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Thursday,
May 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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2-match ban on Shoaib
Akhtar Waqar to play for Warwickshire Zimbabwe cricket’s future in Taibu’s hands
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Aussies post challenging total Castries (St Lucia), May 21 Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke smashed 75 runs each to guide Australia to 258 for four off 50 overs in the third one-day international against West Indies today. The pair produced a 99-run partnership to shore up the Australian innings, that was starting to look vulnerable at 79 for three. ‘Aussies not liked around the world’ Need to focus on Tests: Sidhu
Moya, Ferrero to lead Spanish assault
Shruti Dhawan loses to Sonal
Phadke Ludhiana boys crush Amritsar by 10 wickets Haryana wrestling squads This lad has impressed many with bat New-look
Polo Ground soon Patiala humble Minor
Districts-XI
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2-match ban on Shoaib Akhtar
Dambulla (Sri Lanka), May 21 The 27-year-old Akhtar was found guilty of changing the condition of the ball (law 42.3) and breaching Level 2.10 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players. The verdict, announced today by match referee Gundappa Viswanath, a former India batsman, means Akhtar will miss the triseries final against New Zealand on Friday and possibly the first match against England in the NatWest one-day series next month. “Tampering with the ball is contrary to the laws and the spirit of cricket,” said Viswanath who called Akhtar for a disciplinary hearing yesterday after television footage showed the bowler scratching the surface of the ball during Pakistan’s 22-run victory over New Zealand. “It is unfair to attempt to gain any advantage by altering the condition of the ball, apart from the traditional method of polishing or drying of a wet ball,” Viswanath said. Akhtar took three wickets late in the innings to derail New Zealand and propel Pakistan into the final of the triseries, which also involved hosts Sri Lanka. "I consider this offence to be of a serious nature and the penalty imposed reflects this view," Viswanath said adding Akhtar was charged with breaching the ICC Code of Conduct by on-field umpires Daryl Harper (Australia) and Peter Manuel (Sri Lanka) along with the third umpire Gamini Silva (Sri Lanka). The
disciplinary hearing called yesterday was attended by Akhtar, his captain Rashid Latif, manager Haroon Rashid besides the three umpires and the match-referee. "Evidence was heard from Akhtar concerning the appropriate penalty to be imposed and the player’s previous record disciplinary record was taken into account," Viswanath said. Unfortunately for Akhtar, his disciplinary record is least flattering. He was warned for ball-tampering during Pakistan’s first cricket Test against Zimbabwe last November and later in the same away tour, he was banned for one match for throwing a bottle at the spectators. Akhtar, often in news for wrong reasons — be it his rendezvous with Bollywood stars in defiance of team management or his pompous statements deriding his rivals or his suspect bowling action, was dropped from the Pakistan squad after a poor World Cup and was subsequently overlooked for the Sharjah triseries.
PTI
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PCB not to challenge decision ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board said it would not challenge the decision of the match referee to ban speedster Shoaib Akhtar. The PCB, which had warned the bowler to mend his ways if he wanted to continue his international career before he was named in the squad for the Sri Lankan tri-series, also said it would take no further action against the fast bowler. “The PCB will not challenge the decision of the match referee. It will also take no further disciplinary action against Shoaib Akhtar as he has already been fined for the offence,” the PCB said in a statement released soon after the ICC match referee Gundappa Viswanath announced his verdict in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. “The chief executive of the PCB (Ramiz Raja) is in Dambulla and he has been instructed to brief Akhtar on the consequences of his action and what is expected of him,” it said. The statement also said PCB would not call back Akhtar from Sri Lanka and he would return along with the rest of the team members in Karachi on May 24. PTI
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Waqar to play for Warwickshire
London, May 21 The 31-year-old Waqar, who has already enjoyed spells in England with Surrey and Glamorgan, has decided to miss this week’s county championship match with Kent at Edgbaston but will be seen in action in Warwickshire’s fourth round clash with Essex next week. “This will probably be my last season in county cricket but I’m a professional cricketer, I enjoy it and my appetite is there,” Waqar said. “I have been training for the last four or five days and things are looking good so I will be quite ready to play in the next game. “They are a good bunch here, but I still hope I can make a difference,” he said. Waqar was among the eight players dropped from the national side after Pakistan’s disastrous World Cup campaign. He was ignored for the Sharjah one-day series as well as the ongoing tri-series in Sri Lanka.
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Zimbabwe
cricket’s future in Taibu’s hands
London, May 21 However, what makes the ascent of Taibu - a black player in what has historically been a ‘white’ sport in Zimbabwe -all the more impressive is that until the age of 14 he had never been a wicket-keeper at all. Even then Taibu only donned the gloves by accident. "Bill Flower (father of former Zimbabwe keeper Andy), who was watching, said I had good hands and feet. He later gave me a pair of Andy’s gloves," explained Taibu, who at 5ft 4ins is one of the shorter players in world cricket today. Up until that point he had been an off-spinner. But in many ways the switch from slow bowler to stumper was the least remarkable aspect of Taibu’s cricket career which began in Zimbabwean capital Harare. "I started off playing cricket at Chipembere Primary School when I was eight," Taibu said. "We used to play during break-time. There were no nets, just trees with stumps painted on. But I never batted because the big boys pushed me out of the way." Nevertheless, a chance to receive proper coaching, in good facilities, was at hand if Taibu could collect one of the four annual cricket scholarships offered by Churchill High School. However, just before the scholarship exam, disaster struck. "I injured my arm so I couldn’t hold a bat properly. I didn’t get the scholarship." But fate intervened. A businessman, whose son had played alongside Taibu, provided funds so that Stuart Matsikenyeri -due to be a member of Zimbabwe’s one-day squad in England -was promoted to a full scholarship and Taibu took his place. All the while Taibu and other young hopefuls were receiving coaching from Steven Mangongo of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU), now a national selector. "Steven ran the whole show. He was very tough," a smiling Taibu recalled. At school he enjoyed many other sports, including athletics in which he excelled in the pole vault. But it was his skill at cricket that ensured he did not return to his father’s barber shop although Taibu’s self-confessed "passion for accounts" might have been useful. Taibu captained Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup where he received coaching from Worcestershire keeper Steve Rhodes, the former England international, who recently described Taibu as "one of the most naturally talented players I’ve ever seen." Taibu’s international debut came in 2001 and his lively keeping and bold batting were both features of Zimbabwe’s march to the second phase of this year’s World Cup. Despite that some say making Taibu vice-captain smacks of politics - Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak is white. Following the World Cup black armband protests against carried out by Andy Flower and Henry Olonga against Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe - a gesture which effectively signalled the end of the duo’s international careers - the squad has been subjected to political demonstrations in England. But Taibu remains resolute about a side given no chance by many pundits. "We are here to win. Obviously, the side has changed. We’ve lost big players but the younger guys who have come in are willing to learn and will give everything to win." That’s certainly true of Taibu himself. The man who said ‘good things come in small packages’ may yet be proved right again.
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Aussies post challenging total
Castries (St Lucia), May 21 Pace bowlers Mervyn Dillon and Corey Collymore put the Australian batsmen under early pressure after West Indies captain Brian Lara won the toss and put the tourists in to bat. Dillon was rewarded for a good opening spell when Matthew Hayden was caught behind for 20. Jimmy Maher, who had a reverse sweep off off spinner Omari Banks dropped by Wavell Hinds at short third man, was caught for 17 just two balls later by Devon Smith at long leg to leave the visitors at 48 for two in the 10th over. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting attacked the West Indies bowlers from the outset, but when he was run out for 32 by Collymore, the visitors were 79 for three in the 17th over. Symonds and Clarke, in only his second one-day international, then regained the initiative as they boosted the run rate further with aggressive running. Symonds was particularly brutal against the wayward bowling of part-timers Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels, smashing a series of boundaries. West Indies were hampered by the absence of the injured Jermaine Lawson and the unwell Vasbert Drakes, but off spinner Chris Gayle made a breakthrough when he bowled Symonds for 75. Clarke then combined in an 80-run unbroken partnership with Michael Bevan (32 not out) to see the visitors to a challenging target on a good batting wicket and a fast outfield. Reuters Scoreboard Australia: J. Maher c Smith b Banks 17 Hayden c Baugh b Dillon 20 Ponting run out (Collymore) 32 A. Symonds b Gayle 75 M. Clarke not out 75 M. Bevan not out 32 Extras
(lb-2, w-2, nb-3) 7 Total (4 wkts in 50 overs) 258 Fall of wickets:
1-25, 2-48, 3-79, 4-178. Bowling: Dillon 10-1-36-1, Collymore 10-0-52-0, Banks 7-0-38-1, Hinds 7-0-42-0, Gayle 10-0-50-1, Samuels 6-0-38-0.
AFP
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‘Aussies
not liked around the world’
Melbourne, May 21 Gray said the ICC wanted to take a first look at some of the incidents that marred the tour, particularly the on-field row between Glenn McGrath and West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan during the fourth Test. “From all of the reports we got it appeared...that the behaviour of the players was quite over the odds,” Gray told reporters in Melbourne today. “It’s something that we don’t want in the sport and that in those circumstances, greater action and more sterner action should have been taken.” The ICC president said he thought the match officials should have taken a tougher stance against the players but said they were unlikely to face any further action after the review. “We will review them but at this stage I don’t know what action, if any, will be taken, but I suspect there won’t be further action,” he said. Gray, who is an Australian national, said Australia’s players had a bad reputation in the cricket community after years of no-field rows and accusations of sledging. “Australians are not liked around the world,” Gray said. “The messages we were getting was that the Australian public and the Australian press felt it was way over the top...this time the Australian people believed the actions were beyond the pale.” Gray, who will retire as ICC president next month, said the ICC needed to lead the change towards better player behaviour but national cricket boards also had a responsibility to improve player behaviour. “In terms of process it is an ICC matter, in other words the umpires, referees and so forth,” he said. “However, in terms of the longer-term problem, it really is up to the national bodies to develop within their teams a change in culture.”
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Need to focus on Tests: Sidhu Fatehgarh Sahib, May 21 In reply a query he said he was more satisfied with his role as a commentator than his role as a cricketer. He said playing cricket and giving commentary were different. He said, as a player, there are so many pressures on you — game, media, failures, selectors and crowds — whereas, as commentator, no team work was needed and it was only your confidence and presence of mind that mattered. He said he had never thought about this role, but when offered this job, he had accepted the challenge and, with self-confidence and meditation, he had succeeded and, now, people had started appreciating this role. He said the Indian cricket team for One-Day Internationals was wonderful and had the capacity to defeat any team, but in Test cricket, needed to improve, as we had not won even a single Test series overseas in the last 20 years. On the dominance of cricket over other games, he said there is no infrastructure or incentives for players of other games, whereas, for cricket both these requirements for success were there. Indian selectors should give more exposure to youngsters, if the country had to maintain a winning team. Later, at the bank function, Sidhu, who himself is Manager Public Relations of the bank, highlighted various schemes initiated by the State Bank of Patiala for its customers. He said the SBOP had revamped its infrastructure, brought in innovative banking in the age of competition and fully computerised its branches. He said cumbersome procedures had been simplified and single-window systems introduced. The bank had initiated various schemes for every section of society and the NPAs of the bank were low. Mr S.K. Ghai, AGM, in his address, said all branches of the SBOP had been
modernised and the ATMs would be installed at all branches within days, which would facilitate customers to withdraw cash from associate banks all over the country. He said housing loan facility had been provided at all branches of district and Rs 5 crore had been earmarked for this purpose. He said loans would also be given for the renovation of old houses.
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Baboor, Mouma in main draw
New Delhi, May 21 Baboor, who is in a good touch from the start of the tournament, gave no chance to Aruba’s Ruddy Raga thrashing him in straight games 11-9, 11-9, 11-1, 11-7 yesterday to win both his group matches. Young prodigy Achanta Sharath Kamal joined Baboor in the round of 128 as he thrashed Arturas Orlovas of Lithuania 11-4, 11-4, 13-11, 12-10 to maintain a clean slate, according to information received here today. In the women’s section Mouma Das and veteran Mantu Ghosh made it to the main draw in
contrasting style. Mouma came up triumphs against Manzura Inoyatova 12-10, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 to advance to the next stage while Mantu struggled hard against Elmira Aliyeva of Kazakhstan before overcoming a two-game deficit to win 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5. In other matches, Pradeera Thiruuengadam won her last group encounter against Peri Campbell of Austria 11-9, 13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, but the victory was not enough for her to cross the qualification hurdle. Baboor will now face Toshio Tasaki of Japan while Kamal will fight it out with Chistophe Legout of France for a place in the second round. Mouma Das will play Georgina Pota of Hungary and Mantu Ghosh will take on Yaolin Jing. In the women’s doubles, Mouma Das and Mantu Ghosh defeated Soch Khim NG and Soo Jin Chiu of Malaysia 12-10, 11-6, 5.11, 8-11, 11-9 to enter the main draw. The duo will now take on the Singapore pair of Xueling Zhang and Paey Fern Tan.
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Moya, Ferrero to lead Spanish assault Duesseldorf, May 21 Moya, Alex Corretja and Albert Costa, the defending champion, have all proved themselves adept on faster courts. But despite the rise of the Argentine men — like Spain they have eight players in the top 50 — Moya and his compatriots are still the ones to beat. The French Open was an important tournament for a Spanish player, Moya said. “Paris is the biggest goal for me, especially as I am a claycourt specialist.” Though 13 of his 15 singles titles have come on clay, Moya has shown his capability on hard courts, winning the Masters Series in Cincinnati in 2002 and finishing runner-up to Andre Agassi in the Miami Masters Series this year. “I have been playing really well on all surfaces, (although) not grass, but I still think clay is my favourite,” he said. Moya won in Buenos Aires and in Barcelona earlier in the year, and though his level has dipped slightly of late, he believes his game is in shape for another crack at the title in Paris. “It's not easy to play your best for 40 weeks,” Moya said. happens every year, I don't play well in Rome or Hamburg — I don't know why — but then I play well after that.” Ferrero has enjoyed another superb claycourt season, winning the titles in Monte Carlo and Valencia, but his hectic schedule finally caught up with him when he was forced to retire in the Rome semi-final against Roger Federer. “It's nothing serious but it's hurting. It's an inflammation of six millimetres in my arm,” Ferrero said. “I think because I've been travelling a lot and playing a lot of matches in a row, maybe I need some rest.” Ferrero froze on the big occasion 12 months ago when Costa beat him with surprising ease to take the crown. While the rejuvenated Felix Mantilla and 16-year-old Rafael Nadal, nephew of former Barcelona and Spain footballer Miguel Angel Nada, should not be discounted, spare a thought for Corretja, who was runner-up to Moya in 1998 but has lost his way a little in 2003. A semi-finalist in Paris in 2002, Corretja has lost more matches than he has won this year and looks woefully short on confidence. Reuters
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Shruti Dhawan loses to Sonal Phadke New Delhi, May 21 Shruti failed to seize the initiative early and never really recovered from the poor first set. She seemed to gain a backdoor entry when a wavering Sonal conceded the second set -in which there were as many as seven break of serves by either players - but Sonal, last years’ national championship runner-up, backed herself strongly to emerge victorious. Shruti for her part failed to assert herself in the third set and simply caved in. Impatience almost cost Ankita Bhambri her match but the fourth seed had the experience to come through 6-3, 7-5 against Lata Assudani. Lata was up 5-2 in the second set but then the matter of fitness began to play a role and the fighter in Ankita capitalised on the opportunity to win five games in a row to close out the match. Sheetal Goutham, who won the three legs of last year’s Satellite before losing in the Masters, was given a run for her money by local lass Vishika Chhetri but again experience carried the day as Sheetal won 7-5, 6-4. Isha Lakhani, reigning national champion and second seed, had no such problems on her way to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Aya Oasa of Japan. Top seed Liza Pereira too had an easy day at office beating Madhura Ranganathan 6-3, 6-0 as did fifth seed Archana Venkatraman who won 6-1, 6-0 against Rati Kumar. Yamini Thukkaiandi defeated Preeti Rao 6-4, 6-2 but Kamini Murugaboopathy was stretched to three sets by Ragini Vimal 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. PTI
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Ludhiana
boys crush Amritsar by 10 wickets Ludhiana, May 21 Trailing by 127 runs in the first innings, Amritsar started the third day's play at 127 for eight and could add only 10 runs to the total. The third and final day's proceedings turned out to be a mere formality as Ludhiana, after bundling out the visitors to 137 runs, made the required runs in 2.3 overs without losing any wicket. With this victory, Ludhiana secured eight points. Ludhiana, now play their second match against Jalandhar at Ludhiana from May 23 to 25. Brief scores: (Amritsar Ist innings):
200 all out Ludhiana (Ist innings): 327 for 8 Amritsar (2nd innings):
137 all out (Gagandeep 24, Munish Bhatia 13, Vipan 22, Rahul 30, Avasthi 21; Karan Goel 5 for 39, Rajat Bhatia 3 for 45 and Gurpreet Khaira 1 for 19) Ludhiana (2nd innings):
11 for no loss (P P Singh 6 n.o, and Ashish Vinayak 5 n.o). |
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Haryana wrestling squads
Hisar, May 21 The teams: Senior: 48 kg: Meena (Bhiwani), 51 kg: Neha (Faridabad), 55 kg: Krishan (Bhiwani), 59 kg: Vijay Laxmi (Haryana Police), 63 kg: Gitika Jakhar (Hisar), 67 kg: Sunil (Nidani), 72 kg: Monika Dahiya (Haryana Police). Junior: 44 kg: Rerta (Jind), 48 kg: Nirmala (Hisar), 51 kg: Meena (Bhiwani), 55 kg: Manju (Hisar), 59 kg: Anita (Bhiwani), 63 kg: Poonam (Bhiwani), 67 kg: Preveen Sihag (Hisar), 72 kg: Rajni (Hisar). Sub-junior team: 38 kg: Babita (Nidani), 40 kg: Geeta (Nidani) 43 kg: Archana (Hisar), 46 kg: Sudesh (Nidani), 49 kg: Pinki (Nidani), 52 kg: Sunita (Hisar), 56 kg: Pinki (Nidani), 60 kg: Jaywanti (Bhiwani), 65 kg: Meenakshi (Nidani), 70 kg: Neeru (Hisar). PTI
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This lad has impressed many with bat Patiala, May 21 Although it will take some time and a lot of hard work for the Khalsa College student, studying in BA Part-1, to reach the pinnacle, the youngster is willing to go that extra mile. The stockily built, stylish right-handed middle-order batsman announced his arrival in style when he scored a stupendous 147 on his debut for Punjab against Jammu and Kashmir in a league match of the North Zone Inter-state (U-19) Cricket Tournament last year. He followed it up with scores of 48 against a strong Delhi attack, 42 against Himachal Pradesh, besides picking up four wickets in the same match with his gentle off-spinners. Rupeetinder’s knock of 129 against Minor Districts-XI in the ongoing Punjab Inter-district (U-19) Tournament only goes to confirm his potential. The youngster, who has come in for some lavish praise by his seniors, has been picked for a training stint with the prestigious National Cricket Academy
(NCA) in Bangalore in August this year. Technically, Rupeetinder may have some flaws but he is determined to improve before he leaves for Bangalore. He has a sound temperament and has developed a fine array of strokes, particularly square of the wicket. Even at this tender age, he uses his bat as a delicate, almost surgical, instrument rather than as a weapon of destruction. His strength is the deftness with which he guides the fast bowlers using the speed of the ball. However his habit of hitting the ball across the line on the on-side has brought his downfall on a number of occasions. Mr
M.P. Pandove, secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association and a former first class cricketer, is Rupeetinder’s idol. With his fierce determination, Rupeetinder requires to channel his talent in a professional manner to reach the pinnacle. |
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New-look
Polo Ground soon Patiala,
May 21 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Tejvir Singh, has already constituted a committee to plan and execute the development works. The committee, which has its members drawn from various government departments, will be headed by the District Sports Officer, Mr Sunil Khosla. The other members are Mr S.S. Gill and Mrs Narinder Cheema, both senior coaches of the Punjab Sports Department, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of PWD (B&R), Mr P.C. Singla, Public Health SDO, Mr H.S. Sidhu, Horticultural Development Officer, Mr Sandeep Goel and Sports Authority of India (SAI) badminton coach, Mr Anil Gupta. Mr Gupta will also act as the Deputy Co-ordinator of the project. The venue, which has been re-christened Polo Ground Sports Complex, will sport an entirely new look once the works are completed. Two huge water coolers have been installed, while work is in progress on the installation of two submersible pumps. These pumps are being put in place to cater to the needs of sportspersons who attend coaching camps and competitions. A few hand pumps have also been installed in different areas of the complex. To avoid the perennial problem of water logging during monsoon, the earth work has been completed and some tracts of land, which earlier could not be used due to lack of soil, have now been filled up. Steel grills and pillars have also come up on the periphery of the complex to stop trespassing by undersirable elements when sportspersons are practising. The indoor badminton hall, which lies within the precincts of the complex, is also in the process of being refurbished. The wooden flooring that was earlier in a state of disarray is now being replaced by a new
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Patiala humble Minor
Districts-XI Patiala, May
21 With this victory, the hosts bagged their full quota of eight points and will now face SAS Nagar at the same venue here from May 23 to 25. Resuming from their overnight score of 70 for 2, the visitors soon got an initial jolt when they lost their third wicket without consolidating their overnight score. Medium pacer Hardavinder Singh bowled a disciplined line and length and rocked Minor Districts with a haul of 4 for 25. Off spinner Rupeetinder Singh and left arm bowler Sonu Mandora claimed two wickets apiece to send the visitors packing. Rahul Gandhi (43) and Pardeep Kumar (27) were the only other batsmen to put up a semblance of a fight. However, their efforts went in vain as the brittle middle order collapsed like a pack of cards. Earlier, in the hosts’ first innings, Rupeetinder Singh scored a superb 129 to enable his team post 392 for 5 in reply to Minor District’s first innings total of 135 all out. Brief scores: Minor Districts-XI:
first innings: 135 all out Patiala: first innings: 392 for 5 Minor Districts-XI: second innings: 148 all out
(Rahul Gandhi 43, Pardeep Kumar 27, Rahul Kumar 22, Hardavinder Singh 4 for 25, Rupeetinder Singh 2 for 21, Sonu Mandora 2 for 13, Prikshit Virdi 1 for 16, Mandeep Singh 1 for 10). Stadium-XI register win A fine knock of 62 by Sahil enabled Stadium-XI, Chandigarh, to register a 63-run victory against MES coaching centre (II), Patiala, in a league match of the fifth Patiala Hot Weather Cricket Tournament (U-13) played at the YPS grounds here today. Stadium-XI and NICS, Patiala, by virtue of their victories in the league phase, have booked semi-final berths. The Chandigarh team, after opting to bat first, was off to a good start. For the winners, all-rounder Gurinder Singh came up with a superb performance by scoring an unbeaten 19 and claiming five wickets. In reply, the Patiala team found the going tough against some fine bowling and ended up being all out for a meagre 53. Brief scores: Stadium-XI, Chandigarh: 116 for 5 in 20 overs
(Sahil 62, Gurinder Singh 19 n.o., Kulwinder Singh 2 for 24, Abhinav 1 for 12, Karamjit 1 for 24). MES coaching centre (II): 53 all out in 17 overs
(Abhinav 14, Gurinder Singh 5 for 14, Pushp 2 for 4). |
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Dambulla (Sri Lanka), May 21
