The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Some controversial decisions have brought the role of umpires under the scanner, writes Abhijit Chatterjee

The role of “neutral” umpires in international cricket has come into sharp focus once again after the Kolkata Test for at least two reasons. First, the unfair decision of West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor in declaring Sachin Tendulkar out in India’s second innings.

Second, the decision of on-field umpires Bucknor and Darrell Hair and match referee Chris Broad to report Harbhajan Singh for a suspect action while bowling his ‘doosra’. This is the third time time that Harbhajan has been reported for a suspect bowling action and the first time after the International Cricket Council (ICC) made changes in the bowling rules.

Why is it that international umpires only call players from the subcontinent for chucking? When has any player from teams like England, Australia or New Zealand been reported. Is it being done to apply pressure on subcontinent bowlers like Harbhajan, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shoaib Malik so that playing them would become all that more easier? Is the action of all off-spinners from these teams totally above board?

But first the Bucknor incident. Despite a clear gap between Tendulkar’s bat and the delivery from Abdul Razzaq and no appeal from wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, the umpire did not hesitate for a second before raising his finger to a very weak appeal from the bowler. This incident came moments after the Indians had appealed in vain over poor light.

Many now have started questioning Bucknor’s eyesight and the ICC, in hindsight, has decided that all members of the ICC elite umpires panel must undergo a medical test every year. But has not the action of the international body come too late?

The West Indian, officiating in his 100th Test, did own up after the day’s play that he has erred in his judgement but by then the wrong had been done. Sachin was denied a chance of scoring his 35th Test century since he was going great guns that day. In any case, the umpire’s admission will never go down in the record books.

Bucknor, a veteran of four World Cup finals, has a history of confrontation with the Indian team. Back in 1992, during India’s tour of South Africa, the hosts were at 73 for five when the Indians appealed for Jonty Rhodes’ run out. Despite the presence of the TV umpire, Bucknor did not refer to him and instead ruled in favour of the batsman. The match was drawn. Replays showed that Rhodes was out.

At Kolkata during Pakistan’s last tour of India in 1999, Shoaib Akhtar obstructed Tendulkar as he failed to make the crease. Bucknor turned a blind eye to the obstruction (and the rule book of the game do provide for such a situation) and as the third umpire ruled in favour of the fielding side, the crowd erupted. The stadium was vacated of spectators as the visitors coasted to a win.

Umpires are given points by captains of teams and there are reports that Bucknor has received none from the Indian skipper even in the past. But even then the ICC has not been able to work out a system where umpires who are up to the mark are removed from the elite panel and replaced by other umpires, not necessarily from the same country.

Now to the Harbhajan incident. One way the ICC can tackle the situation is to allow the on-field umpires to call a bowler if they think he is chucking. This was the rule before the Muralitharan incident threatened to split the cricketing world into two.

Allowing umpires to call a bowler is fraught with danger since there would be more subjective decisions with the ICC allowing bending of the arm up to 15 degrees. The other option is to tell all off spinners that they cannot bowl the ‘doosra’. This of course will take away some charm from the game since the leg spinner can still bowl the googly.

Battlefield Bangalore
Vikramdeep Johal

The Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore has seen two nail-biting encounters between India and Pakistan, besides two drab draws. The two teams met here for the first time in the 1979-80 series. Pakistan made 431 for 9 declared in the first innings, thanks to Mudassar Nazar’s 126. India replied with 416 to concede a 15-run lead. Pakistan made 108 for 2 in the second innings as the match ended without a result.

The Test match held during the 1983-84 series was no different. India made 275 and Pakistan replied with 288. In the second innings, India posted 176 without loss, with Sunil Gavaskar remaining unbeaten on 103.

The arch-rivals met again in the fifth and final Test of the 1986-87 series. After four successive draws, everybody was desperate for a result. On a pitch that was the batsman’s nightmare, Pakistan were bowled out for 116 in the first innings. Left-arm spinner Maninder Singh was the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 7 for 27. In reply, India failed to build a substantial lead and were dismissed for 145, with Dilip Vengsarkar’s 50 being the highest score.

In the second innings, Pakistani batsmen handled the Indian spinners fairly well to reach 249, giving India a target of 221 to win the match and the series. The last-wicket pair added 51 invaluable runs.

India began shakily and lost wickets at regular intervals. Only Little Master Sunil Gavaskar, playing his last innings, showed resistance to the spinners. He stayed at the crease for over five hours and fell short by four runs of scoring what would have been his 35th century. India lost the match by just 16 runs to lose a series to Pakistan for the first time on home soil.

Nine years later, the two teams clashed in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal. Pakistan, who had played all their league matches on home turf, crossed the border for the crucial tie. Captain Wasim Akram’s last-minute withdrawal raised many an eyebrow and gave India a psychological advantage.

India batted first and posted a challenging total of 287 for 8. Navjot Sidhu top-scored with 93 off 115 balls, but it was Ajay Jadeja’s assault on Waqar Younis in the slog overs that stunned Pakistan. Jadeja hit 45 runs off just 26 balls, including four fours and two sixes.

Pakistan openers Aamir Sohail (stand-in captain) and Saeed Anwar got their team off to a rollicking start and belted Indian bowlers with ease. After despatching a Venkatesh Prasad delivery to the boundary, Sohail made a taunting gesture which was resented by the bowler. However, it was Prasad who had the last laugh when he clean-bowled Sohail. After his dismissal, the Pakistan innings lost the early momentum and despite Javed Miandad’s valiant knock of 38, fell short of the target by 39 runs.

Women on firm wicket

Women’s cricket may not match the men’s game in terms of glamour and sponsorship, but they are the ahead in at least one aspect, having initiated the World Cup concept first. Their efforts succeeded in realising the first Women’s World Cup way back in 1973, which came two years before the men's version was born.

In fact, the Women’s World Cup was the brainchild of Sir Jack Hayward, who sponsored to the tune of £ 40,000 towards organising the first edition.

The first Women’s World Cup was held in England in 1973 which was won by the hosts in a one-sided final against Australia. The event was conducted in the 60-over format, in which Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Young England, International XI and hosts England competed. England defeated Australia by 92 runs in the final at Edgbaston. The victory was given a royal seal of approval as the trophy was presented by Princess Anne.

The second edition was held in India in 1978 with champions England, runner-up Australia, New Zealand and hosts India, after the West Indies and Holland withdrew because of financial difficulties.

Only six matches were played in this edition in the 50-over format. Australia got their revenge against England, completing a comprehensive eight-wicket win with more than 18 overs to spare in the final.

The third edition was held in New Zealand in 1982 which was reverted to the 60-overs format. This time, along with Australia, England, India and hosts New Zealand, an International XI was allowed to participate. Australia took the honours once more when they beat England in the final by three wickets. More than 3,000 spectators watched the match at Christchurch and the game was also televised.

The fourth edition was held in Australia in 1988-89. Australia made a hat-trick of World Cup wins. In the final played at MCG, England managed just 127 from 60 overs. Australia’s batswomen, too, were slow, but reached their target with 15 overs to spare.

The fifth edition was held in England in 1993. But for a change New Zealand reached the final after winning all seven matches they played in the qualifying stage. Australia failed to qualify for the final for the first time, but England marched there with the help of Carole Hodges’ match-winning century against the old enemy in the qualifiers. The final was held at Lords in front of a 4,500 home crowd. Jo Chamberlain played a crucial role in England’s victory over New Zealand.

The sixth edition was held in India in 1997. And once again the organisers reverted to the 50-over format, as one-day cricket was standardised worldwide. Playing in front of vast crowds, Australia picked up their fourth World Cup when they overhauled the New Zealand total with three overs to spare in a thrilling final at the Eden Gardens. Belinda Clark played a captain’s knock of 52.

The seventh edition was held in New Zealand in 2000. In a nail-baiting final, New Zealand pulled off a shock four-run win over the favourites Australia. New Zealand, batting first, managed just 184 runs. But their off-spinner Clare Nicholson turned events in their favour when she bowled Belinda Clark for 91 with Australia on 150 for 7. They lost two more wickets and started the final over needing five runs, but Charmaine Mason fell on the first ball of the over. Finally, the World Cup trophy had a new name on it.

The eighth World Cup, which began in South Africa on March 22, features Australia, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa. The final would be played on April 10. — UNI

IN THE NEWS
Champion cueist

Youth triumphed over experience as 19-year-old Pankaj Advani defeated 44-year-old Geet Sethi to become the first player to win both the points format and the time format titles in the World Billiards Championship in Malta.

After bagging the points format title by beating compatriot Devendra Joshi 6-2 last week, Advani showed remarkable patience and skills to get the better of former champion Sethi in a thrilling six-hour final.

Advani is also the second cueist in the world to have won both the World Billiards and Snooker title after Paul Mifsud of Malta.

While Mifsud won the snooker title in 1985, 1986 and bagged the billiards crown in 1979, Advani clinched the snooker championship in 2003 in China. He also holds the Asian billiards crown.

This was also the second win for Advani over the highly rated Sethi in a week as he had defeated the seven-time world champion in the quarterfinal of the points format after twice coming from behind.

The tournament was a fantastic outing for the seven-member Indian contingent as both the time format as well as the point format finals were all-Indian affairs and barring Sourav Kothari, who missed out in the time format, everyone made it to the knockout stage. — Agencies

SPORTS MAIL

Shameful act

A black chapter was written in the history of Indian hockey when the match between Punjab Police and Indian Oil Corporation became a bloody battle during the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold Cup in New Delhi.

Kanwalpreet Singh thrashed Deepak Thakur before thousands of people. It was a very shameful act on the part of the Punjab Police, who were also involved in a fight against Indian Airlines players in 1995.

Members of the Punjab Police should keep in mind Punjab’s great reputation in hockey. There should be a strict code of conduct in the domestic circuit, too, so that such incidents should be prevented in future. The media should also come forward to condemn such acts.

Satwinder Singh Dhanoa, Kot Fatta

Akmal’s heroics

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal deserves congratulations for scoring a century against India at a time when his team was facing defeat in the Mohali Test.

Along with all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, Akmal put on a 186-run partnership for seventh wicket, beating the record of 154 runs made by Imran Khan and Ijaz Faqih against India in 1986-87.

The Akmal-Razzaq partnership changed the complexion of the match. At one stage it looked that India would win. But the two Pakistanis turned the tables on India.

Subhash C Taneja, Rohtak

Despite Virender Sehwag’s scintillating knock of 173, Sachin Tendulkar’s compact 94, Laxmipathy Balaji’s fiery, accurate and penetrating bowling and a substantial first innings lead of 204, India failed to drive home the advantage they had over Pakistan in the Mohali Test.

From a certain winning position, they had to settle for a draw as Pakistan fought back valiantly in the second innings to deny India victory.

At one stage, they were reeling at 257 for six. But the men who enabled Pakistan to wriggle out from the jaws of defeat were Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal. The young wicketkeeper-batsman made a mockery of the form-book and predictions with his immaculate performance. Hats off to him! He dashed India’s hopes of a victory to the ground.

Tarsem S.Bumrah, Batala

III

Though the first Test between India and Pakistan ended in a draw, it was a fruitful outing for Laxmipathy Balaji, who bowled exceedingly well and was able to move the ball both ways. Displaying good control over his line and length, Balaji captured nine wickets in the match. He should maintain the tempo in the subsequent Tests.

Nirmal Kumar, Panchkula