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Ganguly is back, Yuvraj indisposed
India third in Test rankings
Parthiv waiting to bounce back
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Ian Chappell plans fundraiser for Gilmour
Akram endorses left-arm heavy attack
NCA honing new talent
National Games jinx haunts Assam Govt
Golf makes effort to attract corporates
Sports Dept does volte face
Withdrawal of coaches hits sports activities
Kulwinder erases 33-year-old decathlon mark
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Ganguly is back, Yuvraj indisposed
Dambulla, August 2 Although Ganguly is almost certain to feature in the starting eleven, the left-handed Yuvraj Singh was running fever and was a doubtful starter for tomorrow’s flood-lit encounter at the Rangiri Stadium here. VVS Laxman, who sat out of the first two matches with a back spasm, is fit and batted for long in the nets. But the team management will wait till tomorrow before taking a decision on playing the stylish Hyderabadi batsman. For the first time in five years, Ganguly will be in the team as a regular member, without the privileges of a captain, but consoled by the comforting words of coach Greg Chappell who wants his leadership and batting skills to show on the field. “He has been a leader for long and an experienced cricketer in these conditions. Obviously, we would like to make the best use of his skills and his experience,” said Chappell on the eve of the tie at the Rangiri stadium. Ganguly’s presence will lend solidity and experience to the Indian batting which floundered in the series opener against the hosts last week. Chappell, though, did not commit himself whether Ganguly would open or bat at one down position, but indications are that a place in the top order would be reserved for the former captain. Sri Lanka won the opener against India by a close margin of three wickets last Saturday and Chappell hoped if the batting was to fire to its potential, it could be a different game tomorrow. “Batting was our problem in the first game. We should have got 250 on the board. The good news is that bowling and fielding, two of our weak areas, was up to the scratch on the day. So if our batting works well, we should be alright tomorrow.” The fifth bowler’s issue has occupied Chappell’s mind also but he said in these conditions, if the first four bowlers could do the job well, the team could afford to take risk with the part-time bowlers. “It is a matter of getting the balance right and I think putting runs on the board is an important issue.” The fielding drills took up a major chunk of the morning’s nets and Chappell said his aim was to get the boys improve to the extent that when they return from Zimbabwe in September, they would be a vastly fitter side. That’s the aim even though I realise in the initial phase it could be tough on them. I would ideally not like to train them hard on the day before the match but the target is to take them on a road to better fitness.” For those yet to play a game in the competition, the likes of Anil Kumble, J.P. Yadav and Laxmipathy Balaji, Chappell expressed his belief that ideally he would like to give all members of the side at least a game before the tournament is through. “Ideally, I would like everyone to play a game in this tournament. We must have players ready to step in incase there is an injury or somebody is out for one reason or other.” Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are still keeping the news on fast bowler Chaminda Vaas’s return close to their chest. However, it is learnt that the quality left-arm paceman will be seen in tomorrow’s game. Sanath Jayasuriya, despite a minor shoulder dislocation, is still expected to figure in the eleven. Nuwan Zoysa, the left-arm paceman, though is unlikely to play tomorrow. He is still in Colombo, nursing a bad back. Any team which wins tomorrow would have made sure of a berth in the finals, to be played next Tuesday.
— PTI |
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Lanka beat WI by 50 runs
Dambulla, August 2 Smith hit two sixes and nine fours in a defiant innings of 68 from 90 balls, the innings’ top score, and threatened at least to deny the Lankans their bonus point. The right-hander was involved in two vital partnerships, adding 46 runs with Denesh Ramdin (29) for the seventh wicket, but more destructive was his 43-run stand with Deighton Butler (13 not out), that came in less than seven overs. Smith’s innings came to a tame end when he played on to his stumps a Muttiah Muralitharan delivery in the 44th over. The Caribbean islanders were eventually all out for 191, two short of the target to deny the hosts a bonus point, in 45.1 overs. Earlier, Atapattu made a sedate 70 while Sangakkara topscored with 79 in an equally conservative knock to set the platform for a competitive total for the hosts. The two batsmen added 138 runs for the second wicket after an unusually dull start to the innings. However, the Lankans suffered a middle-order collapse as they lost five wickets for 56 runs to allow the Windies to claw their way back into the match. Russel Arnold and Upul Chandana provided the spark towards the end as they added 36 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket. Arnold remained unbeaten on 21 while Chandana was 15 not out. The second-string West Indian side bowled with verve and were sharp on the field, effecting two run outs, including a throw from the deep by Deighton Butler to catch Atapattu short of the crease. Sri Lanka handed Upul Tharanga his maiden international cap, brining him in place of Sanath Jayasuriya, who hurt his right shoulder on the field in the series opener against India on Saturday. But Tharanga became the first victim of Deighton Butler, another debutant in the match, falling leg before for six. What followed then was some yawning batting performance, surprisingly from strokemaker Atapattu and Sangakkara. The 100 came in the 29th over before the duo began to push the scoring rate. The innings seemed to finally take off when Deonarine put the skids with his trundlers. Sangakkara was the first to go as his half-hearted straight drive found Shivnarine Chanderpaul at mid-off. Dilhara Lokuhettige, promoted up the order, then stepped out of the crease and played all over an innocuous delivery to be beaten and stumped. Atapattu became a victim of poor calling by his deputy Mahela Jayawardene when the latter called for a second run after a fumble by Butler at long-off. Butler, however, recovered quickly and his throw to the batsman’s end was on top of the bails for wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to complete a simple job. Jayawardene (16) too did not last long as a straighter one from Dwayne Smith was right on the blockhole. When Tillekaratne Dilshan (4) became the second batsman to be run out, Lanka had slipped from 141 for one to 205 for six inside nine overs. Scoreboard Sri Lanka Tharanga lbw b Butler 6 Atapattu run out 70 Sagakkara c Chanderpaul Lokuhettge st Ramdin Jayawardene b Smith 16 Dilshan run out 4 Arnold not out 21 Chandana not out 15 Extras:
(b-6, lb-4, nb-4, w-7): 21 Total: (6 wickets, 50 overs): 241 Fall of wickets:
1-11, 2-149, 3-171, 4-191, 5-194, 6-205. Bowling: Butler 10-2-25-1, Lawson 10-1-63-0, Best 10-1-39-0, Smith 9-1-39-1, Deonarine 10-0-55-2, Powell 1-0-10-0. West Indies Marshall c and b Mahroof 6 Ramdass b Mahroof 1 Joseph c Mahroof Deonaraine b Fernando 23 Chanderpual c and Powell b Maharoof 2 Smith b Muralitharan 68 Ramdin b Chandana 29 Best lbw b Muralitharan 1 Butler not out 13 Lawson st Sangakkara Extras (b-4, lb-4, nb-3, w-6): 17 Total (all out, 45.1 overs): 191 Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-18, 3-21, 4-36, 5-39, 6-75, 7-121, 8-128,
9-177. Bowling: Maharoof 10-5-9-3, Lokuhettige 7-0-30-2, Muralitharan 10-1-46-2, Fernando 8-1-33-1, Chandana 10-0-65-1, Dilshan 0.1-0-0-1.
— PTI |
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India third in Test rankings
Wellington, August 2 The world champions, who have the highest Test rating since a new system of calculation was introduced in June 2003, can improve to 138 points if they beat England 5-0 in the Ashes. Series played before August 1, 2002 no longer count towards
the rankings. England, who lost to Australia and India and drew with New Zealand during the August 1, 2001 to July 31, 2002 period, improved their rating by three points to 114, which would fall back to 111 again if they were to lose the Ashes 4-1. India lost three away series to Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies in the previous rankings period. They remain third and have jumped by four points to 111, their highest ranking since the new system was
introduced. South Africa is fourth on 100 points, while New Zealand has moved from seventh to fifth on 99 points. Sri Lanka drop to sixth after losig four points while Pakistan also dropped, to seventh on
95 points. — Reuters |
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Parthiv waiting to bounce back
Ahmedabad, August 2 “I am not under any kind of pressure because of the good performance by Kaarthick or Dhoni,” said Parthiv while talking about the players who had edged him out of Indian Test and one-day squads, respectively, in the
recent past. Being overlooked for the Sri Lankan tour had also not deterred his determination to make a strong comeback into the
Indian squad. “I am presently honing my wicketkeeping and batting skills and keeping myself match fit,” said Parthiv, who last donned India colours in the third Test against Australia at home last year. Parthiv admitted that there was fierce competition for the wicketkeeper’s slot in the Indian team with the hard-hitting Dhoni and Kaarthick making their mark
in the role. He, however, refused to draw comparisons between himself and the other two. Dismissing his critics who had time and again pointed out towards his lack of wicketkeeping basics, Parthiv said, “I believe I have the ability to make it back into the Indian team. As far
as my wicketkeeping goes, I do not think that there is any flaw in my basics.” “If that would have been the case, then I would not have played so many international games. I think I kept and batted well during the last season, including the Ranji and Duleep trophy matches,” said the player. “I will continue to concentrate on my nets and play national-level matches, including the KSCA diamond jubliee cup, before the Ranji season starts,” he said, adding that by playing domestic matches, he would keep himself match fit and be ready for any opportunity. Parthiv felt consistency would play a major role in deciding who finally occupied the wicket-keeper’s slot in the
Indian team. The 20-year-old, who donned the Indian cap at a tender age of 17, was now back from Bangalore camp, where he said he benefitted from the tips of new coach Greg Chappell. “During the camp, Greg Chappell advised me not to think too much about the past mistakes. ‘Keep
it simple’, was what he told me during the camp,” he said. Parthiv’s slump was as sudden as his ascent to the top. It was his shoddy work behind the stumps on Australia’s tour forcing the selectors to drop him from the side.
— PTI |
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Ian Chappell plans fundraiser for Gilmour
Sydney, August 2 BBC Sports quoted Chappell as saying, “His condition has deteriorated to the point where he is on three hours standby for surgery.” “It is vital that funds be raised to cover his medical costs and his family’s needs,” Chappell said of his former team-mate. Three members of the present Australian side — skipper Rickyh Ponting, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne — were supporting the cause and had donated auction items. Ponting also promised to donate a playing shirt from the ongoing Ashes series, the report said. Chappell, meanwhile, had come up with an innovative idea to raise funds for the player. “One of the luncheon guests may possibly end up being 13th man during the Australia-Rest of the World Test in October. That means being in the Australian dressing room and carrying the drinks,” Chappell added. Though Gilmour played only 15 Tests and five one-dayers for Australia, he shone in his debut in the World Cup semifinal match at Headingley in 1975, when he claimed six wickets for just 14 runs. Though Australia lost the final to the West Indies, the left-arm pacer grabbed five wickets in the match.
Gilmour never hid his dislike for modern-day cricket and once said, “I could not play in today’s conditions, what with the travelling and training and scientific aspects.” “It is not a sport any more, it is like going to work,” he had felt.
— UNI |
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Akram endorses left-arm heavy attack
New Delhi, August 2 Akram, who holds the unique
distinction of taking more than 400 wickets in both versions of the game, sees no reason as to why India should not use their talent in left-arm bowling to maximum effect. “The three (left-arm
seamers) are looking good. They are bowling well and are the three best bowlers
that the team has, so I think it is right on the part of the Indian think tank to
use all the three in their bowling attack,” the former Pakistan skipper said in a
telephonic interview. Wasim, who is now a commentator with ESPN-Star Sports, had kind words for Irfan Pathan, saying the youngster would soon overcome his blues. “Pathan is good, as I have always said. He did not bowl well in the last season, but success and failure are part of the game. He tasted success early and the failures of last season would have made him strong. He must have learnt to take both success and failure in his stride.” The left-arm legend dismissed cynics who had been more than eager to write off the Baroda paceman. “People who have never played for their country, or played just one or two games, tend to pass judgements. Such former cricketers have nothing but animosity in them. They know that if they speak something positive, no one will listen to them, so they resort to such gimmicks. Even in Pakistan, people look for an opportunity to pull someone down”. “As far as Pathan is concerned, give him three or four years. He is just 21, give him a break please. Negative criticism can be demoralising for a youngster,” Wasim said. And unlike his former team-mate and current Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has said that it was wrong to penalise the captain for slow over rates, Akram says it is the skipper who should be blamed for it. “Definitely the captain should be blamed. If he takes the credit for the team’s success, he should also be ready to take responsibility for defeat as well as issues
like slow over rates. I have been the captain and I think it is right to penalise
the leader.” Akram was also critical of foreign board raising a hue and cry about security
during tours. His former team-mate Javed Miandad has also been vocal in this regard. “For once, I agree with Javed bhai, our cricket boards ought to be stronger. Once we have promised foolproof security, there is no point in bowing down to the pressure tactics of visiting teams”. “Look at Australia, had they been playing in Pakistan now instead of England, and there would have been a bomb blast, they would have
disappeared within a couple of hours.” The cricketer also slammed as farce the latest practice of sending security experts prior to tours. “These security guys have good fun, the trip is like a holiday for them, they collect TA and DA and that is it. I think the security issue should be left to the governments, they are very much capable of handling these issues.” Asked about the Super Series, which will make debut in October, Akram said he welcomed the concept of pitting a Rest of World X1 against reigning champions. “ICC is doing something good, for a change. I like this concept of Super Series very much. For that matter, I welcome the new ODI rules as well. I am all for change if it is positive.”
— PTI |
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NCA honing new talent
Bangalore, August 2 Among the players who have graduated from the school, housed within the premises of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, are Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Dinesh Kaarthick, Parthiv Patel and Gautam Gambhir. “When it was established five years back, the academy was to be a place where junior players could train and hone their skills to lead them to the threshold of becoming successful at the international level,” says NCA’s chief administrator Radha Nair, whom many term the backbone of the institution. The NCA was established on the lines of the Adelaide-based Australian Cricket Academy (ACA) following its incredible success. Even NCA’s training curriculum is based on the modern coaching theory introduced by former Australian Test wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh, a former director of the ACA. The finishing school, as the NCA is often called, has five feeder agencies in the form of zonal academies in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Kanpur, that cover the entire nation. These zonal academies function for two months in a year (April and May) followed by the Inter-Zonal Academy Tournament in Bangalore, that is played on the league format. Those with most promising talent are sent on a six-week stint to the ACA under the Border-Gavaskar Scholarship scheme. More than 18 players have so far benefited from this tie-up, initiated by the Australia India Council between the two academies. “The NCA is not just a place where we hone talent, but is also a place where coaching courses and physiotherapist courses are also taught, apart from the emphasis that is laid on imparting the art of spin,” Nair says. With the NCA offering modern infrastructure and facilities, little wonder then that pre-season senior national camps are held here to help international players gain maximum benefit. Every year the NCA opens its doors in March, with a coaching camp for the university players, followed by an orientation course for physiotherapists and trainers. This is followed by level-2 and level-3 coaching courses for aspiring coaches and then a spin wing follow-up camp in April. In May, the under-17 national batch trickles in and the Inter-Zonal Academy Tournament takes place, extending till mid-June. A month-long camp for under-22 players follows. The under-19 batch has its time from mid-July to mid-August and shares the academy’s space with another course for physiotherapists and trainers in August. Towards the end of the month, the under-15 batch is housed at the NCA for four weeks and in September a special camp under the spin wing coaches, comprising spin greats like Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble, is held. Some changes have been made in the functioning of the NCA over the five years to make it more effective. “In our first year, we had a single batch, that stayed here for four months, but realised that the boys became homesick and that affected their performance. So, we shortened the courses to a month,” Nair says. There is a proposal to move the academy to a permanent 12-acre facility on the outskirts of Bangalore.
— IANS |
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National Games jinx haunts Assam Govt
Guwahati, August 2 Ever since the Games have been alloted to Assam, these have been hit by one roadblock or the other, with the worst coming recently when Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced that the event had been “rescheduled” and would now be held next year, which was also when the state was slated to go to the polls. Mr Gogoi cited “court litigation” for the delay of “two or three months” but emphatically said the Games would be “definitely held before next year’s Assembly elections”. The Chief Minister’s assurance comes at a time when there is widespread speculation on the state’s capability to host the multi-disciplinary event in the face of lack of proper infrastructure, the Athletes Vilage in particular. Another worrying factor for Mr Gogoi, who is also the President of the Assam Olympic Association (AOA), could be the possibility of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) not permitting the Games to be staged during, or close to the Doha Asian Games, scheduled for Octber next year, because of a rule that there should be at least a two-month gap between major events. The state government has several other factors to be worried about, including the vagaries of the weather, an early monsoon in April and/or the scorching summer, when the Games cannot be held, and the impending Assembly elections. The Assembly poll could be a major hindrance, with government officials attached to various Games committees being deputed for election duty, now that ministers and MLAs are getting set for campaigning. The AOA has blamed litigation against one of the bidders for the infrastructure project for causing the initial delay. The government then empowered the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority to engage private builders, after which Larsen and Toubro won the contract. L&T had reportedly stated that the 700-apartment Athletes Village would be ready only in January next year. With 75 per cent of the work completed till date, it remains to be seen whether the rest of the work can be finished by next year for the state to be able to hold its biggest sports extravaganza. There are also reports that the IOA has not been officially informed about the reasons for the delay of the Games, for which IOA President Suresh Kalmadi is scheduled to visit Assam this month to take stock of the situation.
— PTI |
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Golf makes effort to attract corporates
Kolkata, August 2 A brainchild of the Protouch Sports Systems (PSS), the website, www.protouchsport.com, would be launched on Friday here aiming to draw corporate executives from the city to the golf course. “Eightyfive per cent of all business decision makers being active golfers, it only makes sense to use the golf course as the meeting room of modern business. But in India, less than five per cent of sales executives actively use golf as a business development tool,” says Indrajit
Bhalotia, a top golfer and the moving spirit behind the PSS. The website would try to impress upon corporate executives that they could use the environment of the golf course to generate stronger business relationships. “The main purpose is to answer one simple query — why a corporate executive needs to learn golf?” he said. “The website is the first of a two-step programme we have chalked out for corporate executives. Once we manage to generate interest among them towards the discipline, we can follow up with an on-field training programme,” Bhalotia, a leading performer on the PGAI
tour, said. The PSS has devised short-duration training programmes for corporate executives — from young sales associates to seasoed pros — to make them abreast of golf rules and help them learn the game. “We are now starting the website on a small scale. Now it will only have a couple of pages. But we have great plans to upgrade and update it as we go on,” Bhalotia said. He said future plans include having separate pages on corporate houses that take part in the game regularly. “We can post info on how the company is doing in the board room as also on the golf courses. “We can start a system of ranking corporates as also the individual executives. We can even give a list of forthcoming corporate tournaments,” he said. But what do
administrators of other sports disciplines think about the proposed venture? All-India Football Federation (AIFF) vice president Subrata Dutta said “Both the AIFF and the IFA (of which he is the secretary) are working on their websites. We can think on
these lines. “But there is one basic difference. Golf is a game played mostly by corporates. But soccer is a mass game. More than corporate participation, what we need is corporate support,” he added.
— PTI |
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Sports Dept does volte face
Patiala, August 2
However, in a sudden development today, the department revoked these orders. A perusal of the posting orders, signed by the Director, Sports, Mr Kartar Singh, revealed that out of the 20 coaches, 10 were sent to the SAI Coaching Centre (SCC) at Jalandhar while five were sent to SCC, Ludhiana. Three of the coaches were posted at SCC, Amritsar, while one each was sent to SCC, Sangrur, and SCC, Hoshiarpur. When contacted, Mr Kartar Singh confirmed that the department had to take back the orders in an abrupt manner. He revealed that the postings were decided during a meeting he had with Mr Suresh Harmilapi, Regional Director, Northern Centre, before he embarked on a tour to Edmonton Canada, about 10 days ago. He said now Mr Harmilapi had spoken to him, asking him to take back the orders. Mr Harmilapi, when contacted at Sonepat, said the Punjab Sports Department had no power to issue such posting orders. He added that the department could only recommend or propose the names of coaches it wished to post only with the consent of the SAI corporate office. He said he had received a fresh list of postings from the Director, Sports, and the same had been forwarded to the Director-General for further action. All the 20 coaches went to join at their new places of posting today, where they learnt that the orders had been revoked. |
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Withdrawal of coaches hits sports activities
Solan, August 2 The SAI had, as per a recent decision, withdrawn its coaches from all states. They had been relieved from the Sports Department with effect from July 6. These coaches received their salaries from the SAI and were directly under the control of the Government of India. Officials said this decision had been conveyed to all states and the SAI had put forth the plea that its infrastructure was suffering due to this arrangement. Since these coaches had been serving in Himachal Pradesh for the past more than 25 years, the state’s Sports Department had appointed only a few coaches. Officials rued that this sudden decision had paralysed their sports activities and sportsmen had suffered. Since the regional sports centres at Dharamsala, Mandi and Nahan had been closed long back, there was no chance of the SAI retaining some coaches. Officials of the Sports Department felt that some coaches should be appointed on a regular basis to bring stability in the department. They opined that the 40 coaches which would soon be appointed on a contractual basis were insufficient. The department, at present, had less than 12 coaches in the state. The Sports Minister, Mr Ram Lal Thakur, said a meeting would be held with the SAI authorities within a week to decide upon some measures. He added that sports activities would not be allowed to suffer due to lack of coaches. |
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Kulwinder erases 33-year-old decathlon mark
Chennai, August 2 Karnataka’s Pallavi Sukar also set a new mark in the pentathlon event for under-16 girls with a tally of 3167 points, erasing the previous record of Andhra Pradesh’s Mythili. Kulwinder, winning the national and open national decathlon titles since 1997, needed to win the 1500m the last of the 10 events, in under 4 minutes, 38 seconds to erase the record of V.S. Chauhan. The 27-year-old Roorkee-based Bengal Engineering Corps Army man took only 4 minutes 36.08 seconds to accumulate 700 points in the 1500 metres. West Bengal’s Sushmita Singha Roy won her heptathlon back-to-back title with a total of 5419 points.
— PTI |
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Lack of fifth bowler still a worry, says
Dravid. (
