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India keen to end series on rousing note
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Jayasuriya left out of Test team
Tennis elbow is curable: expert
Sports channels asked to share feed with DD
Hodge hits ton against Windies
England hope to overcome Vaughan’s loss
Taibu threatened on phone
Randhawa jumps to 33rd spot
CAT asks SAI to review transfer of coach
Kerala edge past UP
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India keen to end series on rousing note
Vadodara, November 11 Everything has gone well for the home team, including the experimentation of resting some key players and asking rookies to stand up and be counted, while almost nothing has clicked for the islanders who would be anxious to prevent another drubbing from India before returning home. India are going into the last clash with a commanding 5-1 lead in the series. Another victory tomorrow will be the ideal boost for the hosts before the best-of-five series against South Africa commencing in a few days. The high point of the series for India has been the way the youngsters in the team have come up with superb displays when needed. A prime example of this newfound confidence in the newcomers was the way Lucknow-based left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh performed at Rajkot on a pitch that was largely expected to help the batsman. RP Singh’s four-wicket haul, which earned him the man-of-the-match award, must have done wonders for his morale. So too have been the key roles performed earlier in the series by other youngsters like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Venugopala Rao, who has given way to senior Mohammed Kaif on the latter’s return from injury. Coach Greg Chappell had been talking of waking up the players from their ‘comfort zone’ since he took over as coach five months ago and this seems to have been achieved in a spectacular fashion. The IPCL ground is among the favourites of Sachin Tendulkar who has gone off the boil a bit in the latter part of the series after returning to international cricket with a bang at Pune, where he scored an impressive 93. The 32-year-old champion batsman has struck two glorious hundreds at this venue, a knock of 115 against New Zealand in 1994-95 and a stroke-filled 122 off 135 balls against South Africa in 1999-2000. It is a big occasion for 21-year-old left arm speedster Irfan Pathan as it would be his maiden ODI appearance at his hometown after having played for India on 43 previous occasions. Skipper Rahul Dravid, who skipped the previous game to get some rest, has led the side brilliantly from the front with the bat as well as with his aggressive captaincy. He would want to finish off what he started commendably, when India wrapped up the series with a 4-0 lead at Pune, with another thumping success here. Most of the home team batsmen have clicked, including Yuvraj Singh at Rajkot, but a big innings has eluded the punitive blade of Virender Sehwag, who has got the starts without making a single half century. The Indian pace bowlers have also done well considering the conditions in which they have been asked to perform, while off spinner Harbhajan Singh has rediscovered his penetrative skills under the tutelage of Chappell, whom he had slammed in a public outburst in the aftermath of the Chappell-Ganguly spat. The Lankans would be hoping fervently that their most successful batsman Sanath Jayasuriya gets into the groove, if chosen for the match. Jayasuriya’s performance in the series has been nothing less than disappointing after suffering a freak shoulder injury at a swimming pool back home during the squad’s conditioning camp for the tour. After being the scourge of the Indian bowlers in previous encounters between the two teams, the left-handed marauder from Matara has tallied a paltry 85 runs from six innings in the series with 27 as his highest. His failure with the bat and his inability to bowl his effective slow left-arm stuff on spin-friendly surfaces because of his shoulder injury have cost Sri Lanka dear. The failure of Jayasuriya and to an extent captain Marvan Atapattu has placed an enormous burden on Kumar Sangakkara, who seems to have been weighed down by the extra load after starting the series on a positive note. The Lankan pace bowlers, including the vastly experienced and proven match-winner Chaminda Vaas, have not been able to bowl the right length to the Indian batsmen and have been mercilessly caned. The tourists would be hoping that their pace bowlers get their act together at least in the last clash which would do good to their confidence when they return to bowl to the attacking Indian batsmen in the three-Test series in December. The ground traditionally helps the batsmen as was shown when West Indian openers Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds waded into the Indian attack with gusto in the 2002 series to help the West Indians run up a huge total of 291 for 5 which the home team almost achieved. Pitch curator Vasudev Patel has promised a batsman’s paradise after some early help to new-ball bowlers because of the presence of some early-morning moisture at this time of the year. It is quite likely that the team that wins the toss may opt to field first as was the case in Rajkot when stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag opted to chase. Teams (from): India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Jai Prakash Yadav, Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth. Sri Lanka: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Mahela Jayawardene (vice-captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Upul Tharanga and Thilan Samaraweera.
— PTI |
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Jayasuriya left out of Test team
Colombo, November 11 A cricket board spokesman said Jayasuriya, a veteran of 100 Tests and Sri Lanka’s most successful current batsman with 6,580 runs, was dropped because of his shoulder injury. Batsman Russel Arnold, leg spinner Upul Chandana, seamer Nuwan Zoysa and allrounder Dilhar Lokuhettige wee other players not picked for the Tests. Squad: Marvan Atapattu (captain), Chaminda Vaas (vice-captain), Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakeratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilanga Samaraweera, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Avishka Gunawardena, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara, Sajeeva Weerakoon and Chamara Kapugedara.
— AP |
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Tennis elbow is curable: expert
New Delhi, November 11 Throwing light on the injury, Dr Vikas Gupta, Associate Professor, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in his presentation, “Tennis Elbow— Myth and Truth”, said this peculiar syndrome affecting the muscles could be successfully treated with “debridgement”, which was the safest method of treatment since it did not cause any complications. In his presentation at the National Congress on Sports Medicine, organised jointly by the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Federation of Sports Medicine here today, Dr Gupta, a young doctor who is considered a pioneer in the treatment of tennis elbow, said the application of “local steroid” was also an effective way of treating the injury and it was also an approved method which would not fall into the ambit of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Authority) rules. Referring to Tendulkar’s case, Dr Gupta said the star cricketer seemed to have undergone a “reset surgery”, though he was not sure how effective it would be. He remarked that though Sachin’s was a minor ailment, it could also be “disabling”. Dr Gupta enumerated some of the effective methods of treatment for tennis elbow such as rest, ice pack, self-massage, stretching, contrast, friction massage, hydrotherapy, ultrasonic laser and local steroid injections. He observed that tennis elbow was not an inflammation, but a kind of muscle fatigue. He said tennis elbow was a common occurrence among tennis players, though strangely, the syndrome could occur on the opposite hand, and not the elbow of the back-hand hitting hand. Two other experts, Dr Prateek Gupta of Gangaram Hospital in Delhi and Dr David Rajan of Coimbatore, both well-known ortho-paedic surgeons, dwelling upon shoulder injuries suffered by sportspersons, said such injuries happened mostly due to “stressing out” and faulty training methods. They pointed out that there were several effective surgical and other methods of treating shoulder injuries, though the effectiveness of the treatment would vary on sportspersons over 40 years of age. Fifty per cent of sportspersons suffer from shoulder injuries, and if not attended to, such injuries could become career-crippling problems. |
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Sports channels asked to share feed with DD
New Delhi, November 11 Unfolding the detailed guidelines for downlinking satellite television channels, it said the sports events of national importance would be determined by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in consultation with the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry, Prasar Bharati and the sports channels/sports rights management companies concerned. In case of cricket events, these will include all matches featuring India and the finals and semifinals of international competitions. “These conditions shall apply to all future events, including those covered by existing contracts of broadcasting rights. However, in the case of cricket events whose broadcasting rights have been obtained by sports channels/rights management companies prior to the issue of the notification in the matter, the rights holders will be obliged to share the feed for all matches featuring India and finals of international competitions.” The guidelines allow Prasar Bharati to transmit the feed, free to air, on its terrestrial channel and carried through the terrestrial network and/or the satellite/DTH mode. Further, the marketing of the events’ rights will be decided through mutual negotiations between Prasar Bharati and the rights holder. “The marketing rights should go to the party which offers to maximise the revenue,” say the guidelines, which also envisage that revenue-sharing formula of 75:25 in favour of rights holders without any minimum guarantee/opportunity cost should be applied.
— UNI |
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Hodge hits ton against Windies
Sydney, November 11 He belted 23 boundaries and five sixes off 178 balls before being caught by substitute fieldsman Daren Powell off the bowling of off-spinner Marlon Samuels. Samuels also captured the wickets of Lloyd Mash (44) and Nick Jewell (59). Opener Michael Klinger was run out for two but the West Indian quicks failed to make an impact. David Hussey, the younger brother of new Australian Test opener Mike Hussey, finished the day unbeaten on 91 from just 92 balls, while Cameron White was 29 not out.
— Reuters |
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England hope to overcome Vaughan’s loss
Multan, November 11 “Boys are in good shape and are sort of switched on in the past couple of days,” Trescothick said today. Trescothick was handed the captaincy after Vaughan was ruled out of the first Test with an injury to his right ankle sustained on Monday during a warm-up game. Trescothick said he asked his wife before accepting the England captaincy. “I talked to my wife about it, asking if she thought it was the right thing to do. But I’m unofficial second in command and I believe it was the right thing to step up,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC website. The 29-year-old Trescothick led England in the Lord’s Test against New Zealand when Vaughan injured the same knee last year, and on that occasion the team won. “Vaughan’s condition is not too bad. It’s never great to see from the sidelines those guys practising everyday when you want to be running around and leading the side,” Trescothick said. “It’s up to him to remain positive as much as he can and make sure he can get fit as quick as possible. Hopefully he still takes a big part in this series,” he added. England’s batsmen have struggled for runs on the Pakistan wickets since arriving late last month. Trescothick’s unbeaten century in the tour’s opening three-day game against Patron’s XI at Rawalpindi helped England win the game by 52 runs. But the rest of the English line-up struggled as the tourists posted totals of only 256 for nine and 112 in the two innings. At Lahore, Pakistan A recorded an emphatic six-wicket victory of a near full-strength England side that included Ashes heroes Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff. “It wasn’t an ideal preparation to lose a game coming into the Test. Obviously not a situation that you want to be in,” Trescothick said. England lost their warm-up game against South Africa last year before clinching the series 2-1. “The defeat does give you a bit of wake-up call to make sure you do remain switched on and you work hard.” Trescothick said. “You have to be mentally more demanding (in Tests) and it will be more than a challenge.” Trescothick also hinted that he might use two spin bowlers — Ashley Giles and Shaun Udal — in the first Test after seeing the dry wicket at the Multan Cricket Stadium. “I think it’s a pretty good chance (playing with two spinners). It’s a sort of a trend in this part of the world that you play with more than one spinner,” he said. Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said he was excited to lead the team in his hometown and denied that England started favourites in Vaughan’s absence. “We have a little bit of advantage after Vaughan’s injury, but England is a tough team and we have to work hard,” he said. Pakistan have lost five out of the last eight home Test series in seven years and are currently placed at No. 7 in the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings. However, Inzamam said the team was now shaping up well to compete in the Tests. “All team members will try to give more than 100 per cent and win,” he said. Pakistan have included two spinners in their 16-man squad — Mushtaq Ahmed and Danish Kaneria. But Inzamam singled out Kaneria as the key player for Pakistan in the series. “In the past two or three years he bowled well and won matches for us,” he said. Teams (from): Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Asim Kamal, Shahid Afridi, Hasan Raza, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Mushtaq Ahmed, Arshad Khan and Danish Kaneria. England: Marcus Trescothick (captain), Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Shaun Udal, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, James Anderson, Matthew Prior, Liam Plunkett and Alex Loudon.
— AP, AFP |
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Taibu threatened on phone
Harare, November 11 “I am taking the call very seriously, so much so I have decided to go and stay somewhere for a while,” Taibu told Associated Press. Taibu, who has stayed at a hotel since the threat, reported the incident to the police, together with the name of the person who made the call. He said the police was investigating the incident. Taibu and Zimbabwe’s other 74 contracted professional players issued a four-page statement yesterday complaining about their contracts for the 2005-06 season not being negotiated and resolved. They players declared they would “down tools” if this was not quickly resolved. Taibu and others at a meeting jointly held with provincial chairmen, including Dion Ebrahim, Blessing Mahwire and Brendan Taylor, also complained about violence during a cricket match at Harare Sports Club last month. “We were threatened with our lives by a group of persons,” they stated. “We complained but nothing was done despite our pleas to managing director of Zimbabwe Mr Osias Bvute. Criminal charges have been pressed by an affected player but ZC did nothing.” Taibu said his stance against Zimbabwe Cricket was not altered, despite the threats. “I will not be deterred by the threatening phone call in pursuing what I and all the others believing is right for us. But I left home for a while for my own safety,” he said.
— AP |
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Randhawa jumps to 33rd spot
Shanghai, November 11 Atwal, who had one bogey on either side of the course, had a run of four birdies in five holes. That helped him post a score of 70 to be tied 19th at the midway stage at the Sheshan Golf and Country Club. Randhawa, accompanied by his wife Tina despite the irritating drizzle, managed steady pars besides four birdies till the 18th, where he dropped a shot. It was his only blemish in a three-under 69 that saw him rise from 51st to 33rd place. Atwal, who plays the World Cup of Golf in Portugal next week with Randhawa, jokingly remarked, “That’s the World Cup team getting primed up. There’s two more rounds to go, and let’s see how it goes. On the top the of the leaderboard were England’s Nick Dougherty and David Howell at 12-under apiece, but the shadow of Tiger Woods was looming large behind them at 10-under. Jeev misses cut
Kyodo: Jeev Milkha Singh hit a disappointing one-over 73 to miss the cut in the 150 million yen Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters here today. Jeev had a horrendous four-over 76 in the first round and it was hardly better today as the Indian groped for his form at the Taiheiyo Club’s Gotemba Course. Hideki Kase, a four-time winner on the Tour, took sole lead at the midway stage with a total of 12-under 132.
— PTI, UNI |
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CAT asks SAI to review transfer of coach
Patiala, November 11 The Chandigarh bench of the CAT, in an order issued by Mr L.M. Goyal, Vice-Chairman, and Ms Shyama Dogra, Judicial Member, has directed the SAI to take a final decision on the transfer of Ranjit Singh, handball coach, on the basis of a representation he had filed with the department seeking the cancellation of his transfer on medical grounds. The CAT has also directed the SAI to release the salary of the coach with effect from July, 2005. Moreover, the Bench has also given the coach the liberty to approach the Tribunal again in case the respondents (SAI) passed an order which was not acceptable to him. Ranjit Singh, in his petition filed before the Tribunal, had claimed that the SAI had adopted a pick-and-choose policy while ordering the transfers of the coaches. He had added that due to the flawed policy of the SAI, some coaches who had a stay ranging from 14 to 19 years at one were not transferred while the applicant, who had a stay of just six years, was shifted from Patiala to Hisar. Ranjit Singh had also pleased that the transfers were “mid term” and therefore “unsustainable in the eyes of the law”. The applicant, in his petition, had also mentioned that “because the transfer orders do not say that the transfers were being affected in public interest or as an exigency of service and therefore the orders have been passed without application of mind.” He had also claimed that at the new place of his posting (Hisar) there was neither equipment nor infrastructure available and he had to sit idle without
any work. |
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Kerala edge past UP
Kochi, November 11 After a barren first half, substitute Abdul Hakkim struck the all-improtant goal in the 71st minute to save the day for the hosts, who played a subdued game throughout. The move emanated from the centre, where Mohammed Rafi, after collecting the ball, lobbed into the box and substitute Ebin Rose leapt high into the air and took a powerful header. The ball bounced off the Uttar Pradesh goalkeeper’s hands and an opportunistic Hakkim pounced on the ball and booted it for a goal, much to the delight of the crowd. Much was expected from the Kerala side, which had several international stars, including I.M. Vijayan, in their ranks, but they disappointed as mispasses and erratic shots were the order of the day. Though Kerala had the upper hand, they fumbled at crucial moments by yielding possession or hitting over the bar. —PTI
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