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Tuesday,
February 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Kenya stun former champs Lanka
Kenya force to reckon with Aussies too good for
Zimbabwe Warne no drug cheat,
says ACB chief |
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Warne wary of appeal now New job offer for Warne Waqar seeks inspiration from ’92 triumph Pak have hit rock bottom: coach ‘India can dominate England’ Andrew Caddick keen to have a go at Sachin Tendulkar According to the traditions of the Pietermaritzburg cricket stadium, India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar plants a tree after scoring a century against
Namibia in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.
— AP/PTI photo
Double trouble for England Imran
praises Ganguly SA bowling worst in
40 years: Symcox CONTROVERSY
OF THE WEEK Kiwis itching to return to action Run blitz seals Moody's demotion
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Kenya stun former champs Lanka
Nairobi, February 24 After opener Kennedy Otieno hit 60 in a creditable 210 for nine at the Gymkhana Club in Nairobi, the Kenyans bowled Sri Lanka out for 157 with Collins Obuya — Otieno’s brother — taking five for 24, a national record in a one-day game. The victory, which sparked scenes of wild jubilation both on and off the field, lifted Kenya to 12 points in group B and a victory over Bangladesh at Wanderers stadium Johannesburg on Saturday will give Steve Tikolo’s team a great chance of reaching the second round for the first time. It was the second time Kenya had upset one of the biggest teams in world cricket. In 1996 at Pune, India, Tikolo and his team bowled the West Indies out for 93 to win by 73 runs. Veteran Sri Lankan batsman Aravinda de Silva, whose unbeaten 107 in the 1997 final against Australia won the title for Sri Lanka, put up some resistance with 41. But the Sri Lankans, who had cruised to victories over New Zealand, Bangladesh and Canada, crumbled against the spin bowling of Obuya, who removed virtually all their big names. Because New Zealand had decided to forfeit their game over security fears, this was the only World Cup game to be staged in Nairobi and the home team made the most of it. After Ravindu Shah was trapped leg before wicket by Chaminda Vaas with the second ball of the match, the Kenyans made a bright start to their innings. Put in to bat, the hosts raced to 46 in seven overs before wicketkeeper Kumara Sangakkara took a diving catch, again off the bowling of Vaas, to dismiss Brijal Patel for 12. Otieno and skipper Tikolo kept the run rate moving and, by the end of 10 overs, Kenya had reached 52. Sri Lanka’s star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan then made an important breakthrough in the 16th over, trapping Tikolo leg before wicket for 10 with the third ball of his first over, leaving Kenya on 75 for three. Four overs later, Otieno reached his half century, which included five fours and two sixes and came off 65 balls. The right-hander, who also keeps wicket for Kenya, was eventually out in the 28th over caught by Muralitharan off the bowling of Aravinda de Silva for 60 after top edging an attempted sweep with the score on 112. His 60 came off 88 balls.
AP Scoreboard Kenya: Otieno c Muralitharan Shah lbw b Vaas 0 Patel c Sangakkara b Vaas 12 Tikolo lbw b Muralitharan 10 Modi b Muralitharan 26 Odumbe c Arnold Odoyo c Sangakkara Obuya not out 13 A Suji b Muralitharan 6 Ongondo b Jayasuriya 20 M Suji not out 3 Extras:
(b-5, lb-11, w-10, nb-2) 28 Total: (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 210 Fall of wickets:
1-1, 2-46, 3-75, 4-112, 5-152, 6-163, 7-163, 8-173, 9-205. Bowling:
Vaas 10-1-41-3, Nissanka 7-2-29-0, Fernando 7-0-33-0, Muralitharan 10-1-28-4, Jayasuriya 9-1-30-1, de Silva 5-1-23-1, Arnold 2-0-10-0. Sri Lanka: Atapattu b Odoyo 23 Jayasuriya c Patel b M Suji 3 Tillakaratne c T Suji De Silva c Otieno Jayawardene c and Sangakkara c Otieno Arnold not out 25 Vaas c and b C Obuya 4 Nissanka c Odoyo b Tikolo 2 Murali c T Suji Fernando b Odumbe 7 Extras:
(b-2, w-6, nb-1) 9 Total: (all out in 45 overs) 157 Fall of wickets:
1-13, 2-39, 3-71, 4-87, 5-105, 6-112, 7-119, 8-131, 9-149. Bowling:
M Suji 8-1-24-1, Odoyo 7-0-33-1, C Obuya 10-0-24-5, Ongondo 5-0-22-0, Odumbe 10-0-39-1, Tikolo 5-1-13-2.
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Kenya force to reckon with Who wins the 2003 World Cup? Well, that can only be answered on March 23 but for Kenya the Cup is truly back home. If you thought the 1996 upset win against the West Indies was a flash in the pan, then today’s win, a convincing one over Sri Lanka, only confirmed the notion that the African nation are a force to reckon with in one-day internationals. Kenya, in fact, deserves a huge vote of thanks from the ICC. They have provided the biggest upset of the tournament so far but besides that, given one solid reason for people to remember this edition of the game for cricketing reasons. By virtue of this win Kenya are well on course for a super six berth and turned the tables for many a nations in this group. Coming into this match, Sri Lanka’s confidence was sky high and were expected to keep their slate clean going into their last two crucial pool matches. The 1996 World Cup champions did start off in a typical fashion, Chaminda Vaas again doing the damage early on with some accurate bowling only to see Muralitharan take on the mantle from there on. Kenya were pushed back to the ropes, thanks to some indiscrete shot selection from their batsman and Lankans disciplined bowling. The odd man out was Kennedy
Otieno, standing tall among the ruins with a well complied 60 at the top of the order. The green and black outfit was in the danger of getting dismissed under 200 but some rearguard action from Obuya and Ongondo in the end saw them scrape past the mark. However, Obuya was destined to play a huge role in the latter part of the match. A target of 210 was an easy one to chase, or so it seemed at least. Jayasuriya and Attapatu were in peak form. However, the Lankan skipper suffered his first failure and it spelled doom for his side. The other mainstay, Attapatu also perished and at 39 for two Kenya first scented victory hopes. I have been concerned about the Lankan middle order and even mentioned this in my article before. Lack of match practice could make them vulnerable and Monday’s loss was just what I had foreseen. However, due credit needs to given to Collin
Obuya. The unknown leg-spinner bowled the spell of his life and scalped five wickets as he took his side to a famous 53 run win. Kenyan fielders also need to be complimented for diving and sliding as if their life depended on it and put pressure on the opposition. The world is not over yet for the Lankans. They still have two more games left and have their task cut out. Group B, rumoured as relatively easier one, is just about beginning to look tougher after each match. Meanwhile, Australia were made to sweat real hard before the defending champions cantered to a seven wicket win over Zimbabwe. The Aussies were hit hard by Andy
Blignaut, who blasted a whirlwind half century and sent the famed bowling attack for a toss. Declared the man of the match, the Zimbabwean superb effort helped his team post a good total on board. However, it proved just a notch less for a professional side like Australia but rest assured, the home team had them gasping at one stage of the match. |
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Aussies
too good for Zimbabwe
Bulawayo, February 24 Zimbabwe, electing to bat first, scored a competitive 246 for nine from their stipulated 50 overs, mainly due to the efforts of Andy Flower, who top-scored with 62, and a blistering 28-ball 54 by Andy Blignaut. However, the total could hardly stretch the defending champions who romped home in 47.3 overs with seven wickets to spare. The victory gave Australia 16 points with two matches to go against minnows Namibia and England and only a miracle can now deny them a place in the next round. India and England have 12 points each from four matches while Zimbabwe has eight. Pakistan, who have four points from three games, need to win all their remaining matches to entertain any hopes for qualifying for the super six. For Australia, Adam Gilchrist emerged as the top-scorer, making a characteristically belligerent 65-ball 61 that included eight hits to the fence. Damien Martyn remained unbeaten on 50 while Darren Lehmann made 56 not out. Gilchrist, dropped quite early in his innings, and Mathew Hayden provided Australia a familiar flying start, putting on 89 runs within the first 15 overs. Gilchrist, who struck eight fours, easily outscored his partner as he thrashed the Zimbabwe new ball bowlers and raced to his 28th one-day half century off just 41 deliveries. Hayden, on the other hand, was not very fluent though he did produce a few sparkling shots, mainly straight down the ground. He was the first wicket to fall, caught by Grant Flower off Douglas Hondo, at a personal score of 34 that came off 39 balls and included five fours. The dismissal of Hayden slowed down things a bit for Australia as captain Ricky Ponting and Gilchrist added only 24 runs for the second wicket in just over seven overs before the wicketkeeper batsman was dismissed by Douglas Marillier. Ponting shared another 43-run stand for the third wicket with Martyn before being dismissed, caught and bowled, by spinner Brian Murphy. But that was the last success for Zimbabwe as Martyn and Lehmann saw Australia through. The day’s most entertaining knock, however, came from the unheralded Blignaut whose blazing knock was mainly responsible for ensuring a decent score for Zimbabwe. Blignaut smashed eight fours and two sixes to infuse life into the Zimbabwe innings which was in shambles at 142 for six in the 37th over. Blignaut plundered 18 runs from a Jason Gillespie over, including four boundaries, before hitting spinner Brad Hogg for two sixes and a four in the next over which yielded 19 runs as Zimbabwe crossed the 200-run mark. Blignaut was finally out when Brett Lee managed to hold on to a blinding return catch in the 45th over. Heath Streak then chipped in with a 19-ball 28 not out with two fours and a six while wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu played a useful knock of 23. Earlier, the Flower brothers had resurrected the Zimbabwe innings with a 84-run stand for the third wicket after Gillespie had dismissed both the openers cheaply. During his knock, Andy Flower became the highest run-getter for Zimbabwe in World Cups, surpassing Dave Houghton’s 567 runs when he reached 24. The two brothers were batting nicely when disaster struck Zimbabwe in the form of run out of Grant Flower who hesitated for a second run and paid the penalty. Grant Flower scored 37 off 58 balls with four fours. Scoreboard Zimbabwe: Wishart b Gillespie 10 Whittall c Hogg b Gillespie 1 A Flower b Hogg 62 G Flower run out 37 Ebrahim b Hogg 15 Taibu b McGrath 23 Mari llier c Ponting b Hogg 0 Blignaut c & b Lee 54 Streak not out 28 Murphy b McGrath 1 Hondo not out 1 Extras
14 Total (9 wickets, 50 overs) 246 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-28, 3-112, 4-121, 5-142, 6-142, 7-208, 8-242, 9-244. Bowling: McGrath 9-2-24-2, Gillespie 9-1-50-2, Symonds 10-1-35-0, Lee 10-0-63-1, Hogg 8-0-46-3, Martyn 4-0-21-0. Australia: Gilchrist c sub b Marillier 61 Hayden c G. Flower b Hondo 34 Ponting c & b Murphy 38 Martyn not out 50 Lehmann not out 56 Extras: (lb 1, w 8) 9 Total:
(3 wkts, 47.3 overs) 248. FoW: 1-89, 2-113, 3-156. Bowling:
Streak 6-0-39-0, Blignaut 10-0-53-0, Hondo 9-0-49-1, Whittall 3.3-0-26-0, Marillier 10-1-32-1, Murphy 9-0-48-1.
PTI
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Warne no drug cheat, says ACB chief Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, February 24 “A lot of mud will stick from this in that if you are found guilty of a doping offence a lot of people will say he has breached the code therefore he is a drug cheat,” Sutherland told reporters today. “It is one thing to have banned substances in a sample that you give and it is another to be a drug cheat.” “The evidence that came through in the hearing confirmed my thoughts that Shane Warne is no drug cheat.” “Some people might believe that but they won’t understand the facts and the facts as I believed them coming into the hearing and the evidence in the hearing confirmed my thoughts,” he added. Sutherland was also keen to stress he believes Warne has a future in Australian cricket. “It is a 12-month ban but as far as I am concerned Shane is still a valued member of Australian cricket and the future of Australian cricket,” he said. “It is a judgement for the selectors in the future but I would like to think that Shane could continue to be a part of Australian cricket.” “It is also a challenge for us as if Australian cricket wants Shane to be a part of that future we have to help him prepare for that future, but at the same time he has breached the policy and has been given a serious ban.” “We need to work through that and we have got time to do that, to work out what is appropriate.” Sutherland said he was less than pleased with the build-up to Friday’s hearing. “I wasn’t happy with the amount of people commenting on the issue itself leading into it,” he said. “What was inappropriate was so-called experts in the field, experts on anti-doping, casting aspersions over the case and the penalty at a time when someone was under charge.” “The only people who knew the facts were the people who sat in the hearing and asked questions about what occurred.” “So for anyone to be making judgements prior to the hearing when they didn’t know the facts was totally out of order,” he added. Warne has lodged an appeal but Sutherland is not expecting the leg spinner to be back at the World Cup and believes a replacement player needs to be organised. “The selectors will obviously work through that and I’m not sure what stage we are up to but we obviously need to shut that down in the short term,” he said. “Shane is not coming back and the process of an appeal will take time so we need to look ahead now.” Reuters
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Warne wary of appeal now
Sydney, February 24 Besides the emotional quotient, Warne was also weighing the other pros and cons of making the appeal as there were clear suggestions that he might end up with a longer ban that the 12-month suspension slapped on him by the tribunal. “The appeal situation is something that I have to think about — do I want to go through all this again and put my mum, wife, kids and the rest of the family through another couple of weeks of heartache, anticipation and anxiety,” Warne said in his column in Daily Telegraph. “This (appeal) is something I am giving a lot of thought to because I have seven days to decide. I have a lot of angry and disappointing thoughts at the moment but I do have to start thinking clearly,” the 33-year-old said. Warne was handed a 12-month ban by a drugs tribunal on Saturday for taking banned diuretics and the leg spinner said immediately afterwards that he would appeal against the decision. He was allowed seven days to file an appeal to the National Sports Disputes Centre whose director Tim Frampton has warned that the player could risk a longer ban. “It can confirm or vary it — up or down — that’s my impression,” he told Daily Telegraph. Describing the past two weeks as the “toughest” of his life, Warne said, “a 12-month ban that I and a lot of other people think is very, very harsh for taking what I thought was a fluid tablet, not a diuretic. “In the past week I have been told what a diuretic is and what it can do. But the fluid tablet had nothing to do with cricket or trying to mask anything. It had simply to do with appearance. “The past two weeks have obviously been the toughest of my life. It has been a very difficult time for my whole family, especially my mum and children who have been subjected to something very unfamiliar to them,” Warne said. But the champion bowler, who is Australia’s leading wicket-taker in both forms of the game, tried to draw the positive out of the whole doping saga. “...There is always a positive out of a negative. One is that hopefully no other athlete makes an innocent and silly misjudgment like I did because such an innocent thing can rock and turn your life upside-down,” he said. PTI
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New job offer for Warne Sydney, February 24 Coach Grant Thomas’ offer to Warne, a former St Kilda reserves player and lifetime supporter of the club, follows Warne’s 12 month ban after testing positive for a banned
diuretic. The Saints’ coach said the club would not be in a position to offer Warne “truckloads of money” but was desperate to have him on board at the club in an official capacity. “What would the leadership group like to do, would they like to be able to walk in every Monday at 11 o’clock to have their meeting and see a guy of Shane Warnes calibre at the end of the table - I think so,” Thomas told AFL’s website. Despite Warne also having been found guilty of accepting money from an Indian bookmaker as well as being involved in a sex-talk scandal with a British nurse, Thomas said the Saints players could learn a lot about “responsibility” from Warne. “They (the St Kilda players) would be able to have a coffee with him every now and again and chat about responsibility and about not tolerating mediocrity and enforcing that and all that sort of stuff. I think that is immeasurable,” Thomas said. Warne, Australia’s leading Test wicket-taker with 491 victims, played one reserves game for St Kilda in 1989 before embarking on his outstanding cricket career. And despite his busy international schedule, Warne attends as many St Kilda games as he can and when on tour with the Australian side constantly keeps up to date with the progress of his club. The Saints now want to repay Warnes support of the club by supporting the great leg-spinner in his time of need. “I am hopeful we can extend a supportive arm to him and he is in a position to throw himself into something that will occupy his mind,” Thomas said. Warne was banned until February 10, 2004, by the Australian Cricket Board’s anti-doping panel after being found guilty of taking a diuretic which can also be used as a masking agent to cover up the presence of steroids. The AFL refused to comment directly on the prospect of Warne being employed by St Kilda but said the club would need permission from the league if the Saints planned to use Warne in any match-day role which involved him being on the field during breaks in play.
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Waqar seeks inspiration from ’92 triumph Paarl, February 24 Pakistan play the Netherlands here at Boland Park tomorrow, knowing they need to win their remaining three Pool A matches to reach the Super Six phase of the World Cup. After defeats against Australia and England, Pakistan are languishing in fifth place in their pool, with Australia, England and India all two wins ahead of them. After the Dutch match, Pakistan have to play India at Centurion Saturday and Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on March 4. “All these three games are crucial,” said Waqar. “It’s a World Cup. In 1992 we lost the three of the first five games and we came back to win.” Eleven years ago, Pakistan were lucky to escape a fourth defeat when they were bowled out for 74 by England and achieved a no-result because of rain. Skipper Imran Khan famously exhorted his players to “attack, attack, attack” and they won three successive matches to scrape into the semi-finals, then won twice more to lift the trophy after the final against England in Melbourne. Asked whether he could emulate
Imran, Waqar admitted: “I don’t know how he did it because I wasn’t there but I’m going to give it my best shot.” What is certain is that the Dutch can expect no mercy on the ground where Canada were bowled out for a world record low of 36 by Sri Lanka last Wednesday. Waqar admitted that the team’s batting had been disappointing but said major changes were unlikely. “We don’t have much choice. We have 15 here and they are the best we’ve got. They are all playing reasonably well although Inzy
(Inzamam-ul-Haq) is lacking a bit of form.” Inzamam, who went to the 1992 World Cup as an unheralded 21-year-old and emerged as one of Pakistan’s stars after a match-winning 60 off 37 balls in the semi-final against New Zealand, has been dismissed for 6, 4 and 0 in the 2003 tournament. The Dutch part-timers do not pose a major threat but they put up spirited performances in their defeats against India, England and Australia. All-rounder Tim de Leede has been their star performer, taking four for 35 against India in Paarl, top-scoring with 58 not out against England and taking two for 34 against Australia. Teams (from): Pakistan: Waqar Younis (capt), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Salim Elahi, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Mahmood, Mohammad Sami. Netherlands:
Roland Lefebvre (capt), Luuk van Troost, Daan van Bunge, Bas Zuiderent, Klaas van Noortwijk, Tim de Leede, Reinout Scholte, Edgar Schiferli, Feiko Kloppenburg, Jeroen Smits, Jacob-Jan Esmeijer, Nick Statham, Henk Mol, Ruud Nijman, Adeel Raja. Umpires:
Steve Bucknor (WI) and S Venkataraghavan (Ind) TV umpire: Tyron Wijewardene (Sri) Match referee: Clive Lloyd (WI).
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Pak have hit rock bottom: coach
Paarl (South Africa), February 24 Pakistan’s 112-run defeat against England was their second in three matches, which leaves them the task of beating the Netherlands, India and Zimbabwe to keep their hopes alive of making the Super Six. "The players must realise we have hit rock bottom and need to come out of that," Pybus told AFP ahead of the next match against the Dutch here tomorrow. After the defeat against England our backs are against the wall and in the next three games we need a do-or-die attitude to go forward in the tournament. "There is only one way to go - the hard way." Pybus, an Englishman serving his third term as Pakistan coach, was also the coach for South African provincial side Boland. The knives will be out if Pakistan do not qualify for the Super Six, but that is the least of Pybus’ worries. "At the moment I am not thinking about my position, all I am thinking about is the next three games," he said. England’s newest pace sensation James Anderson grabbed four wickets to rock Pakistan for a paltry 134 in reply to England’s 246 for eight in Cape Town on Saturday. "I feel we gave 42 runs too many to England and when we batted our middle order did not come to the party," Pybus said. "Conditions did change as we had to bat under lights and England bowled exceptionally well while we let them off," Pybus said. The coach said he was worried over the repeated batting failures. "In a way it is disappointing that we have batted so badly. The boys train exceptionally hard but it does not work out in the middle." "It’s not complicated, we just need to put together a collective batting performance and that can make our days in the remaining games." AFP
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‘India
can dominate England’
Durban, February 24 Wright said England bowlers, especially Anderson, who rocked the Pakistani batting line-up on Saturday with a four-wicket haul, had come up with a few commendable performances but stressed the Indians were not worried on that count. “We haven't seen a lot of Anderson but he had a good night the other day,” Wright said. “But we have got one or two players who can put the best of bowlers under pressure.” The famed Indian batting, which struggled on the tour of New Zealand and in the first two matches of this tournament, is slowly finding its bearings, having registered convincing victories over Zimbabwe and Namibia. But England bowlers are also in a confident state of mind after their performance against Pakistan and their pace spearhead Andrew Caddick went so far as to suggest that the Indian batsmen were susceptible to pace and bounce. “I am not surprised Caddick has talked of pace and bounce given the type of bowler he is. Let us hope we get a good one-day surface,” Wright said as he took a few players for a net session at the Kingsmead ground here. “There was a practice game between Bangladesh and Natal (at this pitch) in which Bangladesh won while chasing. It is a good sign,” Wright said. “This might be a little different wicket to the other wickets seen in South Africa so far. It would need adapting from both sides. We are a little fortunate in having trained here since we arrived,” Wright said. The coach said the fact that India enjoyed an advantage over England in recent times did not matter much. “We respect them as opponents. We had a tough tour of England last summer and they had a good win the other night. “We know them, they know us and it's been good to play them. The match is nicely poised and it's an opportunity for both sides to make a statement.” Wright did not think that the shuffling in the Indian batting order had sent out wrong signals to the opposition camps. “You need changes at times but we have made just one significant change. Saurav Ganguly has dropped down the order and Tendulkar has come up but that has been necessitated by the form of certain players,” he said. Wright said left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, who sprained his ankle while bowling against Namibia, was recovering well from his injury and his fitness for the game against England would be known tomorrow. “Nehra is walking around quite easily today. He had an intensive treatment from physio Andrew Leipus and we were encouraged by what we have seen today. We will have to assess his fitness tomorrow,” he said. England too have an injury worry in Michael Vaughan and the key batsman is a doubtful starter for Wednesday's game. “As for Vaughan, I don't think it is a big factor really. Injuries are a part of a sportsman's life. I personally would not highlight the issue. He is a key man in the line-up but injuries give others an opportunity,” he said. Wright indicated that India would have to continue with just one spinner in their bowling line-up for some more time. He commended both Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh for having a professional outlook and taking things in their stride even when left out of the side. “We have two world class spinners and many batsmen are susceptible to both Harbhajan Singh and Kumble. Dropping either of them isn't the easiest of decisions. But we try to take the best combination. “Harbhajan has been in favour lately but Kumble has a tremendous record and is a professional. He does not enjoy sitting on the sidelines,” he said. PTI |
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Andrew Caddick keen to have a go
Durban, February 24 "I am more than happy if Tendulkar opens because then I have a chance to get him early on. When he comes at number four, the ball is slightly old and is not doing much," Caddick said. "It’s always a challenge to bowl to Sachin. But at the end of the day, he is only human and does make mistakes."
Tendulkar, after being pushed down to the middle order last year, is back to his favourite slot in the World Cup and has shown his penchant for the opener’s role smashing 321 runs in four innings, including 152 in the last game against Namibia. Caddick, on the other hand, has been niggardly in the first two matches of his first World Cup conceding only 28 and 27 runs against Namibia and Pakistan, and enjoys a extremely healthy economy rate of 3.96 runs per over, from his 52 one-day internationals. Caddick played down the threat of Tendulkar, suggesting England have an equally dominant batsman in Michael Vaughan. "You have got one of the best players in Sachin and we have got one of the best players in Vaughan. It sort of counts that out." Vaughan cracked his third half century in four matches against Pakistan but is currently suffering from a sprain in left ankle and is extremely doubtful to play against India. Caddick rates Indian batting as a very big threat and sounded out the rivals to watch out for the pace and bounce England bowlers would employ against them. "Indians are a very big threat. They have a very good batting line up. But we realise that pace and bounce is a very effective tool against the Indian batsmen. "They are playing some very good cricket as far as batting is concerned. Thankfully for us, a lot of their batsmen lower down the order haven’t played long enough. Hopefully, we might use it to our advantage on Wednesday." Caddick dismissed there was any bad blood between the two teams after nail-biting finishes they had in Tests and one-dayers last year. "There is no bad blood between the two sides. If you mention about cricketers taking off their shirt, it is a kind of celebration at the success enjoyed." Caddick hasn’t seen the pitch at Kingsmead but said it should favour batsmen, unlike the occasion against South Africa a few years ago when he picked up seven wickets in a Test. "That was Test cricket but one-day strips are different. They tend to favour batsmen more than the bowlers." But Caddick felt England has now got a very good bowling line-up to nail a batting unit which was in such prolific form in England last summer. "If we continue the form in which we are bowling, Jimmy (Anderson) is bowling, Craig White and Andrew Flintoff are doing, we will continue to apply pressure on Wednesday," Caddick said. The lanky Englishman, who is sharing the new ball with bowling sensation Anderson, suggests the duo are able to build a different type of pressure on rival batsmen. "My kind of bowling is boring really. He applies the pressure while I keep it tight at the other end. We all know the first 15 overs are very important for a batting side. "If they get off to a flyer, it makes it very difficult later down the innings. My main job is to keep it as tight as I can. If I can do that, it will allow him (Anderson) to pressurise the batsmen more." Good as Anderson has bowled, Caddick still misses his old mate Darren Gough at the other end. "You always miss Darren Gough. He was and is a world class one-day cricketer. "I haven’t spoken much to Anderson about his bowling methods. There is hardly you can say to a guy who is bowling as well as he has done. "Only because I have grey hair doesn’t mean I need to be a father figure. I just concentrate on what I am doing and let others do their own stuff." Caddick wanted England to be level-headed against India rather than gloat too much on the success they enjoyed against Pakistan. "The key on Wednesday will be the continuous form we have been building. We don’t need to get too big heady. We just need to be cool about it."
PTI
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Double trouble for England
Durban, February 24 Vaughan is doubtful for Wednesday’s day-night game after a suspected right calf strain sustained during the team’s victory over Pakistan at Cape Town last Saturday. The Yorkshire batsman’s troubles became pronounced while scoring his third half century in his last four one-day innings to help England remain on course. He was given a treatment during his innings and was removed from fielding duties as Pakistan were shot out for a lowly 134 in reply to England’s 246. Trescothick, lately, has suffered a form slump, his confidence is low and he hardly appears a batsman who was scoring heavily against Sri Lanka and India last season. Former England captain Mike Gatting believes Trescothick’s shoulder injury just before the tour to Australia last winter is the reason behind his falling form. “The shoulder injury cramped his style. The failure to get the hands quickly and bring the bat down quite straight are handicaps,” Gatting said. England need either Vaughan or Trescothick to come good in their remaining games against India and Australia because Paul Collingwood, their batting star in the game against Pakistan, has the game and temperament to build on their efforts. Vaughan sounded confident of what he could contribute in England’ efforts and even expressed his keenness if captaincy was to come his way after the World Cup. “At present I’m just concentrating on my batting. It’s my first World Cup which is a fantastic occasion. I’m determined to go out and enjoy it. “But if after the end of the tournament, or in a year’s time, the job becomes available then obviously I’d like my name to be mentioned but for now I’m just happy to carry on playing,” Vaughan said. Trescothick and Mark Butcher have also been mooted as future England captains and Vaughan believes there will be fierce competition when Hussain does quit eventually. “I’ve not known many people turn the job down before but it’s not available and at the moment I’m inexperienced as a captain and I’m sure there will be a number of players who would like to be mentioned,” Vaughan said. “I’m always thinking about the game when I’m on the field, but at the moment it’s pretty hard just being an international batsman, an international fielder and an international cricketer and that’s what I’m concentrating my efforts on for now.” The Trescothick-Vaughan partnership was first tried in New Zealand and it was not an unqualified success, with only one half century stand in Wellington to show for their combined efforts. But since then they have grown by leaps and bounds. Former South African great Barry Richards still rates Trescothick as a very good player in making. “I am very impressed with Marcus Trescothick,” said Richards. “I think he is coming on in leaps and bounds and he has tremendous potential to be a very good player.”
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Boost for Vaughan
DURBAN: England batsman Michael Vaughan was given a boost today after a scan on his strained right calf showed no major damage. Vaughan, who scored a half-century in England’s group A win over Pakistan on Saturday but did not field, is expected to train on Tuesday. If there is no reaction he should be available to play against India on Wednesday in Durban, in a game which is likely to decide whether Nasser Hussain’s team qualify for the super six stage. Reuters
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Imran praises
Ganguly Johannesburg, February 24 "After poor batting displays in their first three matches at the World Cup, it must have been a relief for India to see at least two of their batsmen score heavily," said the cricketer-turned-politician on BBC Online. "Perhaps the best thing that could have happened for them was the return to form of Sachin Tendulkar. "Sachin is a match winner and I think his 152 against Namibia underlined what a great player he is," said Imran. "I’m sure with Sachin on a high, the rest of the Indian batsmen will follow suit soon and join him in the free run-scoring." Imran said the return to form by skipper Ganguly also augured well for the Indian side. "It was also good to see Sourav Ganguly sweep aside the recent problems he has personally experienced on and off the field, by scoring a majestic ton. "It was a far cry from the performance against Australia, where he looked under-pressure and out of sorts.
PTI
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SA bowling worst in 40 years: Symcox
East London, February 24 Symcox, a former Test spinner who was made a selector last year following the crushing defeat at the hands of the Australians, made the unflattering remark in the Afrikaans newspaper Rapport. National convener of selectors Omar Henry said that he will meet Symcox to hear his views first hand. “I haven’t spoken to him yet but I’m not at all surprised (that he made the comment),” Henry told the SAPA news agency. “We knew from the outset that Pat wears two hats — a media hat and a selector’s hat. When you are in that situation basically anything can happen.” Henry, however, did not dispute the sentiment expressed by Symcox who doubles up as a TV commentator and newspaper columnist during the World Cup. “It’s no secret we have a problem with our bowling. He’s entitled to an opinion,” said Henry. “The question is why did Pat say it and, secondly, is it a good thing for South African cricket that he did say it?” The selectors, it appears, are at least in agreement over Allan Donald with Henry saying that the veteran bowler, who was dropped for the win over Bangladesh, would play against Canada here on Thursday. Donald, 36, has endured a wretched World Cup having already been dropped from the team twice. “A lot of people have been telling me this week how I should be bowling and in the nets I have felt very relaxed,” said Donald who was denied the opportunity of answering his growing army of critics on his home ground of Bloemfontein where South Africa crushed Bangladesh by 10 wickets on Saturday. “Things went well in practice and hopefully I will get another chance to put it right out there on the pitch. “In a perfect world, I would be playing but the team comes first and they all did a great job.” Donald had been under fire for his performances in the tournament after conceding 54 runs in nine overs against the West Indies and 52 against New Zealand from 5.5 overs with just one wicket to his name. He was also dropped for the match against Kenya which his side won comfortably in Potchefstroom on February 12. AFP
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CONTROVERSY
OF THE WEEK DURBAN:
While picture in Group A is becoming clearer by the day, Group B is still muddled on account of the poor start which South Africa suffered in the first week of the competition. But there is one cause of failure for which cricketers and fans alike share responsibility: the ghost of Edgbaston. Advertisers have bombarded the country with images of SA’s painful World Cup semi-final exit in 1999, telling the nation things will be different this time. It’s like those adverts reflect nation’s mood. It’s as if there is a national psyche still hell-bent on searching for that one run that would have brought SA victory-little consideration has been given to the first-round matches or the 3,000-odd runs needed to win the title in 2003. It’s not to say that Edgbaston could not have been used as a healthy motivating factor, but the methods employed have been negative, a form of self-flagellation. Translated into cricket terms, South Africa seems to have developed a sense of entitlement regarding the World Cup. It’s evident in the criticism levelled against Pollock, Donald and others-based on the assumption that South Africa are a great side and certainty to at least make it to the finals. South Africa’s preoccupation with Edgbaston appears to have blinded them to changes in world cricket over the past four years. Teams like the West Indies and New Zealand are no longer whipping boys any more. It would appear the reintroduction of a sports psychologist and taking the players on their team-building stint were 11th hour measures. Lance Klusener’s behaviour in the tournament opener against the West Indies suggested team spirit was way short of where it should be. That he stood and watched the ball (instead of trying to cross over and give Nicky Boje the strike) before being caught showed he was thinking of himself rather than the two tailenders who had yet to bat. Another worrying issue is the persistent drum beaten for the late Hansie Cronje. Herschelle Gibbs’ comments about missing Cronje apparently read a lot worse in print than they were when he uttered them. But the Hansie sentiments expressed by Gibbs, Donald and Jonty Rhodes surely serve only to undermine Pollock as captain. Pollock hasn’t help his cause either. When he became captain and Cronje was sacked as skipper on account of match-fixing crimes three years ago, Pollock made an immediate impact by beating the Australians in a one-day series. In the flush of victory, at a packed Wanderers Stadium, a less generous man than Pollock would have beaten his own breast and proclaimed “I am the captain, this victory is mine.” The king is dead, long live the king. Instead, Pollock hailed the legacy of Cronje’ and an emotional crowd chanted “Hansie, Hansie.” Pollock, said Gibbs, was still finding his feet as a skipper. After nearly three years? If Pollock doesn’t have the respect of his players, can South Africa realistically expect to win the World Cup? South Africa tend to think of Australian teams as being arrogant. What they really don’t like about them is they know how to win. But as a nation, South Africa doesn’t know how to lose. South Africa praise opponents too seldom. Until they learn to cope with defeat, they can’t hope for victory. South Africa certainly has no right to demand triumph. Burying the ghost of Edgbaston will go a long way to rectify matters. It’s not only the players who must do it. The entire nation needs to do it.
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Kiwis itching to return to action
Kimberley, February 24 The Kiwis have not played for over a week after forfeiting their game in Kenya because of security concerns, and Stephen Fleming’s men are itching to return to action. “The break has been good for us but we’re ready to go again,” Fleming told Reuters. “We’ve had some time to rest and practice some things and really focus on what we need to do.” Having not won a game for four years and with three heavy World Cup defeats to their name already, Bangladesh have little prospect of beating New Zealand, who have emerged as one of the favourites after beating the West Indies and South Africa.
Reuters
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Run blitz seals Moody's demotion
Johannesburg, Febriaru 24 Perhaps inspired by Canada’s John Davison, who failed by only two balls to knock Moody off the top of the standings on the way to the fastest ever century at the World Cup, Hinds reached his fifty from 24 deliveries. Hinds had barely lowered his raised bat, though, when his partner Brian Lara was plundering Barry Seebaran’s gentle medium pace for 26 runs in a single over, posting his own half-century in 23 balls. The two West Indians sat proudly atop the list overnight and, when Zimbabwe slumped to 142 for six against Australia few people would have expected the record to be threatened again. But enter unheralded Zimbabwe all-rounder Andy
Blignaut. The former model launched into the world champions’ much-vaunted attack in blistering style, smashing two sixes and eight fours to reach his half-century in 25 balls. Reuters
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Relieved
umpire offers prayer of thanks Johannesburg, February 24 The ball whizzed past the umpire’s head and raced towards the boundary, one of the many shots Tendulkar hit during his knock of 152. “I could have been killed,” a relieved Dar told AFP today. “I got saved because of my good eye sight. I still play cricket, you know. “I have not seen a more powerful drive in my four years of umpiring at the international level,” the 34-year-old Dar said. Dar dismissed any suggestion of holding a grudge against Tendulkar for the narrow escape. “I actually quite enjoyed the incident,” he said. “Sachin was very apologetic about it and kept saying sorry for the next two overs.” Tendulkar said he may have been denied a boundary if the ball had hit the umpire. “I was looking to hit the ball as hard as possible,” he said. “I connected that particular ball and was glad I got four runs for it.”
AFP
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| Pradeep, Sushil
best athletes Kurukshetra, February 24
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