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Lahore wicket being kept under wraps
Mystery of missing grass: curator blames Inzamam
Shoaib Akhtar looks tired mentally |
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NOTES FROM PAKISTAN
India retain volleyball gold India’s Tom Joseph (R-foreground) hits a ball over the net and Pakistan’s Muhammad Tufail (C) puts up a defence during the volleyball final in Islamabad. India took the gold by beating Pakistan 3-2. — AFP photo Six Chandigarh players in Indian U-14 football team Kular leads
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Lahore wicket being kept under wraps Lahore, April 3 The PCB has barred the media from entering the ground even as Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq and coach Javed Miandad made two visits to the Gaddafi Stadium, venue of the second Test beginning on Monday, to have a close look at the track today. “No journalist will be allowed to see the wicket,” was the official word for reporters covering the match. It appears Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Ramiz Raja has taken matters into his own hands and has passed strict orders to officials not to make any comments on the wicket. Raja’s opinion on the wicket was thus: the wicket will have bounce for the first two days and then will settle down. The pitch is being prepared under the supervision of English curator Andy Atkinson, responsible for preparing wickets at all international venues in Pakistan. The wicket has been a topic of intense debate ever since the first Test began in Multan where the Indians thrived on the placid track to not only pile up a huge score but also dismiss the opposition twice for a historic innings and 52-run victory. It is widely-believed that a green-top wicket awaits the Indians as was evident in the comments of Miandad and Imran Khan post Multan defeat. Promising a “more lively track” for the second Test, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan urged his demoralised players to play to their potential and bounce back into the three-match series. Shaharyar also said that instead of blaming the Multan turf for the debacle, the team should give credit to the Indians who showed a lot of discipline in the match. “We should not blame the track in Multan for the defeat. We should give credit to the Indian players, they played well and showed a lot of discipline. But there is nothing to get disheartened, victory and defeat is a part of the game”, he told reporters here. While promising a “more lively track” for the second Test, he said the Pakistani team had “the potential to fight back. I hope you will display your fighting qualities during the second Test”. Shaharyar also said that the PCB has decided on what action it would take against former captain Rashid Latif who made match-fixing allegations after the hosts lost the fourth one-day international against India here on March 21. “We have decided what action we will take against him, we will announce it tomorrow,” he said.
— PTI |
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Mystery of missing grass: curator blames Inzamam
Lahore, April 3 Atkinson, who has come under a lot of flak for preparing a placid turf for the Multan Test, held captain Inzamam-ul Haq and manager Haroon Rashid responsible for the removal of grass from the track on which India posted a huge total to win by an innings and 52 runs. “All the things attributed to me is a lie,” said the International Cricket Council’s pitch expert at the Gaddafi Stadium, venue for the second Test. “A day before the Test, Inzamam-ul Haq and manager Haroon Rashid asked me to remove the grass on the wicket, which I did and the entire blame came on me,” he was quoted as saying on a website. The Essex-based consultant claimed that the Pakistan skipper was “very much worried” about the grass on the wicket, as he felt that his batsmen will not be able to stand up to the Indian bowlers. “He (Inzamam) said he wanted a hard and fast wicket not a seaming one, so we had to remove the grass. “Shoaib Akhtar and the other Pakistan bowlers asked me to leave some grass on the wicket but the captain didn’t want it so I went with what the captain wanted,” Atkinson said. Instead of the track, Atkinson attributed Pakistan’s Test loss to some reckless performance by the home team. “I did not bowl long hops, I did not play bad shots nor did I have the bat in the wrong hand while running,” he said referring to the inept show by the home side. Denying reports that he had been summoned by PCB chief Shaharyar Khan to Lahore for an explanation, Atkinson claimed that he had gone there only to start preparing the wicket for the second Test.
— PTI |
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Miandad lashes out at detractors
Lahore, April 3 “I am surprised at the pressure being put on me and the team. And those criticising everything from our selection to the pitch know very well how our cricket system works,” said an angry Miandad. He said it was unfortunate that after just a few losses the critics were taking potshot at every aspect of the team without realising this very set of players had been performing until now, even against strong teams like South Africa and New Zealand. “They are doing no service to Pakistan cricket by criticising me, the players or the first Test wicket. India have played better cricket and were deserving winners,” he said. “We have done well in the past and we can comeback in the series. The bowlers just have to bowl with discipline and batsmen must learn to play like their lives depended on it.” The legendary batsman, serving his third term as coach, said any one having doubts about his contribution to the team should ask the players about it.
— PTI |
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Shoaib Akhtar looks tired mentally It is a make-or-break Test for Pakistan in Lahore. They would like to maximize the potential of their pace battery which is the engine which drives them on a cricket field. But I am not sure if Shoaib Akhtar is up to the task. He does not seem to be the same bowler who used to run through the batting line ups of New Zealand or Australia in a matter of a few balls. He mentally looks very tired and does not seem to back himself enough against this Indian line-up. He throws up his hands so often while bowling that it betrays a tormented soul. In retrospect, I feel the toll of one-day series has been immense on Pakistan bowlers. Indians were regularly picking up 300-plus totals in ODIs and Shoaib had more no-balls, wides and runs than wickets to show in his bowling column. We clearly have not seen the best of Shoaib in this series. Pakistan might require a bowling coach but for the mistakes they are making you do not need an expert to point it out. They all know what wrongs they have been doing. I am also not sure if a bowling coach, in the middle of a series, could be such a big help. With bowlers conceding near 700 runs, it is always a tough task for batsmen — even against Bangladesh, leave along a strong unit like India. As a bowler, you feel liberated with such a bank of runs. You experiment, you attack and in most cases get the help from facing batsmen also who can not help but being cautious. Indians consistently made early inroads in both Pakistan innings in Multan and Irfan Pathan, who looks a match-winner, was the reason for it. If you ask me, Virender Sehwag is the main difference in the team of today. He helps immensely in rattling up the bowlers. Bowlers can get him out but cannot keep him quiet. His attack of Saqlain Mushtaq on the first and second day was a piece of tactical brilliance. Saqlain has been a force against India in the past and might have been purposely held back in ODIs to be let loose on Indians in the Tests. But Viru played him brilliantly, smashing him around the park and throwing the Saqlain Factor out of the window — possibly for the rest of the series. He has ensured Pakistan attack can at best be only one-dimensional — I cannot see them trusting a spinner with their attack for the rest of the series. Viru’s triple hundred is the stuff of a legend and it was always on the cards after he finished the first day on 228 not out. One believes such a score has not been seen from any Test batsman on a single day in the last 54 years. He has said he never felt Pakistan bowlers could get him out — even we the viewers never felt Pakistan bowlers stood any chance against him. Viru’s triple is surely going to motivate the rest of the Indian batsmen further. Such feats tend to motivate the rest. It is not a competition but just a healthy spirit to match your fellow professionals. If a bowler takes five wickets, the one at the other end tries to emulate him. It would be the same with the rest of the Indian batters. Along with Viru, you cannot ignore Anil Kumble either. He has been a bowler I have admired for long and one who has been a great help from the other end. It is difficult to count how many matches he has won for India. When I started, Kumble appeared to be a bowler who would put 12 balls at one spot all the time. Now he has developed a googly. This new armoury automatically slows up his deliveries and injects doubts in the mind of a batsman. I have always been very happy bowling alongside him for he dries up the runs from one end and allows me to attack the batsmen from the other. He has now bowled another perfect delivery — in the form of a son. Congrats to a fellow spinner and an inspiration whose form in the last few matches has been nothing less than sensational. Finally, it seems Pakistan would be expecting more than 200 per cent from their captain Inzamam-ul-Haq — the only batsman who potentially has the talent to be a thorn in India’s flesh. But if he keeps running between the wickets like he did in Multan — holding the bat in the wrong hand which stopped him from stretching — he would cause his team’s own destruction.
— PTI |
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Pathan’s parents to watch
Lahore Test Lahore, April 3 The parents of the 19-year-old pace sensation are all set to watch the action live at the Gaddafi Stadium where the second Test begins on Monday. A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official confirmed today that Pathan’s parents were among a long list of special guests of the Indian cricket board who would be coming for the Lahore Test. Pathan, who is tasting success in Pakistan for the second time as he had bagged the Man-of-the-Series award in the Asian under-19 championship held in Lahore and Karachi in November last year, comes from a religious background. During the Multan Test, where he impressed immensely with his disciplined bowling, Pathan earned praise from his idol Imran Khan who walked up to him and said “you remind me of a young Wasim Akram”. Meanwhile, wives of some of the Indian players Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Murali Kartik have also reached here.
— PTI |
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Ganguly’s injury KOLKATA:
The chances of Indian captain Saurav Ganguly playing the third and final Test against Pakistan brightened on Saturday with the medical reports confirming that his back injury was not serious. Specialist orthopaedic Dr Kalyan Mukherjee, who advised the medical test on Friday, said “Saurav’s medical reports confirmed that the injury is not serious.” Ganguly had undergone MRI scan, digital X-ray and blood test at Eko X-ray Centre here on Friday to assess the nature and extent of his injury. “The reports confirmed that my diagnosis was correct and there is no bone injury but only the ligament has been affected,” Dr Mukherjee said. Ganguly has been advised normal rest at his residence and asked to do swimming and some exercises. The left hander flew in here on Thursday evening for treatment after watching India’s historic win in the first Test at Multan.
— PTI |
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Zaheer Khan to return home Lahore, April 3 Zaheer, suffering from a suspect hamstring injury, will return home on Monday, the day the second Test begins here. Team manager Ratnakar Shetty said the decision to send the Baroda paceman home was taken after considering medical opinion. “After considering the reports of the scan and the opinion of the specialist as well as team physio Andrew Leipus, it has been decided that Zaheer will return home on April 5,” he said adding the chances of his recovery before the third Test were remote. Zaheer had already been ruled out of the second Test.
— PTI |
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NOTES FROM
PAKISTAN Far away from the madding crowd, even the sylvan surroundings of Harappa, the earliest discovered site of the Indus civilisation, is not untouched by the cricket fever that has gripped the subcontinent. The cricketing fortunes of India and Pakistan, who have been battling for honours in a path-breaking series, is being keenly followed here as much as the other major cities. “Are you from India?” This is a question that has been posed many a times to those cricket fans and journalists who have crossed the border for this historic encounter between the two Asian powerhouses. It was no different in the ruins of Harappa, located about 200 km from Multan where India clinched their first-ever Test win of Pakistani soil a couple of days ago to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. The people here, who lead a laid-back life surrounded by the excavated remains of a civilisation that dates back to 4500BC, had been told that the Indian cricket team would come here and were eagerly awaiting for probably their most celebrated visitors thus far. “Is the Indian team coming here?” is the first question the curator of the Harappa Museum asks a group of visiting Indian journalists. Disappointment is writ large on his face when told that the cricketers had already reached Lahore. * Is former Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar trying to convert the team’s vice-captain Yousuf Youhana? Pakistani media reports claim the stylish former opener is coaxing Youhana, a Christian, to embrace Islam and that has spawned large-scale debate in the country. Anwar apparently rediscovered religion after the untimely death of his young daughter and since then sports a regulation beard. Another Pakistani player who is treading the same path of late is veteran off spinner Saqlain Mustaq who also sports a beard and leads the side’s prayer sessions. That, however, hardly helped his comeback bid as he was first made the scapegoat for the Multan defeat and then conveniently axed. The Daily Times quotes Brig (Retired) Saulat Raza, a veteran of the Inter-Services Public Relations and author of a number of books on Pakistan Military Academy, opining Anwar’s Mission Conversion is in fact tarnishing the country’s image. Youhana, representing a country with overwhelming Muslim majority has been great for the country’s image and its all the more valuable at a time when the Muslim credentials in this respect are openly questioned around the world, argues Raza. The news of Youhana’s probable conversion could not have come at a worse time, he rues.
— Agencies |
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Cricket fans stranded at Wagah
Wagah, April 3 The cricket lovers were denied by the immigration officials inspite of possessing valid visas and confirmed tickets for the second cricket Test to be held at Lahore on April 5 between India and Pakistan. The fans at Wagah were informed that the External Affairs Ministry, in a clear instruction to the immigration personnel, has said that no Indian, holding tickets for the cricket match, would be allowed to go Pakistan by road or to cross the international land route by foot with effect from today. Earlier more than 3000 cricket lovers had crossed the Indo-Pakistan border by foot, official sources said. According to immigration authorities, the MEA in a special message has communicated that cricket lovers holding visa for cricket match would be permitted to go to Pakistan only by the weekly Samjhauta Train, which runs every Monday and Thursday. The other option was the Delhi-Lahore bus service, it said. — PTI |
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Thorpe hits unbeaten ton Bridgetown, April 3 Scoreboard West Indies (1st Innings):
224 England (1st Innings): overnight 20 for
one Trescothick b Edwards 2 Vaughan c Jacobs b Edwards 17 Butcher c Gayle b Edwards 5 Hussain b Collymore 17 Thorpe not out 119 Flintoff c Collymore
b Best 15 Read lbw b Edwards 13 Giles c (sub) b Collins 11 Hoggard lbw b Collins 0 Jones c Sarwan b Best 4 Harmison b Collins 3 Extras: (lb-5, w-3, nb-12) 20 Total:
(all out, 90 overs) 226 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-24, 3-33, 4-65, 5-90, 6-119, 7-147, 8-155, 9-187. Bowling:
Edwards 20-4-70-4, Collins 23-6-60-3, Collymore 16-3-26-1, Hinds 4-1-7-0, Best 14-4-26-2, Gayle 13-3-32-0. West Indies (2nd
Innings): Gayle b Harmison 15 Ganga batting 5 Lara batting 1 Total: (for 1 wkt, 6.2 overs) 21 Fall of wickets:
1-19. Bowling: Hoggard 3.2-1-5-0, Harmison 3-0-16-1. — AFP |
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Taibu set to become youngest Test captain Harare, April 3 With Heath Streak having sensationally quit as Zimbabwe skipper yesterday, 20-year-old vice-captain Taibu was immediately installed by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) as his successor. Now he is set to overtake the record currently held by the Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who was 21 years 77 days old when he first captained India in the West Indies in 1961-62. Taibu would not be 21 until May 14 — Zimbabwe’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Harare starts on May 6. By that time, Taibu will already have broken the one-day record for the youngest skipper. That honour currently belongs to Waqar Younis who was 21 years and 354 days when he led out Pakistan against the West Indies at Sharjah in 1993-94. Taibu — who is just over 1.52 metres tall — is an athletic wicketkeeper with an outgoing personality that he will need in the cut-throat politics of Zimbabwe cricket. “I would say I am a middle-order batsman and a bubbly wicketkeeper with a lot to say,” said Taibu. A multi-talented sportsman, first picked for Zimbabwe at the age of 16, Taibu has lost both parents and taken over much of the responsibility for bringing up six brothers and sisters. Taibu plays a straight bat to questions about his country’s political troubles. “Playing a sport like cricket and the professionalism involved with the sport, I have to forget about whatever is happening in Zimbabwe,” he said. “I just have to concentrate on what I have got in hand, which is playing cricket for my country. “The best thing I can do for my people is to play good cricket. “I know if I play cricket well, I am representing a lot of people back home, and that is great.” Taibu has admitted that he became a wicket-keeper by accident. “I was playing for a team called the Strugglers XI and the wicket-keeper did not turn up so I volunteered,” he told AFP recently. “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.”
— AFP |
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India retain volleyball gold Islamabad, April 3 The Indian spikers, who had won four of the five previous SAF summit clashes against their arch-rivals, faced some stiff resistance as they lost the second and third sets but rallied superbly to win 25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-9, to record the first-ever win against Pakistan on their home soil. Earlier, Sri Lanka won the bronze medal beating Bangladesh 25-22, 23-25, 24-26, 25-19 15-10. The Indians began well and raced to a 17-8 lead in the first set threatening to run away with the match. But the defending champions began to make some silly mistakes in attack and defence allowing their opponents to come back into the match. The Pakistani spikers took full advantage of the lack of coordination in the Indian ranks to take the second and third sets. With the Indians under pressure, coach Sreedharan brought in Sanjay Kumar to bolster the attack and the move immediately began to pay off as the team went for an all-out attack to win the fourth set and level the scores. The champions did not look back from there and took the decider with ease to retain the title they won in Kathmandu in 1999. Sweep
shooting gold Sushma Rana, Satguru Das bag golden double in SAF shooting Islamabad, Apr 3 (PTI) Sushma Rana and Satguru Das came up with sterling performances to bag the individual and team gold in the women’s 25m sport pistol and men’s 50m rifle prone, respectively as India once again swept all the four gold medals decided in shooting. India have won a whopping 14 gold, three silver and four bronze medals so far with three more events still to be held in the Games. Sushma was in her elements and showed her prowess in great measure, scoring 96, 96 and 97. In the precision series, she began with a modest 93 but then lost concentration to hit only 90 points in the next round. She, however, soon recovered to shot 99 to finish with 571, way ahead of second placed KGN Perara of Sri Lanka (557). The Indian thus set a new meet record erasing Kunti Malik’s 558 set in Chennai in 1995. However, India’s Saroja Kumari missed the bronze medal by a whisker to Sri Lanka’s Shyamalie Wijesooriya (645.2) finishing on 645.1 points.
— PTI |
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Six Chandigarh players in Indian U-14 football team Chandigarh, April 3 In the 18-member Indian team for the Asian Football Confederation’s Invitation Football Tournament beginning at Kathmandu next week, six players are from Chandigarh. While five are from the Chandigarh Football Academy alone, one is from St. Stephen’s School which also has an academy. Incidentally, the highest number of players in the under-14 team announced by the secretary of the All-India Football Federation, Mr Alberto Colaco, today is from Chandigarh. Talking to The Tribune today, an elated CFA coach Harjinder Singh, himself an international who also played for Kolkata’s East Bengal in 1979-80 and later for JCT from 1981 to 1985, said initially 40 players from all over India were invited for the coaching camp held in Goa. Subsequently the number was pruned to 25 out which 18 were finally selected in the team. In fact, one more player from the Chandigarh Football Academy, Randeep, was also set to make his debut but he had to be dropped due to a technical mistake in his passport. The lone player from St. Stephen’s is Jashanpreet Singh, who plays as a defender. According to Harjinder Singh, assistant coach Shyamal Banerjee was all praise for the Chandigarh boys because of their sound basics. “These boys are destined to go higher,” Shyamal told Harjinder. The Indian team will have Peter Valles of Goa as the coach. Valles has been coaching Goa’s Haywards Sporting Club, who made waves in the national circuit this season with their impressive run in the National Football League. Former Indian goalkeeper Virender Singh will be the goalkeeping coach. After the Kathmandu meet, the team may play in another tournament in Malaysia. Incidentally, the Chandigarh Football Academy, which is well equipped thanks to official patronage extended by the former Governor, has boys from different parts of the region. Video recordings of training sessions are done regularly and weaknesses are pinpointed. The academy has vigorous training and fitness programmes. The morning practice hours are from 5.30 am to 7.15 am daily while the evening practice is from 5 pm to 7 pm. The boys are provided free diet spread in five meals. All the trainees have been admitted to Government Model High School, Sector 42. Besides regular studies, the trainees receive guidance from eight tutors from 7.30 pm to 9 pm. The St. Stephen’s Football Academy, functioning under the watchful eyes of Principal Harold Carver, has also been doing well. The team has undertaken exposure trips to England and Italy. Modern training techniques are adopted and on special occasions, the boys are taken out to watch big matches, particularly the National Football League ties. The team: Goalkeepers:
Pawan Kumar (Chd), US Sunder Reddy (Assam); Defenders: Sukhwinder, Jashanpreet Singh (both Chd), Rattan Kumar (Delhi), Velukho Rhako (Nagaland), Gary Savio D’ Mello (Goa), Durga Charan Ho (Bihar);
Midfielders: Nitin Kumar Choudhary, Sunil Yadav (Uttaranchal), Gagandeep, Aakib Javed, Gurjot Singh (all Chd), Lalnupula (Mizoram);
Forwards: Avijit Dey (Bihar), Md. Moazzam (AP), Sanjoy Boro (Nagaland) and Malsawmzuala (Mizoram). |
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Kular leads Jalandhar, April 3 He had birdies on third, fifth, sixth, ninth, 11th, 12th, 13th and 17th holes while remaining unlucky on the 7th and 14th holes. Balwinder Mattu of PAP, Jalandhar followed the leader, playing five under, one stroke behind Deepinder. He had birdies on 14th, 17th and 18th holes. Gaganjeet Bhullar, a promising local golfer, played four under. |
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It is a make-or-break Test for Pakistan in Lahore. They would like to maximize the potential of their pace battery which is the engine which drives them on a cricket field. But I am not sure if Shoaib Akhtar is up to the task.
Islamabad, April 3
The seed sown by the former Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh, Lt-Gen (retd) J.F.R. Jacob (retd), has started bearing fruit.
It was in August 2000 that General Jacob, an avid football fan, had
taken the initiative to set up Chandigarh’s first residential
football academy at the Sector 42 sports complex here. In less than
four years, the academy has not only lived up to the expectations of
General Jacob but also of the Chandigarh Administration.
