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The World is not enough, prove Australia
Future of Super Series in doubt
Chucking detector invented
Gaganjeet to defend his title at Samarvir Sahi golf meet
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Sorenstam wins, Wie disqualified
Manan Chandra enters last 16
Punjabi varsity rout Muslim Club
8-year-old to attempt 71-km swim
Sania drops to 32nd place
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The World is not enough, prove Australia
Sydney, October 17 There was hardly anything super about the match as all that it served was to re-establish the supremacy of the Australians, who had earlier clubbed the same bunch of world’s elite players 3-0 in the one-dayers. While Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis glimmered for a while in World XI’s second innings, skipper Graeme Smith, Virender Sehwag and Inzamam-ul-Haq caved in while chasing 355, a score no other team had ever chased successfully on the spin-friendly SCG. After being bowled out for 190 in their first essay in reply to Australia’s 345, World XI were expected to at least put up some fight, but they fared worse, being dismissed for 144 in exactly 50 overs, the match ending just an hour after lunch on the fourth day of what was supposed to be a six-day extravaganza of thrilling cricket. While the Australians were brimming with confidence, reflected in the way they dominated the game overall, the world’s players gave the look of being lost in the woods, raising serious concern about the entire concept of pitting the best against the best of the rest. In the face of an unmotivated display, the master and his pupil in leg spin thrived, although it was another matter that MacGill outperformed Warne. Resuming this morning at a shaky 25 for two, World XI lost wickets in a heap, giving away their last eight wickets for 88. Warne picked the key wickets of overnight batsmen Dravid and Lara and later MacGill took three wickets in five balls to seal the fate of Smith’s men. MacGill had a match haul of 9 for 82, while Warne’s figures of 3 for 48 meant that he returned 6 for 71 for the match to swell his world record tally to 629. Their impressive performance notwithstanding, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting admitted later that the victories in the Super Series were no compensation for losing the Ashes. But even Ponting would not deny that the matches helped his Ashes-shocked players like Matthew Hayden, declared man of the match for his century in the first innings, and Adam Gilchrist, named man of the series, to redeem themselves. The only time Australia looked a little vulnerable was in their second innings, when they were bowled out for 199, but by then, they already had established a vice-like grip over the match. For World XI, the only face-saving feature was a knock of 76 by Sehwag in the first innings and some fine bowling by Andrew Flintoff, who emerged as the highest wicket-taker for them with seven scalps. Scoreboard Australia (1st innings) 345 World XI (1st innings) 190 Australia (2nd innings) 199 World XI (2nd innings) Smith b McGrath 0 Sehwag c Gilchrist b MacGill 7 Dravid c Hayden b Warne 23 Lara c Gilchrist b Warne 36 Kallis not out 39 Inzamam lbw b Lee 0 Flintoff c sub (Hodge) Boucher c Hayden b Warne 17 Vettori c Ponting b MacGill 0 Harmison lbw b MacGill 0 Muralitharan st Extras (b-1, lb-2, nb-4) 7 Total
(all out, 50 overs) 144 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-18, 3-56, 4-69, 5-70, 6-122, 7-143, 8-144, 9-144. Bowling:
McGrath 6-3-8-1, Lee 10-2-42-1, Warne 19-4-48-3, MacGill 15-4-43-5.
— PTI |
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Future of Super Series in doubt
Sydney, October 17 Ricky Ponting-led Aussies crushed World XI by a whopping 210 runs here today in a one-off Test, that was scheduled to go for six days, but ran out of puff as a credible contest well inside four. Ponting praised the concept — his $ 132,000 share of the lucrative prize money perhaps helping his sentiments — but it was unlikely if cricket fans would get to see more in the near future. “When we set this series up, the question we asked was whether a team of champions beat a champion team,” ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said. “I think we saw the answer comprehensively both in Melbourne and in Sydney,” Speed said at a press conference after the Test today. “As far as the world team is concerned, we share the players’ disappointment in their performances. “As for the future, I simply do not know about that. It is a concept that for it to succeed, it requires one team to stand out from the pack, to be the best team in the world. “We have seen that with Australia in both one-dayers and the Test. It was an opportunity to test that team against the rest of the world.” Speed said the next great team in world cricket could be England, South Africa, Australia or India, but the super series concept would not become a regular event on the world cricket calendar. “It is not something we will put in on a regular basis. It is not something that we are going to say we will play this every two, four or six years. “It is something that if a team emerges that justifies being called clearly the best team in the world, we may take the opportunity to put the rest of the world together and have a team of champions take them on. “There is certainly no commitment to play this every four years. It was an opportunity to fill the gap and have an ICC event this year,” Speed said. World XI coach John Wright floated the idea that a future series could involve the top two one-day and Test teams and not a conglomeration of world stars. “There are things that the ICC needs to look at. From a personal point of view, sometimes finals are attractive, where a winner takes all,” the former New Zealand opening batsman said. “Number one versus number two over four years. There are various concepts out there. It is an attractive package, but it is got to produce the quality of cricket to match.” said the former India coach. Speed said the Super Series and Super Test had made money for the ICC, but said he would not have the final details for another week. “It was a profitable event for the ICC, which means it was profitable for our member countries, the ultimate beneficiaries of any revenue that the ICC raises,” he said.
— AFP |
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Chucking detector invented
Chennai, October 17 Two students of the Indian Institute of Technology here, A.V. Varun and Arun Manohar, have devised a method to determine instantly whether a bowler is throwing. The software programme, called Xiva, can instantly identify the frame from a series of visual images in which the bowling arm releases the ball and measure the angle of flex of the elbow. Said Varun, “The degree of arm extension is calculated by measuring the elbow angle up to the point of release. It can measure the angle at every frame as well as measure the difference between any two frames. Any change in the angle should be estimated up to the point of release.” The programme has been developed by using image processing technology to select the relevant frames from video footage of a bowler’s action and measure the angle of elbow extension. If the angle exceeds the laid-down norm by the ICC of more than 15 degrees, it will immediately alert the third umpire. The two final-year students of Aerospace Engineering took up the chucking issue and presented their software at the IIT’s annual technology festival “Shaastra”, where more than 100 college teams sent their solutions. Arun and Varun were adjudged the winners by a panel of judges from General Electric, edging out seven other entries that were shortlisted. To implement their software, video cameras have to be stationed in various places on the cricket field to get a clear view of the bowling arm, which will provide live input to a
computer-based image processing system. In case of a bowler throwing, a simple alert system will be needed for the umpires. This automatic chucking detector, if put to use, will not only revolutionise umpiring in cricket, but also lay to rest controversial deliveries. Being a cricket buff, Arun decided to team up with his friend Varun, more interested in image processing applications, and both tried out the experiment together. Varun said, “The problem gave us scope to experiment with image processing. We were already designing algorithms for image processing applications in aerospace.” At the technology festival, the best solution was chosen on the basis of innovation, ground work and some theoretical component. During their experiments, Arun used his mobile phone camera while he himself did some bowling actions. There is one snag to implement this system. The duo said, “The important thing is that this system identifies the skin of the bowler. For this to be successful, the bowler should not be wearing a full-sleeved shirt.” The ICC norms and protocol state that during technical analysis, bowlers whose actions are being reviewed should bowl with a bare torso. Said Varun, “We want to subject the idea to more tests. We are looking at an opportunity to implement this on a real-time basis in a real match situation. We need to do further analysis.” Before presenting this to the Indian cricket authorities, they need to do more experiments with sophisticated cameras and live feed in a real match situation. |
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Gaganjeet to defend his title at Samarvir Sahi golf meet
Chandigarh, October 17 But it will not be easy going for the Kapurthala teenager as among the 100 participants will be three-time Sri Lanka Open champion Simarjeet Singh. This 30-year-old Noida golfer heads the Order of Merit list with 243 points. Another golfer who can give him tough competition is Chirag Kumar from the Air Force Golf Club, Delhi, who is number two in the Order of Merit. Others to watch are Manav Das, Jasjeet Singh, Gagan Verma and Joseph Chakola. But the Kapurthala teenager is confident of defending his title. He said, “It is not an easy course. Last year, I won by just one stroke. I will do my best to defend my title.” Missing the tournament will be Chandigarh’s own Ajeetesh Sandhu, who is on a two-year scholarship for the junior full-time programme at the prestigious David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Florida, the USA. Last year, the IGU Amateur Tour received a shot in the arm after corporate giants Shaw Wallace became the first company to sponsor the Indian Golf Union’s National Amateur Golf Tour. The sponsors have decided to continue with the sponsorship. The Royal Challenge Indian Golf Tour will feature six events during the 2005-06 season. After the Samarvir Sahi Golf Tournament, the bandwagon will shift to Pune. This will be followed by the RCGC Cup and the Royal Challenge Eastern India
Amateur in Kolkata, and will culminate in Mumbai with the Royal Challenge Western India Amateur. This will be followed by the Royal Challenge All-India Amateur Tournament. Delhi-based Tiger Sports Marketing will be the event managers. Addressing the press conference, the President of the Chandigarh Golf Club, G.S. Sandhu, said the club had produced the best golfers of the country like Chiranjeev Milkha Singh, Amandeep Johl, Amritinder Singh, Irina Brar, Amritinder Singh, Harinder Gupta and Ajeetesh Sandhu. He also announced that nine holes would be flood-lit soon. The course captain, S.M.S. Sandhu, was happy that the course was in perfect condition. For the first time, the father of late Samarvir Sahi, Mr G.P.S. Sahi, was on the dais. He gave a brief account of his son’s showing in Albright College. To show his class before being taken in the college team, Samarvir had executed a drive which was better and longer that of the coach. Samarvir had played with Chiranjeev and Johl. But death snatched him when he had just moulded into a perfect golfer in November, 1994. |
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Sorenstam wins, Wie disqualified
Palm Desert (USA), October 17 Wie finished with 11 consecutive pars en route to a two-over-par 74 that left her in fourth place at eight-under 280, a performance that earned kudos from Sorenstam. But some 10 minutes after she signed her scorecard, she was brought back to the seventh hole by rules officials to discuss a drop she took during Saturday's third round. It was determined she violated rule 20-7 — playing the ball from the wrong place — and should have been assessed a two-shot penalty. Wie felt the ball was no more than three inches closer to the hole, while rules officials estimated it was a foot to 18 inches closer. “If I had to make the ruling based on the videotape, to me it was inconclusive,” tournament official and manager of rules Robert O Smith said. “The Rules of Golf are based on facts. They had to tell us where it was. The fact was, the ball was closer to the hole by 12 to 18 inches.” Wie was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard because she did not give herself a two-shot penalty to add to her third-round 71. |
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Manan Chandra enters last 16
Chandigarh, October 17 Asian Games gold medallist Rafath Habib of Tamil Nadu also showed his class when he defeated Punjab's Dhruv Mehra 6-2. In other matches, Sameer Bhalla (Haryana) beat Akshay Kumar (UP) 6-1, Money (Pb) beat Nadeem Ahmed (TN) 6-3, Dhruv Sitwala of the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board beat Nitin Anand (Pb) 6-4, while Dhruv Verma (Pb) beat Bunty Johal (Pb) 6-0. In the women’s section, Chitra (Karnataka) beat Neeta Kothari (West Bengal) 3-0 and Neeta Sanghvi (Maharashtra) 3-1. The 9-year-old cueist from Delhi, Keerat Bhandaal, lost both her matches today. She lost 3-0 to Geetika of Chandigarh and with an identical score to Uma Devi of Karnataka. In two other matches, world billiards champion Anuja Thakur (Maharashtra) defeated Bhanumati (Karnataka) 3-0 and Meenal Thakur (Maharashtra) 3-2. Thakur, however won her match against Shreya of West Bengal 3-0. Results (men): Sunny Chadda (Del) b Navpreet Singh (Del) 5-6, Abhishek (Punjab) b Imran Khan (UP) 6-0, Rupinder Singh (Chandigarh) b Deepak Sippy (Maharashtra) 6-3, Dhruv Verma (Punjab) b Bunny Johal (Punjab) 6-0, Sahil Arora (Punjab) b Rajat Kaura (Punjab), Anjelo Johnson (Tamil Nadu) b Deepak Hanspal (Punjab) 6-5, Komal Chawla ( MP) b Praneet (TN) 6-3, Money (Punjab) b Nadeem Ahmad (Tamil Nadu) 6-3, Rahul (UP) b Sanjay Jain (Punjab) 6-2, Antim Singhi (Tamil Nadu) b Divya Sharma (Haryana) 6-4, Dhruv Sitwala (PSPB) b Nitin Anand (Punjab) 6-4, Jageet Singh (Punjab) b Romy Malik (Punjab) 6-3, Sameer Bhalla (Haryana) b Akshay Kumar ( UP) 6-1, Manan Chandra (PSPB) b Neeraj Kumar (Bihar) 6-4, Rajiv Juneja (Punjab) b Arpit Seth (Chandigarh) 6-2, Rafath Habib (TN) vs Dhruv Mehra (Punjab) 6-2. Women: T.V. Sridevi (Karnataka) b Indira Gowda (Karnataka) 3-2, Meenal Thakur (Maharashtra) b Bhanumati (Karnataka) 3-0, Neeta Kothari (West Bengal) b Neeta Sanghvi (Maharashtra) 3-2, Geetika (Chandigarh) b Keerat Bhandal (Delhi) 3-0, Anuja Thakur (Maharashtra) b Bhanumati (Karnataka) 3-0, Uma Devi ( Karnataka) b Keerat Bhandal (Delhi) 3-0, Anuja Thakur (Maharashtra) b Meenal Thakur (Maharashtra) 3-2, Chitra (Karnataka) b Neeta Sanghvi (Maharashtra) 3-1, Meenal Thakur (Maharashtra) b Shreya (West Bengal) 3-0, Chitra (Karnatka) b Neeta Kothari (West Bengal) 3-0, T.V Shridevi (Karnataka) b Neena 3-1, Shreya Kothari w/o Bhanumati. |
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Punjabi varsity rout Muslim Club
Nabha, October 17 In the other matches of the day, Mahilpur wing downed Diamond Football Club, Kalka, 4-0 while Mahilpur (seniors) beat Union Club, Yamunanagar, by a solitary goal. The university students now take on S.N. College, Banga, while Mahilpur wing square off against Khalsa College, Jalandhar, in their next matches. Buoyed by yesterday's impressive win against Rakesh Football Club, the university lads played a cohesive game to outwit their rivals in almost all departments of the game. For the Patiala students, former Indian Schools skipper Amarinder Singh, a product of the Polo ground centre at Patiala, played a fluent game and combined well with his wingers to repeatedly raid the rival territory. The students opened the scoring when Amarinder netted the team's first goal. Amarinder was in the thick of things again when he collected a stray pass and scored the second goal. The university boys pumped in two more goals through strikers Mandeep Singh and Amarinder Singh, who took his tally to three goals in the outing. In another match, the Mahilpur wing team, comprising of students of Government Senior Secondary school, Mahilpur, where the Punjab Education Department successfully runs a football academy, proved to be too fast and too strong for their rivals. The students found themselves pitted against an ageing side and in the first ten minutes they were up by three goals. In the second half, which for all practical purposes had been reduced to academic interest, Mahilpur wing lads scored another goal through a good effort by medio Harkrishan Singh. |
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8-year-old to attempt 71-km swim
Mumbai, October 17 Kaustubh's coach Vinay Marathe is confident of his ward not only completing the energy-sapping course, but also of bettering the Maharashtra state record.
— PTI |
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Sania drops to 32nd place
New Delhi, October 17 Meanwhile, the Hyderabadi teenager continued her upward climb in the doubles and is now placed at 109th, six places up from last week's 115th, according to information received here.
— UNI |
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Players’ cheques Punjab fencing Under-15 cricket Simla Youngs win Girls’ hockey Under-17 cricket Football camp Schools’ soccer |
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