTTACK: East Bengal today humbled Jorba Durga, the local league champions, 3-1 in a pre-quarterfinal match of the KBL Federation Cup Football Tournament at the Barabati Stadium here.

In a clash between the titans and hopefuls, the local challengers, however, displayed good skill, ball control and ability, but East Bengal’s experience and better scoring abilities carried the day for them.

East Bengal, who led by a seventh minute goal by striker Dipendu Biswas at half-time, scored twice in the second session through medio Basudev Mandal (57th minute) and substitute striker Raman Vijayan (84th minute).

Jorba Durga striker Suraj Thapa scored the only goal for the Cuttack team in the 82nd minute.

East Bengal, despite scoring early, found the going tough on slushy underfoot conditions caused by a heavy shower around noon but their star striker Baichung Bhutia was undaunted and displayed remarkable skill and talent to regale the 10,000-strong holiday crowd.

The gifted striker had a role in two of the three East Bengal goals.

Seles downs Hingis, enters final

MONTREAL, Aug 23 (AP) — Monica Seles upset top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the $ 1.3 million du Maurier Open Women’s Tennis Championship.

Seles advanced to the final against third-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain, who beat second-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in the second semifinal later yesterday.

Seles, 24, the fifth seed, has won the last three Du Maurier tournaments. Her only previous loss at the event was to Sanchez Vicario in the 1992 final. Seles’ Du Maurier record is now 23-1.

"This tournament just seems to bring out the best in me at key times,’’ Seles said. "Like today, I woke up at a key time.’’

Hingis, 17, did not lose a service game until Seles broke for a 5-3 lead in the second set in the one hour, 32 minute match. Seles added two early breaks in the third set to put away the match.

I really started to play well as the match went on,’’ Seles said. I actually think she was lucky to win the first set. Everything just went well for me today.’’

Hingis, who won three Grand Slam tournaments last year, has four tournament victories in 1998 but none since the Italian Open in May and may soon be in danger of losing the No. 1 ranking she has held since March 31, 1997.

"I’m just having trouble right now winning a whole tournament," Hingis said." I always play pretty solidly, but have trouble to win the whole thing.

"But we’ll see what happens at the US Open (in two weeks)."

Seles, the former world No. 1, missed most of the 1993 and 1994 seasons after she was stabbed in the back by a spectator in Hamburg, Germany on April 30, 1993.

She made a dramatic return in the 1995 Du Maurier in Toronto, defeating Amanda Coetzer of South Africa in the final. She beat Sanchez in the 1996 final in Montreal and downed Anke Huber of Germany in last year’s final in Toronto.

Seles has yet to win a tournament this year, but she reached the final of the French Open in June and made the semifinals at two events in California in recent weeks.

"I feel I’m getting better, but sometimes I come in a just play horrible matches, like at Wimbledon (a quarterfinal loss to Natasha Zvereva) or in the past couple of weeks in California," Seles said.

"I haven’t been getting consistent training and that’s why some days my game is way up and other days it’s way down. I have to improve on that."

Vijay Singh clings to narrow lead

CASTLE ROCK, Aug 23 (AP) — Vijay Singh, notwithstanding two eagles including a hole-in-one from onrushing Tiger Woods, clung to a narrow lead yesterday after three rounds of the sprint international.

Singh, of Fiji, began the day with a 4-point lead under the modified stableford scoring system used in this event and saw his margin trimmed to 1 point.

Singh, the recently crowned PGA champion, had four birdies and two bogeys in a steady if unspectacular round at Castle Pines Golf Club, which for the first time in three days was spared delays from lightning and rain. He added 6 points to his total for 33, one ahead of Willie Wood and 2 ahead of Woods.

Another point back on a tightly bunched leaderboard was Rocco Mediate. Defending champion Phil Mickelson also surged, finishing at 29. The top 12 players were separated by only 8 points.

The international’s scoring format awards 5 points for an eagle, 2 for birdie, zero for par, minus-1 for bogey and minus-3 for double-bogey or worse.

Points accummulate over all four rounds. The field will be cut to the top 36 scorers and ties for today’s final round.

While Singh’s point total hovered around the low 30s most of the day, the diminutive Wood was a surprising presence among the leaders on a course that favors long hitters.

Wood had eight birdies, including five of the last six holes. He sank long-range birdie putts of 30, 20, 20, 18, 15 and 12 feet, ( 9, 6, 6, 5.5 and 3.6 meters) and lipped out a 50-foot eagle attempt at the par-5 17th.

It was a Tiger who made the most noise. Woods, whose second-round struggles left him 10 points behind Singh, wasted no time making a move in the third round. He eagled the par-5 first hole, then knocked an 8-iron into the cup on the fly at the 185-yard seventh hole for the third hole-in-one of his pro career.

Woods also had two eagles on Thursday, and his four eagles broke the tournament record of three by Lee Janzen in 1995 and Mark Brooks last year.

The ace moved Woods to 28 points, and he added a birdie at no. 8 to tie Singh for the lead at 30. He momentarily held the lead after a birdie at 14, but missed greens at 15 and 16 cost him bogeys.

Mediate also had eight birdies, five on his back nine. Fully recovered from back surgery and trimmed down, mediate called his round very exciting. It was an easy day, if there is such a thing."

Mickelson shot himself into contention with six birdies and an eagle in a 16-point round that vaulted him to 29 points.

Mickelson — the only multiple winner of this tournament, having also prevailed in 1993 — birdied three straight holes on the front nine but made his biggest move at the par-5 17th. He hit his second shot, a 6-iron from 202 yards 10 feet from the pin and made the eagle putt worth 5 points.

Churchill have task cut out

NEW DELHI, Aug 23 (PTI) — Goa league champions Churchill Brothers will look to reclaim lost prestige when they begin their campaign in the KBL Federation Cup Football Tournament with a pre-quarterfinal clash against north east zone winners Langsning Sports Club of Shillong here tomorrow.

Churchill, who were on the verge of being disbanded after being relegated from the national league, enter the new season with a drastically weakened team.

With only former international and medio Aqeel Ansari and Mario Soares left from last year, the Goan team shows all signs of having fallen on bad days and desperate to get going before the Goan league kicks off on September 7.

"Most players are new and we are quite a depleted side," said coach Armando Colaso, adding that a majority were from the disbanded Sesa Goa with two others from Vasco Goa.

Lalhmingthanga Darlong, coach of the Meghalaya side, promised a fighting effort from his boys. Langsning beat Young Amateur, Guwahati 3-0, Electric, Mizoram 3-1 and then got past bloodmouth, Tripura 2-1 in the zonal final to become the first Meghalaya Club since Blue Max — also with the same owner — in 1984 to make the Federation Cup proper.

Colaso criticised the slushy conditions at the Ambedkar Stadium. With the Delhi Soccer Association league on and the capital receiving frequent rain, the ground is in bad shape.

The match, originally allotted to Kochi on August 20, was shifted here as per revised fixtures.

But Langsning should be quite happy with the shape of the ground. "The monsoon is vigorous in the north-east and we played in pouring rain,", said Darlong adding that he had no complaints playing in such conditions.

Delhi will also hosts the last 16 clash between Tollygunge Agragami and BSF on August 25 and the quarterfinal final between winners of the two matches on August 27.

The match will kick off at 2 p.m.

Salgaocar hold edge
MUMBAI (UNI): Defending champions Salgaocar Sports Club (Goa) hold an edge when they take on State Bank of Travancore (Thiruvananthapuram) in the pre-quarterfinal knock-out clash of the KBL Federation Cup Football Tournament at the Cooperage here tomorrow.

Salgaocar SC, traditionally known for their discipline and fine spirit, appear a balanced and confident lot as against the Kerala leauge runners-up SBT.
Salgaocar SC coach Shabbir Ali said" "We are playing our first, match of the season no doubt we won the local Carvalho Memorial Tourney at Duler, Mapusa on August, SBT have few good players and we would try our best."
Along with former India skipper, 28 year-old Bruno Coutinho (recovering from a minor muscle pull), Alvito, Jude Odega, Dennis Cabral and Satish Kumar, give Salgaocar a fine attacking combination.

Their rearguard too is, if not the best, one of the most dependable in the country with skipper Francis Coelho and veteran Derrick Pereira providing the strength.

With former India goalkeeper Feroz Sharif beneath the bar, SBT have an experienced ‘keeper to mind their goal also with yet another seasoned campaigner in deep defender Jiju Jacob and in the midfield Suresh, Lionel Thomas and Shabbir Ali. The SBT intermediate line too is impressive. Shabbir had assisted FC Cochin last season.

India defeat Pak in soccer

BANGALORE, Aug 23 (PTI) — India scored a 2-0 victory against arch rivals Pakistan in the group six qualifying rounds of the 31st Asian Youth Football (under-19) Championship here tonight and virtually qualified from the group.

With the Indians having nine points from three matches so far, a draw is enough for them against Bhutan in their last encounter to take them to Thailand.

Medio Roque Barreto, who displayed excellent ball control, was instrumental in scoring in the match, dominated by the Indians from the word go.

Though at half-time both the teams were goal less, the Indians were a bit unlucky as at least two chances were missed by them.

The first goal for the hosts came from nippy Nitin Pradhan, who cleverly moved from the mid-field to head off a free kick from Barreto. Pradhan was trapped admist three defenders before earning the free kick.

Medio L James Singh scored the second goal in the 60th minute off his left foot to the far post near the edge of the box from a well initiated move by star player of the day, Barreto.

Earlier, in 12th minute Indian captain Sheik Sanjib, missed an easy chance when he tried a volley which went over the horizontal.

Though the Indians had a few problems with passes, Pakistan failed to capitalise. They depended more on captain Zulfikar Ali and Khuda Bux.

Pakistan came close to scoring in the 20th minute when Zulfikar Ali was on the ball from the centre, inside the box. But a sliding Covan Lawrence came up with a good tackle to prevent any damage.

Pakistan defenders struck to their positions despite their coach Zafar Iqbal signalling them to move ahead and assist forwards.

In the previous championship at Delhi India had qualified defeating Pakistan 3-0 and Sri Lanka 6-0. Only three countries participated then with Bhutan dropping out, said Nagendra, the manager of the Indian team and coach in the last championship.

The match went in for more action in the last stages and Pakistan’s Burhan Ali’s goal-bound header was collected neatly by goal keeper Naseem Aktar.

India missed the chance of improving the score when James Sing missed and shot over for a cross pass from Barreto. James was unmarked inside the box.

An equaliser by Hem Bahadur Tanang in injury time (92nd minute) helped debutants Bhutan salvage a 2-2 draw over the Maldives.

Machado excels in women's marathon

BUDAPEST, Aug 23 (Reuters) — Manuela Machado extended Portugal’s hegemony in the European women’s marathon today with an untroubled win in a championship record two hours 27 minutes 10 seconds.

Sixteen years ago, Rosa Mota won the first-ever European championships women’s marathon in Athens and went on to retain her title in Stuttgart.

She was succeeded by Machado in Helsinki four years ago.

On a cool, blustery morning in Budapest, Machado ran with the pack until the 30 km mark when she joined Russian Madina Biktagirova in what was to prove the decisive break.

As the sun began to shine and the temperatures rose, Machado increased the tempo, drawing away from Biktagirova at 34 km and steadily extending her lead over the cobbled streets of the Hungarian capital.

She entered the nepstadion to applause from the scattering of spectators, 300 metres ahead of Biktagirova who took the silver medal in 2:28:01. Italian Maura Viceconte was third in 2:28:31.

Machado, a keen soccer fan with shares in a US club, has been one of the most consistent marathoners in the world since her debut in Paris 10 years ago.

After finishing 10th in split behind Mota, she went on to win silver at the 1993 Stuttart World Championships after leading between 30 and 36 kms.

Two years she won the world title in Gothenburg and finished second at the Athens World Championships last year.

"The race was easy for me, very easy," she said. "I never doubted that I would win. I not only bettered my personal best but also broke the championship record held by Rosa."

Biktagirova finished fourth in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics but was disqualified and banned for three months after testing positive for a stimulant.

She said she had always known Machado would win and had been concentrating only on winning the silver.

"My chest hurts and my legs hurt and I feel really sick," she said. "But that is what the marathon is like. The headwind in the end made it all the more difficult, I could have done without that."

Malaysia set for C'wealth Games

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Reuters) — The sky is blue. The stadiums are ready and tickets are selling fast.

With less than three weeks before the start of the Commonwealth Games, organisers say they are set to stage a showpiece event and deal with any problems that crop up during the September 11 to 21 competitions in the capital.

Gone are worries of smog-filled skies, leaky and unfinished sporting structures and empty stadiums, organisers said.

Rains have put out fires in Indonesia and Malaysia that last year cast a blanket of smoke over much of Southeast Asia.

Leaks that appeared in several stadiums during test events in July have been patched and more tickets have been sold then during the last Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.

"I can’t think of any concerns at this moment other than getting the games going," K. Chandrashekaran, spokesman for games organiser SUKOM told Reuters.

Until recently, such assurance would have been impossible.

One of SUKOM’s biggest concerns had been weather. Anxiety over the possibility of smog dogged organisers for months, and stirred talk that the games might even be moved.

Now officials are saying the only weather worry will be too much rain, not too much smog.

The El Nino weather phenomenon has given way to La Nina. Recently rains have lashed Kuala Lumpur almost daily and the haze as all but disappeared.
"Lots of sunshine and occasional thunderstorms," predicted Lim Joo Tick, chief of the local metereological services department, when asked by a newspaper what he thought the weather will be during the games.

Lim was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times that the current weather was "near perfect".

Without rain, temperatures are warm during the day and mild at night, ranging from 23 to 34 degrees centigrade, while humidity is high, he said.

Chandrashekaran said heavy rains would not really affect the games, the second biggest multi-sporting event in the world after the Olympics. More than 6,000 athletes and officials from some 70 countries are expected in Kuala Lumpur.

"Most of the events are going to be held indoors and are well-sheltered from rain, except for field events, hockey and lawn bowling," said Chandrashekaran.

Sports Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said all sports facilities and stadiums have been completed and checked for defects.

"Everything’s working fine," he told a news conference.

During the test events last month, Muhyiddin said authorities had discovered hitches including a computer software problem in the scoring system, a leaky swimming pool roof and an uneven cycling track.

The minister, also said then that ticket sales were slow, with about 90 per cent of seats unsold.

The sales jumped after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has made the games his pet project, launched a carnival to boost the event in a posh suburb of Kuala Lumpur last week.

Guru Nanak school lads win
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 23 — Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, beat the Sector 37 Government Model Senior Secondary School 4-2 in a well contested match on the second day of the Chandigarh Cadet Football Tournament (under-14) for the St John's Trophy at the Sector 17 football stadium here today.

Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 36 lads dominated the proceedings and scored a goal in the sixth minute through left striker Rajinder. Four minutes later, he displayed good coordination with team-mate Parminder who scored a goal for his team and made it 2-0.

The Guru Nanak Public School lads did not lose heart and started making dangerous moves through left winger Rakesh who reduced the margin in the 19th minute through a solo effort. Later Guru Nanak Public School put more pressure and succeeded in scoring another goal through left-half Gurpreet in the 29th minute and levelled the score 2-2.

After the lemon break, Guru Nanak Public School lads scored the third goal in the 35th minute when right striker Raman scored with a solo effort. Guru Nanak lads added the fourth goal through left striker Dashmesh in the dying minutes and won the match 4-2.

In another match, Harkrishan Public School, Sector 40, defeated St Stephan's School, Sector 45, by a solitary goal which was scored by left-half Sanjiv in the dying minutes.

Other results St Soldiers International School-28 b New Public School -18 by 3-0, Guru Teg Bahadur School-15 b Government Senior Secondary School-15 by 2-1 via tie-breaker St John's School-26 b St Joseph's High School-9 by 4-1, Government Model High School-28 b St Xaviers High School-44 by 3-0, St Kabir's High School-26 b Government Model Senior Secondary School-22 by 2-0.

Wills Cup: Venkat in umpires panel

CALCUTTA, Aug 23 (PTI) — S. Venkatraghavan is the lone Indian to figure in the International Cricket Council’s panel of umpires for the forthcoming nine-nation Wills International Cup to be held in Dhaka from October 24 to November 2.

ICC has announced a list of six umpires for the first-ever limited overs knockout championship organised to generate funds for its developmental programmes.

Apart from Venkatraghavan, David Shephard, Peter Willey (both England), Steve Bucknor (WI), Steve Dunne (New Zealnd) and David Orchard (South Africa) are the others in the panel of umpires, according to ICC chief executive David Richards.

Richards, now here in connection with the logo-releasing function of the mega event, said Ranjan Madugalle of Sri Lanka and Raman Subba Row of England would be the two match referees.

He said two new members in the ICC’s match referees panel — Gundappa Viswanath of India and Ibrahim Isaac of South Africa — would also go to Dhaka as part of their training process.

Lilly, Dhanda in last eight
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 23 — Dharmender Lilly, Ashish Dhanda and Munish Srivastva entered the quarter-finals of the first Jaswant Singh Memorial Prize Money Tournament in snooker here today.

Lilly, ranked No. 2 in the tournament, routed Manan Nagpal in a one-sided affair 64-24, 84-22, 60-47, 95-18. Only in the third frame Nagpal offered some resistance but that was a temporary phase as in the next frame Lilly completely dominated with a break of above 30 points and clinched the match.

Dhanda on the other hand had to struggle very hard to subdue Deepak Goel, in a cliff-hanger. First three frames went alternately to both the players 65-50, 40-66, 51-44 but then Deepak got his touch and consistently outscored Dhanda in fourth and fifth frames 16-65, 34-58. In the last two frames it was Dhanda all the way as he made best use of the openings and won the frames and the match by never letting his shaky opponent come near him 59-33, 80-29.

Munish, produced tremendous potting skill to completely demolish his opponent G.S. Gulati with a score of 47-72, 59-41, 52-5, 62-15 and 104-7. In the last frame Munish hit the highest break of 53 points of the tournament.

Greenidge resumes job as coach

DHAKA, Aug 23 (PTI) — West Indian batting ace Gordon Greenidge yesterday resumed his job as coach of the Bangladesh cricket team, but refused to react to the cricket board chief’s statement that he had apologised for his recent "critical observations".

"I am not talking (to the press). Talk to the board," Greenidge told PTI, when asked for comment on Bangladesh Cricket Board President Saber Hossain Chowdhury’s statement that the former Test opener had apologised for his remarks to a daily accusing the board of not being "professional".

Greenidge’s cryptic reply came as he began preparation of the Bangladesh national side for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games here.

After an executive committee meeting on Thursday, the BCB president had said, "he (Greenidge) has apologised to the board for his statements to a daily and the board has accepted his apology. The chapter is over."

Chowdhury, who is also Bangladesh’s Deputy Minister for Shipping, said: "We have also assured Gordon of all necessary support he needs in future as director of coaching."

Greenidge, who coached the team to ICC Trophy win last year, incurred BCB’s wrath when he blamed it for the team’s dismal show during the month-long England tour and slammed it for "putting restrictions on his style of functioning" and for not being "professional".

Replaced by former skipper G.A.H. Lipu as coach early this month, Greenidge was recalled yesterday to the job he has been handling for the past 21 months.

Yorkshire signs Blewett

LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) — Yorkshire have signed Australian batsman Greg Blewett as their overseas player for next season, the club announced yesterday.

The 26-year-old replaces fellow South Australian Darren Lehmann, who will be on World Cup duty.

Lehmann recommended the county sign up Blewett and Yorkshire expects he will be available for the whole of the season.

Lehmann remains Yorkshire’s first choice in the long term, though, and has signed for the club for a further two years after 1999.

LIC triumph
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 23 — Fine batting by Suraj Salhotra who made 58 runs a good spell by Madan Lal who captured three for six helped Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to oust Bathany Cricket Club by 48 runs and sail into the final of the ninth Bathany Cup Cricket Tournament here today.

Brief scores: LIC XI 129 all out 24.2 overs (Suraj Salhotra 58, Madan Lal 25, Sunil 15, Bharat Lal 3 for 21, Lakshy 2 for 15, Anil Johar 2 for 22).

Bathany CC 81 all out in 22.3 overs (Madan Pawar 23, Lakshay 13, Madan Lal 3 for 6, Munish 2 for 10).

Wrestling trials
From Our Sports Reporter

HISAR, Aug 23 — Trials to select the men's wrestling team of Haryana for the National Games to be held at Imphal will be held at CRZ School, Sonepat, on September 6 at 9 a.m., according to Mr Sukhbir Singh, secretary of the Haryana State Wrestling Association.

He said trials to select the women's wrestling team of the state for the National Games would be held here at Mahabir Stadium on September 8 at 9 a.m.

Godrej CC
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 23 — An unbeaten half century (52 n.o.) by Kailash Sanwal and his partnership of 79 runs with Punjab Ranji Trohpy player Munish Arora (26) enabled Godrej Cricket Club to rout Kapil XI by nine wickets and enter the semifinal of the second Youth Cup Cash-prize Cricket Tournament at Indus Valley near Dera Bassi today.

On a wicket which was damp due to continuous rain last week, Godrej CC won the toss and opted to field. The Kapil XI openers Deepak (39) and Anil (18) faced the seam attack confidently. However, with the introduction of left-arm-spinners Arun Tuli, Girish Bhanot and Vinod Binta the flow of runs was checked and wickets fell like ninepins. Kaipl XI could manage only 86 runs in the allotted 25 overs.

Godrej Cricket Club openers Kailash Sanwal and Munish Arora started the run chase confidently and raced to 50 in just 10.2 overs, Kailash was in punishing mood as he struck five boundaries and two sixes in his unbeaten knock of 52.

Brief scores: Kapil XI 86 for 9 in 25 overs (Deepak 39, Anil 18, Anil Puri 18, Vinod Binta 3 for 9, Girish Bhanot 2 for 14, Arun Tuli 2 for 16, Rajesh Arora 2 for 12).

Godrej CC 90 for one in 17.2 overs (Kailash Sanwal 52 n.o., Munish Arora 26).

In another quarterfinal match Youth Cricket Club, Dera Bassi, outclassed Fauji XI by two wickets. A partnership of 38 runs between Vijay Rattan (23 n.o.) and Prem Pal Singh (21) was the highlight of the match.

Brief scores: Fauji XI 75 all out in 24.2 overs (Sanjay Dhull 19, Anil Fauji 16, Rajesh 3 for 16, Chand Rana 3 for 13).

Youth CC, Dera Bassi: 76 for 8 in 23. 4 overs (Vijay Rattan 23 n.o., Prem Pal Singh 21, Inderjit Saini 17, Munish Worrel 2 for 12, Nagesh Gupta 2 for 8, Sandeep Moudgil 2 for 10).

Kho-kho trials
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, Aug 23 — Trials to select the Punjab kho-kho probables (men and women) for the fifth National Games to be held at Imphal will be held at the local polo grounds on August 28 at 3.30 p.m., according to Mr Harraj Singh Sidhu, president of the Punjab Kho-Kho Association.

The trials will be followed by a coaching camp to be held here from August 29 to September 10, during which the final team will be selected.

AAAC elections on Sept 5
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 23 — The general council of the Amateur Athletic Association, Chandigarh, held a meeting here today which was attended by 31 representatives of units affiliated with the association.

During the meeting, various issues pending since long were discussed. It was unanimously decided by the house that the next elections of the association would be held on September 5.

The house appreciated the services rendered by Mr Shangara Singh, secretary to the association.

Mr Devinder Singh, senior vice-president, presided over the meeting, in the absence of the president.

Easy win for Prem XI
From Our Sports Reporter

LUDHIANA, Aug 23 — Samrat Cooler XI and Prem XI recorded easy victories in the inaugural A K Timber Trophy Cricket Tournament (u-14) at the S D Government College ground here today.

Samrat Cooler XI defeated Junior Shastri Club by 36 runs. Replying to Samrat Cooler XI's 117 for 2, Junior Shastri Club were all out for 81 runs.

Brief scores: Samrat Cooler XI 117 for 2 in 23 overs (Tavesh 50 not out, Sandeep 18 not out, Varun 29, Gagan 1 for 14, Neeraj 1 for 27).

Junior Shastri Club 81 all out (Sunny 10, R. Bannerjee 18, Vishal 17, Karan 4 for 9, Sandeep 2 for 13, Pranayveer Singh 1 for 3, Dhushant 1 for 18).

In another match, Prem XI beat Pulkit XI by 7 wickets. Batting first, Pulkit XI made 76 runs in 20 overs. Prem XI scored the required runs in 16.4 overs after losing three wickets.

Brief scores: Pulkit XI 76 all out (Raman 14, Sumit 12, Romi 10, Kanav 4 for 16, Angad 1 for 4, Deepak 1 for 12, Rishav 1 for 7, Prem 1 for 12).

Prem XI 77 for 3 (Angad 23 not out, Deepak 18 not out, Rishav 14, Sunny 2 for 12).

Hollioake, Crawley recalled

LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) — England have recalled Surrey allrounder Ben Hollioake and Lancashire batsman John Crawley for the one-off Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval starting on Thursday.

They were named today in a squad of 13 which includes 10 of the side who won the series-deciding final Test against South Africa at Headingley, Leeds, earlier this month.

Lancashire all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is the player omitted from the team who triumphed over South Africa in the fifth Test, while Leicestershire left-arm seamer Alan Mullally completes the party for The Oval.

Hollioake, Australian born but English raised, burst onto the international scene last year with an uninhibited innings of 63 off 48 balls in a one-day match against Australia at Lord’s.

The squad: Michael Atherton, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart (captain), John Crawley, Graeme Hick, Mark Ramprakash, Ben Hollioake, Dominic Cork, Ian Salisbury, Darren Gough, Angus Fraser, Alan Mullally.

Taekwondo squad
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 23 — The following taekwondo players will represent Chandigarh in the National Taekwondo Championship to be held at Kurukshetra from August 24, according to a press note of the Chandigarh Taekwondo Association.

Girls: Charu, Simer, Monika and Vishi.

Boys: Rahul, Sudesh, Varinder, Harsimran, Gagan Sharma, Jaswinder, Triman and Jatinder.