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Friday,
March 21, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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India tame Kenyan lions
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Waqar,
Akram, Shoaib among 7 axed Waqar’s
sacking unjust: Pybus Andrew
Symonds has repaid Ponting’s faith Aussie
bowling looking pretty lethal Brett
Lee fails to impress men who matter Something
inside said I should go: Gilchrist Gilchrist
immortalised by grand gesture Symonds,
Bichel leave a mark Lanka
did only half the job right
A
flashback of 1983 semifinal win 13TH MAN Lose
Cup, lose captaincy Flower
signs with South Australia Olonga
fears a life of exile Abhinav
Bindra for European circuit Afro-Asiad
in Hyderabad Wrestling,
kabaddi meet concludes Football
results
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India tame Kenyan lions
Durban, March 20 Ganguly's unbeaten 111, his fourth World Cup hundred, propelled the 1983 champions to 270 for four while the brave Kenyans could muster only 179 in 46.2 overs in their biggest-ever game. The comprehensive 91-run victory set up a mouth-watering title clash between India and defending champions Australia in Johannesburg on Sunday. Ganguly's third century in this tournament, studded with five fours and an equal number of sixes, put him on par with team-mate Sachin Tendulkar and Australian Mark Waugh, who too have scored four World Cup tons — the maximum by any batsman. Tendulkar, who put on 103 runs for the second wicket with Ganguly, played another fine knock today before falling on 83 — the seventh time in 10 innings in this competition that he crossed fifty but failed to register a hundred. Later Tendulkar chipped in with two wickets including that of Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo, who top-scored for his side with 56. The defeat ended a dream run of the Kenyans — the lowest ranked team among the three co-hosts of the tournament — who became the first non-Test playing nation to reach the semifinals of the World Cup. Kenya, who upstaged Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh on their way to the last four, found India just too hot to handle and surrendered relatively easily after being confronted with a huge total. India’s three-pronged fast bowling attack warmed up nicely for the big match against Australia with Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra sharing six wickets between them. Zaheer was the most successful bowler yet again, claiming three wickets for 14 runs from his 9.2 overs. He now has 18 wickets in this competition, two more than Srinath and three more than Nehra. Srinath took one wicket today while Nehra claimed two. The only batsman to put up a fight for Kenya was skipper Tikolo. Leg-spinner Collins Obuya contributed 29 runs while former captain Maurice Odumbe made a quick-fire 19 off 16 balls. The Indians conceded as many as 39 extras, including 15 wides. India made a brave decision to bat first under overcast conditions after Ganguly won the toss earlier in the morning. With the wicket quite damp due to rains over the last two days and a relative strong breeze blowing, conditions were ideal for seam bowling, but Kenyan new ball bowlers could not utilise the advantage. Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag provided a sedate start to India before Kenya pulled back in the middle overs with some tight bowling and impressive fielding. With not much pace in the wicket, stroke-play was difficult, and after a good start, Sehwag got bogged down, unable to get his free-flowing drives going. He was dismissed when he miscued an attempted big hit against Peter Ongondo to give a simple catch to Odumbe. Sehwag made 33 off 56 balls and India lost their first wicket at 74. Runs came mostly in singles and twos as the heavy outfield prevented the Indians from hitting many boundaries. As slight drizzles started around the 30-over mark, Ganguly sensed the likelihood of a rain-curtailed game and started going for the big hits. The Indian skipper hit three sixes in three overs, two of them in an over from leg-spinner Collins Obuya which went out of the ground. Tendulkar, who was past his fifty by then, also joined in and came repeatedly down the track looking for the boundaries. Tendulkar, who has also been dismissed on scores of 98 and 97 in this tournament, hit a straight six against Tikolo before falling to the same bowler when he holed out to David Obuya at deep mid-wicket. But Ganguly continued his march and raised his 22nd one-day century with his fifth six. Earlier in the tournament, he had scored a match-winning 107 not out against Kenya in the Super Six and an unbeaten 112 against Namibia in the league phase. He put on a quickfire 56 runs in six overs for the third wicket with Mohammad Kaif who was run out after scoring 15. Yuvraj Singh also chipped in with a useful 10-ball 16 with a four and a six. India: Sehwag c Odumbe b Ongondo 33 Tendulkar c D Obuya b Tikolo 83 Ganguly not out 111 Kaif run out 15 Yuvraj c D. Obuya b Odoyo 16 Dravid not out 1 Extras (w-9, nb-2) 11 Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 270 Fall of wickets: 1-74, 2-177, 3-233, 4-267. Bowling: Suji 10-1-62-0, Odoyo 10-1-45-1, Ongondo 10-1-38-1, Karim 4-0-25-0, Tikolo 10-0-60-1, C. Obuya 6-0-40-0. Kenya: K Obuya c Dravid b Srinath 15 Shah lbw b Zaheer 1 Ongondo c Zaheer b Nehra 0 Odoyo c Sehwag b Nehra 7 Tikolo b Tendulkar 56 Odumbe c Zaheer b Yuvraj 19 Modi c Dravid b Zaheer 9 D. Obuya run out 3 C Obuya lbw b Tendulkar 29 M. Suji b Zaheer 1 Karim not out 0 Extras: (b-16, ib-8, w-15) 39 Total: (all out, 46.2 overs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-21, 3-30, 4-36, 5-63, 6-92, 7-104, 8-161, 9-179. Bowling:
Zaheer Khan 9.2-2-14-3, Srinath 7-1-11-1, Nehra 5-1-11-2, Harbhajan Singh 10-1-32-0, Yuvraj Singh 6-0-44-1, Sehwag 3-1-15-0, Tendulkar 6-0-28-2.
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Waqar, Akram, Shoaib among 7 axed
Also out of the 16-member team were off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, batting mainstays Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul Haq, and all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, chief selector Aamir Sohail told reporters in Lahore. The team, which has only seven players from Pakistan’s disastrous World Cup campaign and three new faces, was selected at the behest of newly-appointed captain Rashid Latif, Sohail said.
However, Sohail emphasised that it was not the end of the road for the senior cricketers. “We have not closed the chapter on superstars. On the basis of just one poor tournament, their past achievements and heroics cannot be forgotten,” Sohail said. “It has been a very difficult decision to leave out the maestros but we are looking for future. This is the beginning of a rebuilding phase and some of the bitter pills will have to be swallowed. “We will have to keep patience, wait and hope for the young guns to justify their talent,” he said. Pakistan made an ignominious first-round exit from the World Cup which included a humiliating loss to India. Besides Latif, the new vice-captain Yousuf Youhana, Taufeeq Umer, Saleem Elahi, Younis Khan, Abdur Razzaq and Mohammad Sami were the other members of the World Cup squad to have retained their place in the side. Mohammad Hafeez, Rana Naveedul Hasan and Umar Gul are the three uncapped players in the side while Misbah-ul Haq, Naved Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Zahid have been recalled. Explaining the exclusions, Sohail said Shoaib needed to work on his fitness while Inzamam and Saqlain needed a break from international cricket. His former opening partner Anwar, Sohail said, required to improve his fielding. “As far as Inzi (Inzamam) is concerned, if you recall he had a lean period against Australia in 1999-2000. He was dropped but when he came back, he was charged up and piled up runs. I think he needs rest, regroups himself and recharge his batteries because I strongly feel he has at least three years of cricket left in him,” Sohail said. “Saeed Anwar, we all know that he is around but probably needs to improve his fielding a little bit. You see in one-day cricket, you have to have young legs because you field, bat and bowl for 100 overs. “As regards Saqlain Mushtaq, he has looked out of sorts in the last six months and probably needs a break from international cricket. Likewise, Shoaib Akhtar also needs to work on his fitness,” he said. Sohail said all the demands of the captain were accepted by the selection panel. “We have fully backed Rashid because he is the man who is going to lead the team in the field. “But he has been told in clear terms that there should not be any experiments and the players will have to play in their positions unless situation demands some reshuffle in the batting order,” he said. Latif himself justified the inclusion of youngsters, saying it was the right time to blood them in. “I think it is the right time to throw the youngsters in and let them show what they have got. In the absence of the big boys, I think they will realise their responsibilities more than ever,” he said. “The problem is that we did not try the youngsters in the past and, therefore, we do not know if the back-up boys have the talent, temperament and potential to carry on the good work left by the seniors. We have to persist with the youngsters and keep throwing them in until we are convinced about the future,” he said. Among the newcomers, Hafeez is a right-handed opening batsman and a useful off-spinner while Rana Naveed is a fast bowling all-rounder. Umar Gul is a right-arm fast-medium bowler. The Sharjah tournament starts on April 1 and has Sri Lanka and South Africa as the other two teams.
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Waqar’s sacking unjust: Pybus
London, March 20 Waqar was stripped of the captaincy by Pakistan Cricket Board yesterday and replaced by 34-year-old wicket-keeper Rashid Latif. Pybus, whose stint with the Pakistan team seems to have left a bitter taste in the mouth, said he believed “Waqar did an incredible job keeping the team together.” Pybus also felt Waqar had been badly let down by certain players who should have been held accountable. “There was a general lack of desire to go out and fight and I doubt if there is anything that Waqar could have done to change that,” Pybus said, according to a report on the BBC website. England-born Pybus also criticised the appointment of Latif, saying Younis Khan was the better option. “I can see Younis Khan taking over in time,” Pybus said. “He is a thoughtful, highly professional cricketer who expects others to maintain the standards that he sets himself. “He is a strong, principled man and I know that if he gets the job at a future date he will have laid down the ground rules first. He certainly will not tolerate prima donnas.” Pybus said Latif was probably no more than a temporary appointment before Younis assumed the role.
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Andrew Symonds has repaid Ponting’s faith On the day Australia decided to go to war in Iraq they were also engaged in a minor skirmish at St Georges Park. The armed forces will hope that their battle is over as quickly as the first semi-final because once again the Australian pace bowlers headed by Brett Lee demolished a fragile Sri Lankan batting line-up. This fiery bowling performance followed yet another exhibition of scrambling at St. Georges Park from all the Australian batsmen bar one. Andrew Symonds is at the World Cup because his skipper requested his presence. The talented all-rounder has repaid Ricky Ponting’s faith by twice scoring heavily when his team was in trouble. The big difference between the assured Symonds at the World Cup and the jittery batsman we’d seen so many times previously is a calm and thoughtful approach to each innings. Where he used to regularly try and smash balls out of the park with brute strength now he’s calmly utilising his power to beat fieldsmen by hitting the ball along the ground. Sure, he still occasionally hits the ball in the air but when he does it’s controlled and his one six in a glorious innings of ninety one not out was a huge on-drive from the bowling of Aravinda de Silva. This innings was a huge test for Symonds. He came to the crease with Australia in trouble at 51/3 and it was obvious his patience was going to be tested by the cagey Sri Lankan spinners. He resisted all their temptations, only attempting shots he was capable of playing safely and that still leaves him with a wide range. His strongest support came from Darren Lehmann a good player of spin bowling and this liaison added ninety three for the fourth wicket. Once again Australia’s Achilles heel was exposed and the Sri Lankan spinners were snapping away like enraged terriers. The spinners bowled 32 overs for a haul of 115/4 on a pitch that was by no means loaded in favour of the tweakers. Despite being harassed by the slower bowlers Australia showed why they have remained undefeated in this tournament, battling their way to a score they had previously defended at this ground. For that they can thank Symonds and he must be grateful the skipper retained faith in his talent. In contrast, Australia employed Lee’s pace as a battering ram and after a promising start the Sri Lankan batting slid to oblivion faster than a Himalayan avalanche. Lee found his rhythm in the Super Six match against New Zealand at this same venue then followed it with a hat-trick against Kenya and again he bowled at a blistering pace to burst right through Marvan Attapatu’s defence. Lee’s combination of pace and outswing with the new ball and then lethal in-swinging yorkers in his final spell is proving too much for a lot of batsmen in this World Cup. While there has been a lot of fine bowling in this tournament some of the batting has been poor and not all of it from the minnows. Sri Lanka lost six wickets in the space of twelve overs and this left them with no ammunition to fire in the later overs as the storm clouds gathered and consequently they were lagging on the Duckworth - Lewis equation. With this victory the Australian cricketers brought a little joy on a day that brought grim tidings for the world.
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Aussie bowling looking pretty lethal Our batsmen will be relieved to get out of Port Elizabeth. The wicket just did not have the pace and the bounce our top five batsmen thrive on, and it is a flattering comment on our lower order that we managed to cross 200 on each occasion, despite a small contribution from our main batsmen. This semifinal meeting with Sri Lanka was a game we were a little worried about. Possibly, after our first two games against Pakistan and India, this was the first game we were concerned about, partly because of the wicket and partly because of the quality spinner, Muttiah Muralidharan. This is why we decided to play out Murali’s overs rather than take too many risks against him. We also decided to slow down a little and our target was around 230, so we knew 212 was always going to be competitive. As we move to the finals, our bowling is looking pretty lethal. Brett Lee was bowling really fast in Port Elizabeth, and would be even deadlier at the Wanderers. Before this tournament, Brett always went for plenty against India. However, our game at Centurion saw a change in that equation, and now Brett is really looking forward to testing the likes of Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and of course Sachin Tendulkar. As far as our batting is concerned I think Damien Martyn will miss the finals because his finger still does not look too good. Fortunately for us, Andrew Symonds has been looking in such good form that we hardly missed Damien in the semifinals. If Symonds’ innings against Pakistan gave him confidence, yesterday’s game proved to the world as well as to himself that he can play a controlled game, reining in his desire to go for the shots. The manner in which he held himself back when his natural instinct would be to loft the spinners. Vaas was excellent as well, because he just did not give Symonds the pace he was looking for by running his fingers across the seam to take the pace off the ball, but Symonds refused to succumb to a rash shot. We are on the threshold of another World Cup final, and our road to this finals could not have been more different from the last one. Looking back, I would say that the turning point for us was Andrew Symond’s knock against Pakistan. It was a tough game for us, especially with the sudden departure of Shane Warne. However Symonds rallied us around, and then Brad Hogg bowled beautifully. This made us confident that we have the depth, resilience and spirit to overcome any injury or setback. In that sense, we won a big victory at the start itself, and the confidence we gained there might be enough to take us right through to the end.
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Brett Lee fails to impress men who matter
Johannesburg, March 20 No more than a medium-paced pie-thrower, really. Before the World Cup semifinals, Lee was equal ninth in the race for the man-of-the-tournament award, with fewer than half the points awarded to India’s Sachin Tendulkar. Canada’s John Davison, an off spinning allrounder who left for home some two weeks ago after one scintillating century and several entertaining cameos, was one of the men still ahead of Lee on that list. The 26-year-old New South Welshman, indeed, tall and blond and hard to miss, has yet to win a man-of-the-match award. Taking five New Zealand top-order wickets for three runs in 15 balls, effectively killing off that Super Six encounter and sending the Kiwis home before the semifinals, was not good enough. Nor was his hat-trick, the first by an Australian in a World Cup, without conceding a run against Kenya. Lee, so approachable off the field, shrugged off that decision. “I’m not bowling for personal things,” he said, with his trademark boyish grin. But his captain, Ricky Ponting, was flabbergasted and less forgiving. In his first game against the Sri Lankans, Lee shredded the top order with a burst of three wickets for one run in 11 deliveries. He also sent Sanath Jayasuriya to hospital with a chipped thumb and bruised forearm (he was to inflict similar damage to Kenya’s Kennedy Otieno). However, his skipper Ricky Ponting scored a century and took the plaudits. Yesterday, in the semi-finals, he did it again. At 22 without loss in the fifth over, chasing a meagre 213 for victory in Port Elizabeth, Jayasuriya’s men had cause for optimism. Lee then uprooted Marvan Atapattu’s off stump with a 160.1kpm (99.48mph) thunderbolt, punching repeatedly at the floor in delight. “That started it off,” said Ponting. Lee kept Jayasuriya honest by peppering his ribcage and cracking him on the elbow, had Hashan Tillakaratne caught behind and then removed Avishka Gunawardene, fencing to the slips, as Sri Lanka collapsed to 45 for four. Wicket to wicket, Lee took three for 17 in 24 balls, in the process equalling Shane Warne’s Australian record of 20 wickets in a single World Cup. Lee hasn’t just caused inroads, he has ripped the heart out of Australia’s opponents. He removes specialist batsmen rather than picking up tail-enders on the cheap. Games look alive and then suddenly, a few balls and a few bemused batsmen later, they aren’t. Australia recognise Lee’s true value, even if World Cup adjudicators have not. Lee took five for 30 in the second final of a tri-series event on home turf against England in January and was promptly named both man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series. Yesterday, he was pipped by Andrew Symonds’s excellent 91 not out, which gave Australia a total to defend. Ponting was delighted with Symonds’s knock — “he played beautifully, he has done so all tournament” — but he had some praise for Lee as well before Sunday’s final. “The way Brett is bowling is outstanding. Let’s hope he’s got one more big game in him.”
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Something
inside said I should go: Gilchrist
Port Elizabeth, March 20 Gilchrist walked from the ground after being caught off bat and pad by Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara in yesterday’s semi-final, although umpire Rudi Koertzen had not given him out. Onlookers were amazed as the concept of walking has become a rarity in an era of high-pressure matches and large financial rewards for the winners. The
Australia wicketkeeper told Reuters he had been thinking about walking for some time. “I saw Rudi give me not out but I thought it was such an obvious deflection and something inside me said I should go,” he said. “Ever since an incident in Adelaide in December when Justin Langer claimed a catch off Michael Vaughan that was then given not out it has been something I have been thinking about.” “I thought it was all well and good to think like that as a ‘keeper but what would I do as a batsman if I nicked one? “There seem to have been so many inconclusive incidents in cricket in the recent past I have begun to think it is up to players to start taking each
other's word and be honest with each other
again.” Aravinda de Silva, the bowler who claimed another international wicket as a result of Gilchrist’s decision, welcomed his opponent’s gesture. “He (the umpire) did say ‘not out’ and it was a good gesture on Gilchrist’s part to have walked off,” he said. “It is very rare nowadays to see a batsman walking, although there is another guy, Brian Lara, who does it all the time.” “I think there are some gentlemen left in the game still.” Gilchrist said he had taken his decision by himself and it had not been something the Australia team had decided upon. “It is not a team thing, it is just something I have thought about myself,” he said. “I’m grateful for what Aravinda said and if it sets a precedent then that can only be good for the game.” Australia captain Ricky Ponting confirmed he would not expect the rest of his players to follow Gilchrist’s lead. “I won’t be encouraging any of our batsmen to do it, it’s up to them,” he said. “I won’t be telling the players to walk or not to walk, it’s how each of them see it on the day.”
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Gilchrist
immortalised by grand gesture The Bard of Avon may have asked a very serious existentialist question in his “To be or not to be.” adapting on the famous one-liner of the Prince of Denmark in Hamlet, cricket can now come up with — to walk or not to walk. The debate has been opened up once again by the Adam Gilchrist incident in the semifinal that seemed to suggest “Hey we have seen it all now. An Australian walking!” With due respect to Gilly’s grand gesture which will be immortalised in the annals of World Cups much like Courtney Walsh refusing to run Pakistan’s last man Salim Jaffer out off the last ball, the game will be dreaming if it believes this will start a new trend. Given cricket’s pretension to a greater morality, the issue will, however, rage on over whether the game’s lost integrity has been restored by one batsman walking in a do-or-die sudden-death World Cup mach. Dr
W.G. Grace, one of the games great luminaries, did not walk. He firmly believed people came to watch him bat, not to seen an umpire in action. The good doctor has been parodied in the famous story in which he is said to have, on being bowled, replaced a fallen bail saying “A windy day isn’t it?” while an incredulous umpire gaped. Don Bradman did not walk in a famous incident after World War II when with his score on 28 he edged Voce to Ikin in the slips and went on to make 187. Life must have been just getting back to normal and on the very first day of a post-war Ashes Test the great moral question was addressed in that manner by the don himself. In those difficult times, observing the rules may have been considered even more important than achieving a favourable result. These are difficult times, too, what with war breaking out, and maybe Gilchrist has shown the way. But no culture is more honest than any other. And Australians in sport have generally viewed the issue differently. “I have been given out on a number of occasions when I was not, so I will stick it out,” is how Saurav Ganguly responded to a question on the issue of walking. The Indian skipper has been brutally honest. That is the way he is made and he has never been afraid of speaking the bitter truth. Ricky Ponting was being realistic in saying he would not encourage any batsman to walk. Such sportsmanship as the willing surrender of one’s wicket when the umpire has not given you out is almost an ancient concept now. It is a modern world of sport in which Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal is more the norm. That match between Argentina and England became a cause
in the philosophical debate about where cunning ends and cheating starts. “This isn’t some big crusade on my part, but I’ve begun to think with each other,” is what Gilchrist says in reference to the modern habit of batsmen not taking the
fielder's word on low catches. That is a different area of argument altogether. If everyone was honest, batsmen may be willing to take the fielder’s word. But that is not the way things go in an imperfect world. Too often, fielders themselves are unsure whether they actually made the catch. Nothing illustrated this better than an incident involving Sachin Tendulkar and Jonty Rhodes in a day-night international in Durban several years ago. Sachin’s square cut off Klusener was taken low by Rhodes in his trademark fielding position at point and umpire Cyril Mitchley gave Sachin out because Rhodes appealed.
Mitchley was to say later that he believed in the word of a born again Christian in Jonty Rhodes. Television replays suggested the ball touched the ground about four times before the catch was completed. So much for unshakable faith in the word of a fielder claiming a
catch! The practice of walking has a history to it, so too a seasonal significance. Also, batsmen who are in form and are making runs are more prone to giving themselves out even if umpires do not. But will they walk when are in poor form and their place in the team is in doubt and their career is in line? Today, the cricket world is made up mostly of non-walkers. When technology is used to judge them out when they are less than a
centimeter from the sanctum of the crease, they see no reason why they should not be the beneficiaries in other situations of doubt in the umpire’s mind. The general practice is to go by the umpire’s ruling. In the era of match referees, batsmen are taught to accept the verdict gracefully and walk. They know the consequences of dissent. Where then does the question arise of their judging themselves out and walking when the umpire is not certain? Bob Simpson had a credo. You are a batsman and you bat, you do not umpire as well. In a funny way, that is a practical, if not quite ethical, stand to take. What the normal stand of a clear majority of batsmen today betrays is a refusal to tackle the bigger moral question. A part of being a sentient human being is that all of us kick these moral dilemmas round our brains. Clear answers do not always come though occasionally a Gilchrist or a Lara points the high moral ground to a modern, professional sport that used to be known once as the gentleman’s game.
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Symonds, Bichel leave
a mark Johannesburg, March 20 They are the two Andys — Symonds and Bichel — who have come to the rescue at crucial times in their team’s campaign to win a second successive
title. Symonds hit 91 to steer the Aussies to their semi-final win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday with an innings just as crucial as his 143 against Pakistan in the first round back on February 11. Despite those blistering innings, the big-hitting Symonds tries to keep his feet on the ground. “I just try and chip in with the bat and the ball and field well. It all beats standing in the deep doing nothing,” said the man whose original selection for the squad was widely criticised because of his poor form in the run-up the tournament. “I was numb when I was selected, to be honest with you. I don’t know what is happening now - I’m starting to grow a brain or something,” joked Symonds who won praise too from skipper Ricky
Ponting. Ponting knows he cannot do without his services in Sunday’s final at the Wanderers.
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Lanka did only half the job right
Johannesburg, March 20 If the batsmen had supported the bowlers, Sanath Jayasuriya’s men may well have been playing in Sunday’s final at the wanderers here. They had their best chance to end the campaign on a high note when, with considerable help from India, they squeezed past New Zealand and Zimbabwe into the semi-finals. Once there, they gave themselves a great opportunity when they restricted reigning champions Australia to a modest 212 for 7 at St George’s Park. But the batsmen failed to deliver again and Sri Lanka were reduced to 123 for 7 in the 36th over before rain ended their misery. Jayasuriya and the top order not only let down seamer Chaminda Vaas, who finished with a record 23 World Cup wickets, but also the retiring Aravinda De Silva.
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Aravinda
de Silva retires Port Elizabeth, March 20 The 37-year-old middle order batsman, whose prolific form had helped the islanders lift the trophy in 1996, was playing in his fifth World Cup. He had hit an unbeaten century in Karachi against the Mark Taylor-led Aussie team in the 1996 finals, which had also earned him the ‘main-of-the-match’ award. His innings today, which became his final international match, was cut short at a mere 11 runs when he was run out by a direct hit from Andrew
Bichel. Earlier, he took the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg, the first getting his team the initial breakthrough in the match. De Silva made his Test debut in 1984 and played 93 Tests. He also played 308
one-dayers. UNI |
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A flashback of 1983 semifinal win As Sourav Ganguly and his boys go to Durban to take on
minnows-not any longer Kenya in the second semi-final of the cricket
World Cup tomorrow, one is reminded of “Kapil’s Devils,’’ who
carried the same tag in the 1983 semis against England. As skipper
Kapil Dev and his men went into that semi-final battle on the slow
wicket at Old Trafford on June 22, 1983, they had already created
ripples crushing the Australians in the previous match. That win
against Australia itself was sarcastically described by the English
press as “marvellous piece of luck!’’ But Kapil, Mohinder
Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil, ironically now the coach
of his mother country’s opponent in the cricketing battle on the
morrow, proved that it was not luck but great team spirit, crushing
England too. To Old Trafford, June 22: England went into the match, led by speedster Bob Willis and an in-form G. Fowler, David Gower and Allan Lamb, averaging 80 with the bat their new ball attack was also formidable in Willis, Graham Dilley and Ian Botham who could turn a match on its head for his team and a reliable Paul Allot. The
drama began straightaway as England batting first, were a comfortable
69 without loss. But India’s new ball hero of the 1983 triumph Roger
Binny struck in tandem with the irrepressible Mohinder Amarnath, the
man of that World Cup and Kirti Azad. As Binny drew first blood dismissing Fowler, Amarnath and Azad removed cheaply the graceful David Gower, Mike Gatting and Ian
Botham, who lost his stump trying to heave Azad out of the ground. England were tottering at 141 for 4. And losing Lamb also cheaply later, England were 175 for 7. Then captain Kapil struck to remove Vic Marks, Paul Allot and Bob Wills for magical figures of 3 for 35. England dismissed for 213 in 60
overs, India had to make 214 at 3.56 per over. They had a good start with the thus far a failure in the 1983 Cup, Sunil Gavaskar making 25 and
Srikkanth, now one of the leading commentators making 19. Down 50 for 2, India made mincemeat of the England bowlers, with Mohinder (46) and Yashpal (61) to see India on road to victory recovering to 142 for 3 before Mohinder fell. Then Yashpal took India nine runs within victory before he was dismissed. But
Sandip Patil, the big hitting Mumbai talent swaggered in and belted a
51 not out etching his name in the annals of one-day cricket hitting
three fours off Willis in an over being the climax. Patil smashed
Willis for another four to get the winning run and put India in that
now historic June 25 final at the Lord’s cricket ground.
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13TH MAN DURBAN: So intense is the competition in media
for news in the 2003 World Cup that stories are twisted out of context
and proverbial mountains are being made out of molehills. Saurav
Ganguly found himself at the receiving end of such manipulation when
BBC reported him to have said he is getting too old and his hair are
greying. Next moment there was a flash from an international agency
which predicted Ganguly will not lead the Indian team for long. No sooner than the story was on wire, all hell broke loose. His father, Chandi Ganguly, was so incensed he reported called up Ganguly junior and told him to be prepared for a bullocking on return for having made such a stupid statement. The next few hours of the Indian captain were spent in calling up his friends in media and telling them to quash the story with his denial as quickly as they could possibly do. Meanwhile Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath will spend the summer playing for Durham in English county cricket. Durham
have drafted in Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath as cover for
Australia’s Martin Love who has been selected for the Australian
team to tour West Indies. Australia will leave on March 31 until mid-May and Srinath will stand in during that time. Srinath
has been flourishing in the twilight of his international career at
the World Cup, having taken 15 wickets to date. At Test level he has
clinched 236 wickets at an average of 30.49 and has 314 wickets under
his belt at one-day international level at 27.86. Indian coach John
Wright meanwhile is giving the game of volleyball prior to nets among
boys as one of the chief reason for bonding. “We started it in
England last summer and boys have looked forward to volleyball before
nets,” comments Wright “Fast bowlers obviously stand in front and
men like Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar and Parthiv Patel man the back
half.” |
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Lose Cup, lose captaincy
Johannesburg, March 20 New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming came to this World Cup as the only survivor of the 12-member captains club that ruled the tournament four years ago in England. Those who lost their jobs between the last and the current World Cup were: Wasim Akram of Pakistan, Mohammad Azharuddin of India, Alec Stewart of England, Brian Lara of the West Indies, Arjuna Ranatunga of Sri Lanka, Steve Waugh of Australia, Hansie Cronje of South Africa, Alistair Campbell of Zimbabwe, Aminul Islam of Bangladesh and Asif Karim of Kenya. Scotland’s Greg Salmond too would have been included in the above list, but his team failed to qualify for the 2003 edition. Now even before the current tournament has ended, two captains have already been shown the door, one resigned in disgust, another is pondering his future while yet another is hovering on the brink. South Africa sacked Shaun Pollock after the hosts failed to make the Super Sixes even though the team is currently the official world champions in Test cricket. Waqar’s sacking yesterday was on expected lines after co-favourites Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India on their way to making their exit after the first round. He was replaced by Rashid Latif, Pakistan’s sixth captain in five years. Nasser Hussain resigned as one-day captain, disgusted at the way officials handled the Zimbabwe boycott issue, even though he wants to remain the leader for Test matches. Carl Hooper is uncertain to lead the West Indies in the upcoming home series against Australia, while Bangladesh’s Khaled Mashud said he was still undecided whether to step down. Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak, on the other hand, insisted he would not follow Andy Flower and Henry Olonga into retirement and that he would battle on at the head of his team which was dogged by political controversy throughout the World Cup. "I will keep going as long as my body allows. I love my country, I love my job, I’ll keep going," said Streak after Flower and Olonga slipped into international retirement and exile, both fearing for their safety if they returned home following their black armband, anti-Robert Mugabe protests. Pollock blamed the legacy of disgraced former skipper Cronje for his sacking, although he vowed to play on under new captain Graeme Smith. "Ever since the Hansie issue there’s been an effort to make sure the captain was not given too much power and shared responsibility was the approach they wanted," Pollock said. Cronje, who was killed in a plane crash last year, received a life ban from cricket in 2000 after being found guilty of corruption charges. England’s Hussain advocated the Australian policy of having separate Test and one-day captains to lessen the increased pressure which goes with the job. "On tour you have so many questions about so many things apart from yourself and England’s cricket," Hussain said.
AFP |
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Flower
signs with South Australia Adelaide, March 20 Zimbabwe’s highest run-scorer in both Test and one-day cricket and team made Henry Olonga made international headlines last month when they took the field for Zimbabwe’s opening World Cup match against Namibia wearing black armbands “to mourn the death of democracy” in Zimbabwe. “Andy is a world-class, top ten cricketer, and not only does he bring to South Australia his outstanding cricket skills, but he is natural, proven leader,” South Australia Cricket Association
(SACA) chief executive Mike Deare said in a statement today. Flower had signed a three-year deal with
SACA, Deare said. The 34-year-old was one of Wisden’s five cricketers of 2002. The wicketkeeper-batsman played 63 Tests, making 4,784 runs and averaging a world-class 51.54 with 12 hundreds. The Zimbabwean also scored 6,786 runs at 35.34 in 213 one-day internationals and played in four World Cups.
Reuters |
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Olonga fears a life of exile London, March 20 Olonga said he had received “direct and clear” threats over e-mail about what fate awaits him if he returned to Zimbabwe, but he still believes he did the right thing. “We had no illusions about the kind of consequences and reactions we could get. The people we have dealt with in the past have been ruthless,” Olonga was quoted as saying in ‘The Guardian’. “We knew, or at least I knew, that the worst-case scenario was that I might have to go into exile,” he added. Teams of secret police from Zimbabwe had reportedly come to East London in South Africa during Zimbabwe’s last World Cup match against Sri Lanka looking for Olonga. The bowler announced his retirement from international cricket soon after the match and went into hiding. Flower also announced his decision to move to Australia with his family. Olonga, however, did not confirm whether Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s secret police came after
him. PTI |
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Abhinav
Bindra for European circuit Chandigarh, March 20 He will be participating in two events, the Sportland NRW-Cup 19th ISAS 2003 in Dortmund and the Air Rifle Championship in Hochbruck. These competitions are to be held from March 21 to 29 at Germany where all the top shooters of the world would be competing. He will probably be the only representation from India this year. |
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Afro-Asiad in Hyderabad New Delhi, March 20 Mr Kalmadi said IOA secretary-general Randhir Singh, along with other office-bearers, visited Hyderabad and discussed the modalities with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu before deciding to shift the Afro Asiad to Hyderabad, which was originally slated to be held in New Delhi. The Afro-Asian Games were to be held in Delhi in 2001, but the games were kept in abeyance following the terrorist strikes in the USA on September 11 that year. Mr Kalmadi said the organising committee of the Afro-Asiad, comprising the President of India and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as chief patrons, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vikram Verma as patron, Mr Chandrababu Naidu as chairman and Mr Suresh Kalmadi as working chairman, will be formed |
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Wrestling, kabaddi meet concludes Chandigarh, March 20 Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang, Minister for Sports and Youth Services, who gave away the prizes, also announced a grant of Rs 31,000 for the association. Among those present were the Director Sports, Punjab, Mr Kartar Singh and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Ramesh Dutt Sharma. The following are the results: Wrestling (55 kg):
Santokh (Jalandhar) 1, Sukhjit (Kapurthala) 2, Sundil Dutt (PP) 3.
60kg: Sukhchain Jeet (PP) 1, Janak Raj (Gurdaspur) 2, Rajbir (Kpt) 3.
66 kg: Rampal (PP) 1, Jaiveer (Kpt) 2, Tejinder (Amt) 3. 74 kg:
Rakesh (PP) 1, Purshottam (Rpr) 2. 84 kg: Sukhraj Singh (PP) 1, Rajwinder (Nwsh) 2. 96 kg:
Harinder Singh (PP) 1, Kuldip Singh (Amt) 2, Sandip Singh (Jal) 3.
120 kg: Kultar Singh (PP) 1, Gurvinder (Amt) 2, Harcharn Singh (Jal) 3. Team championship: Punjab Police (68 points) 1, Jalandhar (49 points) 2, Amritsar (39 points) 3. Kabaddi:
Dashmesh Academy, Nakodar 1, Kapurthala 2, Sher-e-Punjab 3, Bathinda 4. |
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Football
results Chandigarh, March 20 Jalandhar got a walkover against Muktsar. Yesterday, Patiala beat Bathinda 4-0, Ropar beat Gurdaspur 3-0, while Sangrur prevailed over Nawanshahr via sudden death. The championship will conclude on March 23, according to Mr Amarjit Singh, secretary, DFA, Fatehgarh Sahib. |
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Enter final with 91-run victory
In video:
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Islamabad, March 20