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Monday,
May 26, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Aussies win, clinch series Innings defeat for Zimbabwe
Ehsan Mani to build on Dalmiya’s legacy |
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ICC not to withdraw Bangladesh’s Test status FRENCH OPEN Hockey team leaves for Australia World TT: Schlager enters final
India 126th in FIFA rankings Merchant triumphs Outright wins for Ludhiana, Amritsar
Patiala-SAS Nagar match ends in draw
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Aussies
win, clinch series
Port of Spain, May 25 Ricky Ponting’s team powered to 286 for five off their 50 overs and bowled out the West Indies for 219 off 45.3 overs to underline the gulf in experience and performance between the two sides in the seven-game series. The West Indies, pinned down by Australia’s paceman early in the innings, were always well behind the asking rate and self-destructed with three suicidal run outs in the last four wickets to fall. Man-of-the-match Adam Gilchrist topscored with 84 in Australia’s innings with youngster Michael Clarke contributing a blazing 55 off 40 balls in the highest Australian innings at the Trinidad ground and only two runs behind the best Australian ODI total in the Caribbean. Gilchrist, freshened up after sitting out last Wednesday’s victory in St Lucia, hammered nine fours and a six in his 103-ball knock while 22-year-old Clarke, who scored an unbeaten 75 in St Lucia in midweek, provided late fireworks with six boundaries and a six. Clarke rode his luck — he was bowled off a Corey Collymore no-ball and was reprieved on 47 by Ricardo Powell who dropped a dolly catch in the deep — to remain unbeaten in three ODI innings in his fledgling international career. All the top-order batsmen contributed to Australia’s big total. Matthew Hayden smacked 44 off 61 balls, skipper Ponting hit 38 (47), Andrew Symonds 24 (28) and Michael Bevan was out on the final ball of the innings, holding out to Brian Lara in the deep off Vasbert Drakes for 21 off 22 deliveries. The West Indian fielding was diabolical. They spilled four catches, twice in Gilchrist’s knock, Symonds on 10 and Clarke when he was 47 . Yet again the West Indian bowlers lacked penetration and were unable to dismiss the Australians for the fourth time. After four matches, bowlers Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel and Glenn McGrath have yet to bat in the series such has been the dominance of Australia’s top-six batsmen. “It was a very good win today, the boys batted very sensibly, our openers got us off to a great start and gave us a platform to launch from and Clarkey did well again,” Ponting said. “We decided to keep as many wickets in hand for the end as we could and give ourselves a really good platform and that’s the way it worked out”. “We decided to open the bowling with Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie today, a bit of extra pace, and it seemed to work for us and when Glenn McGrath came on in the middle, he kept things tight and got their run-rate up... the West Indies were under pressure from there.” Opener Chris Gayle hit 84 off 113 balls in the West Indies innings, but apart from skipper Brian Lara’s 40 off 47 balls he found little support. AFP SCOREBOARD Australia: Hayden c Hurley b Drakes 44 Gilchrist b Hurley 84 Ponting c Hurley b Powell 38 Symonds b Collymore 24 Clarke not out 55 Bevan c Lara b Drakes 21 Extras
(lb-9, w-9, nb-2) 20 Total (5 wkts in 50 overs) 286 Fall of wickets:
1-78, 2-148, 3-200, 4-223, 5-286 Bowling: Dillon 10-0-46-0, Collymore 9-1-58-1, Gayle 10-0-52-0, Hurley 10-0-57-1, Drakes 10-0-62-2, Powell 1-0-2-1. West Indies: Gayle lbw b Harvey 84 Powell c Ponting b Gillespie 8 Hinds lbw b Lee 3 Sarwan lbw b McGrath 16 Lara c Hayden b Symonds 40 Samuels c Hogg b Harvey 27 Jacobs run out 13 Hurley run out 0 Drakes lbw b Gillespie 9 Dillon not out 0 Collymore run out 2 Extras
(b-4, lb-4, w-8, nb-1) 17 Total (all out, 45.3 overs) 219 Fall of wickets:
1-20, 2-33, 3-77, 4-146, 5-174, 6-197, 7-201, 8-217, 9-217. Bowling: Lee 8-1-30-1, Gillespie 8-0-30-2, McGrath 7-0-21-1, Hogg 9-1-41-0, Harvey 9.3-0-58-2, Symonds 4-0-31-1.
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Innings
defeat for Zimbabwe
London, May 25 England debutants James Anderson and Anthony McGrath also made their mark. Lancashire fast bowler Anderson (20) took five for 73 in Zimbabwe’s first innings of 147 after the tourists’ captain Heath Streak had fielded first. Yorkshire captain McGrath (27), no more than a gentle medium-pacer, took three for 16 as Zimbabwe’s fragile batting crumbled again. In the extra half hour claimed by England because they were in sight of victory, left-arm spinner Ashley Giles had Raymond Price (26) caught by Marcus Trescothick at mid wicket after a sweep bounced off short leg Robert Key to leave Zimbabwe 219 for nine. Butcher ended the match when he had hard-hitting tailender Travis Friend caught by Giles in the slips for a 56-ball 43. Surrey star Butcher weighed in with valuable wickets throughout, dismissing first innings top scorer Dion Ebrahim (68) and second innings counterpart Mark Vermeulen (61). AFP SCOREBOARD England (Ist innings): 472 Zimbabwe (Ist innings):
147 Zimbabwe (2nd innings): Ebrahim c Key b Harmison 6 Vermeulen c Trescothick Carlisle lbw b Butcher 24 Flower c Trescothick Taibu c Butcher b McGrath 16 Ervine c Trescothick Streak lbw b McGrath 11 Blignaut b Butcher 6 Friend c Giles b Butcher 43 Price c Trescothick b Giles 26 Hondo not out 0 Extras: (b-1 lb-6 w-3) 10 Total:
233 FoW: 1-11, 2-91, 3-95, 4-128, 5-132, 6-150, 7-158, 8-168, 9-219. Bowling:
Anderson 15-4-65-0, Hoggard 15-5-35-0, Harmison 12-4-35-2, Giles 8-2-15-1, Butcher 12.5-0-60-4. McGrath 6-0-16-3.
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Ehsan Mani to build on Dalmiya’s legacy
New Delhi, May 24 “Both have made tremendous contribution to the ICC, and I hope to build on the legacy and continue to make ICC a strong governing body,” said Pakistan’s Mani, referring to Dalmiya and Australian Malcolm Gray, who he will succeed on June 19. Dalmiya, now president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), took over as ICC president in 1998 and was succeeded by Gray in 2001. “I will continue to ensure that the ICC works in an open and transparent manner for the best interest of the game,” 53-year-old Mani told IANS from London. An England-based representative of the Pakistan Cricket Board in the ICC since 1989, Mani became the ICC vice-president last year. Unlike the past, he and his successors would each have a two-year tenure by rotation. On the discontinued India-Pakistan bilateral cricket ties, the London-based Mani sympathised with the BCCI and acknowledged its efforts in resuming cricket matches with Pakistan. “The cricket boards of Pakistan and India have repeatedly stated their desire that cricket at all levels should resume between them as soon as possible,” he said, calling cricket a “very powerful tool” that can help improve relations. "The Indian board cannot, however, go against the instructions of its government,” Mani remarked. “The public in both countries strongly support the resumption of cricket between them and we must continue to work towards this goal.” While Pakistan is willing to play India anywhere, the Indian government has repeatedly declined permission to play with Pakistan due to Islamabad’s support to terrorism in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. Mani, who became an ICC director in 1996 when he headed its finance and marketing committee, said he would continue with the policy of globalisation of cricket, a pet project of Dalmiya, though ICC’s “Development Programme”. “Development and globalisation of cricket remains a top priority for the ICC,” he said. “Between 2000 and 2007, the ICC is planning to invest approximately $ 100 million on the development, and of this nearly $35 million has already been allocated up to 2004.” The ICC today has 27 associate and 47 affiliate members, all of which receive financial and other support through the “Development Programme”. “The countries that have the base and potential to achieve one-day international status will be helped under the ‘ICC High Performance Programme’, others will be provided support to make the game strong right up from the grassroots level.” Mani, a chartered accountant by profession, said he would also support ICC’s ongoing five-year strategic plan. “This plan, which is a roadmap to guide the ICC through to 2007, covers a range of objectives including development, anti-corruption (and) cricket operations, (but) the most important to my mind is to uphold and promote the positive values associated with the sprit of cricket,” he said. For these ambitious projects, Mani would like to attract more corporate houses. “I do not agree that the ICC has enough money for all it has to do. When you consider that the ICC has 84 members, of whom just 10 (Test-playing) countries produce revenues to support world cricket, the resources available are never going to be enough,” he said. “Investment is required to help more associate members reach the ODI status. The ICC ‘high performance programme’ was a great help to Kenya, Canada, Namibia and Holland as evidenced by the performance in the World Cup,” he pointed out. “They and other countries, such as Nepal and Scotland, have to be taken to the next level.” Praising the work done by ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), Mani said efforts would continue to wipe out corruption from the game. IANS
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ICC
not to withdraw Bangladesh’s Test status Karachi, May 25 “The ICC and ACC are particularly committed to all out support to improve cricket in Bangladesh and reports giving (the) impression that Bangladesh’s Test status would be taken back are totally wrong,” ACC development manager Zakir Husain Syed said. “The ICC has plans to improve the infrastructure and domestic competitions in Bangladesh and has allocated around $ 0.5 million for that purpose.”
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FRENCH OPEN
Paris, May 25 The reigning champions crowns are looking decidedly shaky on the eve of the two-week tournament on the slow red clay of the Roland Garros complex on the outskirks of the capital. Williams will be going for her fifth straight major title, something last accomplished by Germany’s Steffi Graf in 1988-89. But while the journey back to Paris should be sentimental one for Williams, who won the first of her 22 WTA titles here, and began her ‘Serena Slam’ at Roland Garros last year, the 21-year-old American arrives on the back of losses to Justine Henin-Hardenne in Charleston and French hope Amelie Mauresmo, the fifth seed, in Rome. “She can be frustrated,” warned Belgium’s Henin-Hardenne. “I think it’s good for the other players that we can see that.” Mauresmo, who has never got beyond the fourth round at Roland Garros, agreed: “I’m trying not to put any pressure on myself this year. But I believe I have a way of beating the Williams.” Yet another all-Williams Grand Slam final is not certain as elder sister Venus, seeded third, who has yet to win in Paris and opens against US qualifier Samantha Reeves, is short on match play and form after pulling a stomach muscle before the German Open. World number one Serena is in the top half of the draw and will go up against experienced German Barbara Rittner, but lurking down the line is dangerous Belgian second seed Kim Clijsters, winner on clay at the Italian Open, and slayer of Serena in the season-ending championships last year. Costa, meanwhile, begins against Argentine qualifier Sergio Roitman, and the ninth seed admits it will be a tough task faced with world number one Lleyton Hewitt, former champion Gustavo Kuerten and young French hope Richard Gasquet all in his side at the top half of the draw. American Andy Roddick is also brimming with confidence after winning his first European title with ease yesterday on the Austrian clay of St Polten. “I felt really good here and it has set me up well for next week in Paris,” said Roddick, who will be seeded sixth in the French capital. After finishing in the top 10 for first time in his career last year following his first Grand Slam title Costa has not won a title and is hoping to rekindle the fire on clay here. “I’m refusing to think that I have my title to defend,” admitted Costa. “Forgetting my victory is the scenario that I’m trying to build in my head. I think of Roland Garros as if I only have one match to play. AFP
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Hockey team leaves for Australia
Bangalore, May 25 Led by the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay, the 20-member team took the late night flight to Singapore en route to Australia, which has fielded Australia ‘A’ side for the event besides its national side. Exuding optimism, 34-year-old Pillay and chief coach Rajinder Singh said the team was confident of putting up a good show, having undergone a month-long rigorous training programme at the Sports Authority of India, South Centre. “Our morale is high. We are well prepared to face tough challenges,” they said at the airport before leaving. The event would be held at Perth and Sydney. In particular, India’s fixtures with Pakistan are expected to be watched keenly back home as it is the first time that they would be crossing swords after the thaw in relations between the arch-rivals following peace overtures from New Delhi. Presence of veterans like Baljit Singh Dhillon and Mukesh Kumar, besides Pillay, would definitely be of great help, believes Rajinder Singh, who was coach of the Indian junior team that won the World Cup. Penalty corner coach Harindar Singh, who also accompanied the team along with assistant coach Baldev Singh, said changes in penalty corner rules effected by the world governing body FIH would be advantageous to India. The sacking of skipper Mohammed Nadeem, penalty-corner expert Sohail Abbas and another key player and left-half Mohammed Wasim, has no doubt given a jolt to Pakistan which, however, is on a high after winning the Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia two months ago. Rajinder Singh said while the team would not take the coming tournament lightly, the bigger gameplan was to prepare the side for the Champions Trophy in Holland in August and the Olympic Games in Athens next year. India will begin their campaign with a match against Australia ‘A’ on May 28, while Pakistan will take on Australia the same day. PTI
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World TT: Schlager enters final
Paris, May 25 The 11-9 7-11 12-10 11-8 8-11 7-11 14-12 triumph left China unusually without a representative in the men’s blue riband event as Schlager’s opponent will come from the winner of the second semi between Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece and Korea’s Joo Se-Hyuk. A fiery encounter between the two right handed attackers had Schlager racing to a 2-1 lead, and the 30-year-old Austrian tightened his grip further when his clinical finishing earned him the fourth set too. But Kong, the double Olympic champion who was seeking to repeat his 1995 championship success, cut the deficit taking the next 11-8. The balance of power shifted momentarily from west to east allowing Kong to square the match by taking the sixth set 11-7. AFP
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India
126th in FIFA rankings New Delhi, May 25 India were placed 127th in the FIFA rankings released in December. India, under coach Stephan Constantine, crashed out of the race for a berth in the Athens Olympics after losing against Turkmenistan on aggregate in the first round qualifying home and away matches. World Cup winners Brazil maintained their top position with 843 points, 59 points clear of second place holders France and Spain, according to a FIFA statement. World Cup runners-up Germany accumulated 757 points to take the fourth spot. South Korea (21) continued to hold the top rankings in Asia followed by Japan (23) and Iran (34). Amongst India’s neighbouring countries, Myanmar and Sri Lanka managed a joint 139th position while Bangladesh were sitting at 144. Pakistan were much below the table at 159 closely followed by Nepal (160).
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Merchant
triumphs Jalandhar, May 25 Asian Games gold medallist Rafath Habib overcame initial hiccups to post an impressive victory against Manish Shrivastava 46-72, 64-35, 67-37, 73-21, 69-21. Former national champion Sarang Shroff managed to beat Nitin Gupta by 4-1, while young Kamal Chawla won against Jose Mon 4-0. Meanwhile, in pool matches local players sprang surprises Sarang Shroff lost a cliff hanger to A. Yadav, while Harpreet was so awe struck against Manan Chandra that he even failed to touch the last ball that lay yawning at the top pocket. Manan won by 7 racks to 1. National pool champion Alok Kumar easily beat Nitin Gupta 7-3 |
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Outright
wins for Ludhiana, Amritsar Ludhiana, May 25 The visitors’ second innings culminated at 202 runs in 75.3 overs. With this outright win, Ludhiana earned eight points to take their tally to 16 points from two matches and almost secured a berth in the semifinals. Requiring 212 runs to make Ludhiana bat again, Jalandhar resumed their second innings at 85 for five. The two overnight not out batsmen, Charanjit and Sameer started playing cautiously. Off spinner Yogesh Kumar made the first breakthrough for the hosts, claiming Sameer’s wicket who was plumb leg before wicket for nine runs. Pacer Rajat Bhatia and Ludhiana skipper, left-arm leg spinner Tarun Kanish, shared the remaining wickets to polish off Jalandhar’s second innings at 202 runs. Ludhiana play their last league fixture here against Minor Districts (Zone-B) from May 27 to 29. Brief scores: Jalandhar (Ist innings)
137 all out Ludhiana (Ist innings) 359 for 9 Jalandhar (2nd
innings) 202 all out in 75.3 overs (Charanjit 70 n.o., Daljinder 15, Jashanpreet 20, Sat Pal 12; Rattan Bricher 2 for 49, Rajat Bhatia 3 for 38, Tarun Kanish 2 for 20, Varun Gupta 1 for 10 and Yogesh 1 for 39). AMRITSAR:
Hosts Amritsar accumulated eight points after thrashing Minor Districts (Zone-B) by five wickets on the third day of the match being played at Gandhi Grounds here today. Amritsar are second in the tally for the Dhruv Pandove Trophy while Ludhiana lead with 16 points. Jalandhar are third with five points and Minor Districts remain at the bottom with three points. Resuming their second innings from the last day’s score of 120 for five, Minor Districts collapsed for 187. For the visitors, PS Bhogal was the top scorer with 54 runs while Gagandeep Singh scored 47 runs and Gaurav scored 31. For the hosts, Sohit Khajuria was the highest wicket-taker with four for 18. The other major wicket-takers were, Sukaran Kalia (3 for 37) and Karan Sharma (2 for 36). Amritsar made the required runs in 61 overs and lost five wickets. In the second innings total of 146 for five. Manish Bhatia contributed 47 runs, Gangandeep Singh (30 n.o.), Rahul (30) while Rahul Matoo made unbeaten 21. For the visitors, Gangandeep took three wickets while Deepak Gatta managed to claim one. Brief Scores: Minor Districts (Ist
innings) 162, 55 overs Amritsar (Ist innings) 205, 88 overs Minor Districts (2nd
innings) 187 Amritsar (2nd innings) 146 for 5, 61 overs. |
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Patiala-SAS Nagar match ends in draw Patiala, May 25 With the opening day’s play completely washed out due to overnight rains, the main interest in the remaining two days of the match revolved around the fact as to which team would take the vital first innings lead. Replying to SAS Nagar’s first innings total of 136, the hosts scored 226 with prolific middle order batsman Rupeetinder Singh (68) and opener Shiv Karan Singh (63) coming good with some fluent knocks. Once the hosts took a convincing 90-run first innings lead only academic interest was left in the match. The visitors managed to collect three points and are virtually out of contention for a semifinal berth. In their first innings, the visitors stood exposed against some penetrative line and length bowled by medium pacer Hardavinder Singh who took 7 for 27. He ended with match figures of 9 for 35. The SAS Nagar openers started off well with 48 runs for the first wicket. But then right arm leg spinner Sarabjit Singh struck a double blow, claiming both the openers within a span of 10 runs. Once the first wicket partnership was broken, Hardavinder Singh polished off the middle order by bowling a disciplined line. Once the hosts took the first innings lead, the visitors lost interest in the match and were placed at 32 for 3 in their second innings at draw of stumps on the concluding day. Brief scores: SAS Nagar: first innings:136 all out. Patiala: first innings: 226 all out (Rupeetinder Singh 68, Shiv Karan Singh 63, Sonu Mandora 31, Ravinder Mehra 20, Ashutosh Pandit 5 for 58, Varun Kumar 3 for 88), SAS Nagar: 2nd innings: 32 for 3 ( Hardavinder Singh 2 for 8).
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A flamboyant young cricketer Patiala, May 25 In the recently concluded Punjab Inter-District Tournament (u-15), A.P. Singh showed enough glimpses of his potential by scoring impressive knocks of 105 against Bathinda, 82 and 25 against SAS Nagar and 43 against Chandigarh. In addition, he also took wickets at crucial stages in nearly all the matches with his
flightier leg spinners. He has also played for his school team while touring Doon School, Dehra Dun, Lawrence School, Sanawar, and PPS, Nabha, and has been churning out consistent scores while playing for YPS. While batting, he impresses with not only the manner in which he finds the gaps but also the technique he demonstrates in taking the aerial route. The soft spoken class IX YPS youngster is also equally adept when it comes to academics — he passed out the first term examination by securing 80 per cent marks. He has his share of problems against short-pitched bowling though,
perhaps because of his tendency to put too much weight on his right leg, which often leaves him cramped for space as the ball climbs to the rib cage. Reason enough why he got his forearm fractured while practising against a rising ball in the nets. A.P. Singh says his idol is Ricky Ponting. “None in contemporary cricket has a better eye that Ponting. He can spot the length of the ball in no time, pick up the line in a flash and send the ball crashing to all sides of the park,” he says.
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Port of Spain, May 25
