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BCCI election observer flooded with objections
England may snub India over tour itinerary
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India ninth in golf World Cup
Ajeetesh second after two rounds
Paes-Zimonjic lose in final
Punjab Rural Games begin
Harika beats top seed
David slays Goliath
Punjab snooker meet from
November 24
Punjab finish fourth in Santosh Trophy
Bihar eves win football title
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BCCI election observer flooded with objections
New Delhi, November 20 One of the supporting units of Sharad Pawar, the Vidarbha Cricket Association, has questioned the election process itself, while Punjab, Rajasthan, Rajkot, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu cricket associations have also raised certain issues, according to Board sources. “A decision on the objections raised by the units will be decided on November 23 at a meeting here between the observer and the units’ representatives,” they said. The VCA, in a letter, has asked Krishnamurthy as to how the nominations could be filed by candidates on the same day when the units have been asked to submit their voters names by November 27. The letter has said if a voter, who proposed or seconded a nomination, was disqualified, the candidate should also stand invalidated. Pointing out that the election process as per the Board’s notice was incorrect, it suggested that nominations be asked only after the voters’ list was made public. It further pointed out that for 75 years, the nominations were made on the floor of the House in the BCCI elections and that it should be continued. While the objections by over 10 units from rival groups specified different issues to be resolved before the election in Kolkata on November 29 and 30, the other main objections before Krishnamurthy are that a candidate should be a voter and only a voter should be allowed inside the meeting hall once the elections are announced. Objections have been also raised over Bihar’s membership and the issue of Jharkhand. Last September, Jharkhand was extended the affiliation in a special general body in place of Bihar, since Jamshedpur was the official address of the Bihar unit. The issue of a candidate being a voter puts spokes in the wheels of convention of the Board, as this will mean that Prof Ratnakar Shetty of Mumbai and Gautam Das Gupta of Kolkata will have to be voters to contest the elections, affecting the presence of both Sharad Pawar and Jagmohan Dalmya when the elections are held. If this proposal is agreed to by the observer, it will also affect Rajiv Shukla and Jyoti Bajpai from seeking re-election to the post of Vice-President and Treasurer. The sources also said the issue pertaining to Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh would be resolved only upon the respective unit’s voter’s name being relayed to the observer on November 27 since there would be two names received from each of the units.
— PTI |
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England may snub India over tour itinerary
London, November 20 It would be a significant step by England in their feud with the BCCI, which has drafted an itinerary that can only be called humiliating, The Sunday Telegraph said in a report. “Assuming that the itinerary is confirmed at the BCCI AGM on November 29-30, England may reject both venues of warm-up ties,” said Scyld Berry, the writer, quoting sources. Instead, England would play two practice games in Pakistan before flying via Delhi to Ahmedabad for the first Test which begins on March 8. Col Naushad Ali, Pakistan Cricket Board’s Media Coordinator, confirmed England had made such an approach. According to the newspaper, the England cricket board was shocked when the itinerary was announced as Mumbai, where the third Test will be played, was the only one of top 10 venues where England would play.
— PTI
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Afridi’s blitz keeps England at bay
Faisalabad, November 20 The aggressive middle-order batsman (67 not out) reached his fifty off just 46 balls with three sixes and four boundaries as Pakistan scored 300-4 in their first innings at stumps on the opening day. He has so far struck four sixes and five fours in his 62-ball knock for his seventh Test fifty, much to the delight of a holiday crowd. Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq also played a big role in propping up the innings after England had threatened twice to restrict his team after he had elected to bat on a flat track. Inzamam, who scored a solid 80 not out for his third successive half-century, put on 128 for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Yousuf (78) and 99 for the unfinished fifth with Afridi. Pakistan were struggling at 73-3 before Inzamam and Yousuf came to their team’s rescue with their responsible knocks. England then found an unlikely wicket-taker in Ian Bell, who broke the fourth-wicket stand when he held a low return catch on his follow through to account for Yousuf for his maiden Test victim in 10 matches. Yousuf hit two sixes off left-arm spinner Ashley Giles and eight fours in his 23rd half-century in 61 Test matches. Yousuf, who had played 59 Tests as Yousuf Youhana before he converted to Islam, looked set for a big innings before falling to a spectacular catch in the fourth over after the tea break. Afridi walked in and promptly put Bell in his place, smashing three successive fours to force skipper Michael Vaughan to replace the bowler with Harmison. But there was no stopping Afridi, who hoisted Harmison for a six in the stands. He then severely punished off-spinner Shaun Udal as he smashed two huge sixes in one over, the first one clearing the stadium. Afridi offered a chance on 34 when Vaughan dropped him in the covers off paceman Matthew Hoggard. Scoreboard
Pakistan (1st innings) Malik c Flintoff b Hoggard 27 Butt c Jones b Harmison 26 Younis c Pietersen b Flintoff 7 Yousuf c and b Bell 78 Haq not out 80 Afridi not out 67 Extras
(b-5, lb-1, nb-9) 15 Total (4 wkts, 81 overs) 300 Fall of wickets:
1-53, 2-63, 3-73, 4-201. Bowling: Hoggard 16-0-69-1, Flintoff 21-1-53-1, Giles 10-0-55-0, Harmison 17-4-37-1, Udal 11-1-49-0, Bell 6-1-31-1.
— AFP |
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Bravo, Ramdin delay Aussie win
Hobart, November 20 The match looked certain to finish on the fourth day when the tourists slumped to 140-6 before lunch, needing to make at least 257 just to make the Australians bat again, when Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin led an unlikely comeback. Bravo scored a brilliant 113, while Ramdin made 71 as the pair piled on 182 runs for the seventh wicket, the second highest seventh-wicket partnership by any West Indian pair and the highest by any combination at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval. Shane Warne captured four wickets, including the last batsman on the final ball of the day, while Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee grabbed two each. Scoreboard
West Indies (1st innings) 149 Australia (1st innings) 406 West Indies (2nd innings) Gayle b McGrath 4
Smith c Ponting b McGrath 8 Sarwan c Gilchrist b Lee 32 Lara c Gilchrist b Warne 45 Chanderpaul c Gilchrist b Lee 10 Samuels c Hodge b Warne 29 Bravo b Warne 113 Ramdin c Warne b MacGill 71 Powell lbw b MacGill 0 Collymore c Gilchrist b Warne 0 Edwards not out 2 Extras
(b-4, lb-12, w-1, nb-3) 20 Total (all out, 122 overs) 334 Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-27, 3-62, 4-76, 5-133, 6-140, 7-322, 8-326, 9-332. Bowling:
McGrath 25-13-29-2, Lee 27-4-99-2, Symonds 5-1-9-0, Warne 39-4-112-4, MacGill 26-4-69-2.
— Reuters, AFP |
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Indian eves keen to win Test
New Delhi, November 20 The Indian team, led by Mithali Raj, are a fine blend of youth and experience, and they are all keyed up to give the England girls a run for their money. The one-off Test will be followed by five one-day International (ODI) matches at Faridabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Silchar and Kolkata. The England team, pioneers of women’s cricket, are on a high after beating the India Under-21 team in the two practice matches at Meerut before coming to Delhi. England had earlier in the season beaten Australia in a home series and Sri Lanka in two ODIs. The Indian girls, on the other hand, have not played much cricket after entering the final of the World Cup in South Africa early this year, though their victory over England, on way to the final, is still fresh in their memory. India last played a Test match against New Zealand, which was drawn, at Wapi in Gujarat in 2003. Indian captain Mithali Raj said the Test would afford an opportunity to the team management to assess the progress made by the girls after being put through a series of coaching camps in different aspects of the game. Mithali feels that the team is well-balanced, though some of the girls are not much experienced. Off-spinner Varsha Raffel and opening batswoman Monika Sumra, who played in the home series against Australia last year, will be staging a comeback team while Asha Rawat and Shravanti Naidu would be making their debut. Asha, a middle-order player from Delhi, is a “technically correct” batswoman and a sure-footed fielder, with an average of 61 in the Inter-Railway tournament. Left-arm spinner Shravanti Naidu, who hails from Hyderabad, is a “complete cricketer”. She was a member of the Young India team who toured Pakistan in September-October 2005, and did well by capturing four wickets for an average of 15.75. Then there is captain Mithali Raj herself, the “most successful captain”, whose crowning glory was leading India to the runners-up position in the World Cup in South Africa in April this year. She held the world record of scoring 214 runs in a Test match against England in England in 2002-2003, and had hit a century in the ODI against Ireland in 2000. Neetu David, who holds the world record of capturing the maximum wickets in a Test match — eight against England — lends solidity to the team. She was adjudged the best bowler in the home series against New Zealand in 2003 and against Australia in 2004. However, her greatest bowling feat was the 17 wickets she captured in the World Cup in South Africa, at an incredible economy rate of 2.59. Meanwhile, the four-day Test at the Jamia Millia is expected to provide a run feast, as the wicket seems to favour the batswomen, which was confirmed by England captain Charlotte Edward after a practice game today. The teams (from): India: Mithali Raj (captain), Anjum Chopra, Neetu David, Jhulan Goswami, Amita Sharma, Rumeli Dhar, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Varsha Raffel, Shravanti Naidu, Karuna Jain (wicketkeeper), Reema Malhotra, Arundatti Kirkire, Asha Rawat and Monica Sharma. England: Charlotte Edwards (captain), Arran Brindle, Caroline Atkins, Rosaslie Birch, Lydia Greenway, Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn, Isa Guha, Laura Harper, Laura Newton, Beth Morgan, Jane Smith, Claire Taylor and Jo Watts.
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Vilamoura, November 20 Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge of Wales had been two strokes ahead of England’s Luke Donald and David Howell and Sweden’s Niclas Fasth and Henrik Stenson at the end of the third round yesterday. India’s Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa braved the elements and raised their game in the third round with a seven-under par 65. Despite the good score, the Indians finished ninth, slipping from their second-round position of tied seventh. The Indians did 18-under for three rounds after rounds of 60, 73 and 65 at the Victoria Clube de Golfe in Villamoura. They played well getting birdies on each of the four par-fives besides three more. The Indians played in the World Cup after a first-ever direct entry. Randhawa, last year’s Volvo Masters of Asia champion, together with Atwal, who clinched the Carlsberg Malaysian Open in 2003, finished one stroke ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Wang Ter-chang and Chang Tse-peng, who scored a 66 in the $ 4 million event. Jeev fails to qualify
Florida: Jeev Milkha Singh ended his four-day campaign in the USPGA Qualifying School second stage with the week’s best card of two-under 70, but that still left him five short of the last qualifying spot at Bayonet Club Golf Course. Jeev had five birdies, one bogey and a double bogey in his fourth round. He scored 76, 73, 75 and 70 for a total of 294 to end tied 33rd. His final round of 70 was the best in the field, matched by six others. Asian Tour’s Lin Wen-Tang of Chinese Taipei overcame the tension of a last hole bogey as he grabbed one of the 19 spots at Oak Valley Golf Course. Lin had rounds of 73, 74, 69 and 73 and was right on the cut line at one-over which tied for 14th with five other players. Lin, who had three birdies on the back nine after a poor front nine where he had four bogeys, will now play in the final stage of qualifying. The top 35 and ties will get full PGA Tour cards for 2006. Also at Bayonet Golf Course, Charlie Wi, who has won many tournaments on the Asian Tour, missed out narrowly on a place in the next stage, as he bogeyed twice on the back nine. He missed out by one shot, as his final round of 71 saw him finish at two-over 290. New Zealand’s Steve Alker won the second stage. Firoz tied 7th
Hanoi: Firoz Ali posted his first top-10 finish of the season with a two-under 70 on the final day of the $ 200,000 Carlsberg Masters 2005 golf tournament here today. The Indian tallied one-under 287 to finish tied seventh at the Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club. Amandeep Johl (71) ended tied 12th, while Mukesh Kumar, looking good for a top-five finish, faltered in the closing stages dropping three shots in two holes — the 15th and 16th — and ended tied 14th. Thai Thaworn Witratchant, who has looked amazingly good in the second half of the season, added another title to his kitty, his fourth this year, with a cautious one-under 71, that saw him finish at seven-under 281 and two clear of the second placed Chris Rodgers, with whom he shared the top spot overnight. Filipino Frankie Minoza was third at four-under 284 and four others, Yoshinobu Tsukada of Japan, James Stewart of Hong Kong and Danny Chia of Malaysia shared the fourth spot at two-under 286. Firoz Ali, Ron Won and Dean Alaban were tied for seventh at one-under, as only nine players finished with sub-par scores in the Asian Tour event. Gurbaaz Mann (69) played a good final round and rose from 33rd to tied 25th, while Vivek Bhandari (76), tied 11th overnight, played to four-over and slipped to 25th. Digvijay Singh (76) was tied 52nd.
— PTI |
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Ajeetesh second after two rounds
Chandigarh, November 20 Ajeetesh finished with a second-day score of one-over 73, taking his overall tally to even-par 143. Ajeetesh had carded a score of one-under 70 on day one and had been the sole leader in the tournament being played on par-71 at Lakemont Blue Tees. The venue of the event was shifted from Lakemont Blue Tees to the Mystery Valley Blue Tees due to adverse weather conditions. His father, Mr
S.M.S. Sandhu, was all praise for his son. “Though it was a totally new course for him and he had no idea about the conditions, even then he played one over and was in second place,” he said. The Teens on the Green World championship finale features players from over 40 countries. The participants are in the age group of 7 to 18 years.
Ajeetesh, a former student of St John’s School, Sector 26, joined David Lead Better Golf Academy, Florida, USA, in the first week of October on a scholarship for two years. This is his first tournament after his joining the academy. He had been ranked No. 1 in the Junior National Golf Championship for 2003-04.
Ajeetesh is at present at the DLGA, Florida, on a full-time board and lodging and academic programme that will run from September, 2005, to May, 2007. |
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Paes-Zimonjic lose in final
New Delhi, November 20 The Frenchmen came from behind to register a 6-7 (8-6), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory in two hours and 36 minutes, becoming the first pair from their country to lift the coveted crown. The match was a close affair with very little to choose between the two teams. The first set, which lasted 59 minutes, went to the tie-breaker where Paes and Zimonjic, the fifth seeds at the year-end event, held their nerve to edge out their opponents 8-6 when the Serbian put away a forehand winner. Llodra and Santoro, playing in their last tournament together, came back strongly and broke serve to serve out the second set 6-3. The third set went with serve and it came to a tie-breaker to decide the champions of the eight-team event. The sixth seeded Frenchmen showed their class, coming
out on top 7-4 of the Indo-Serbian pair. — PTI |
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Punjab Rural Games begin
Ferozepore, November 20 In shot put, Jugraj Singh of Amritsar won the gold. He threw the shot put to a distance of 13.36 metres. Har Kanwal of Moga (13.35 m) was second, while the third place went to Dharminder Singh of Jalandhar. In hockey, Ludhiana beat Sangrur 3-0 and Moga beat Muktsar 1-0. In football, Ferozepore beat Amritsar 3-2. In tug-of-war, Moga beat Hoshiarpur 2-0, Ropar defeated Sangrur 2-0, Muktsar beat Ludhiana 2-0, Kapurthala defeated Faridkot 2-0, Ferozepore beat Nawanshahr 2-0 and Amritsar beat Bathinda 2-0. Earlier, the games were inaugurated by Mr Kulbir Singh, Commissioner, Ferozepore Division. More than 1,600 players from various districts of Punjab are taking part in the games. The disciplines are athletics, football, tug-of-war, weightlifting, hockey, kho-kho, archery, wrestling, volleyball and kabaddi.
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Harika beats top seed
Istanbul, November 20 National junior champion GN Gopal completed the formalities of his 10-games International Master norm despite losing to IM Alexander Kharitonov of Russia in the boys section. The other Indian girls in the fray had mixed results as Tania Sachdev cruised to a fine victory against Vera Nebolisa of Russia but last year’s bronze medallist Eesha Karavade went down to Beata Kadziolka of Poland. Kruttika Nadig beat Janyl Tilenbaeva of Kirgyzstan, while N Raghavi was on the receiving end against English girl Jessei Gilbert. Among Indian boys, only Akshat Khamparia could produce a victory, over Emil Agdestein of Norway.
— PTI |
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Shanghai, November 20 The Swiss valiantly fought back from 0-4 down in the fifth set and was serving for the title at 6-5 but Nalbandian fought back again to force a decisive tie-break. Nalbandian, the first Argentine to reach the final since Guillermo Vilas won the title in 1974, won it 7-3 to seal victory after four hours, 33 minutes for the biggest title of his career. — Reuters
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Punjab snooker meet from
November 24
Chandigarh, November 20 According to Arjuna awardee Alok Kumar, general secretary of the PBSA, who himself plays for the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board, “the prime objective of the state championship is to select the players who will represent Punjab in the National Billiards and Snooker Championships to be held at Chennai from January 3 to 18, 2006. The winners and the runners-up in both categories will represent the state.” |
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Punjab finish fourth in Santosh Trophy
Kochi, November 20 Pradeep NP and Asif Saheer scored for the hosts, while Narinder Singh pulled one back for the visitors in the play-off tie for the third place, having Rs 1 lakh at stake. In the final last year in New Delhi, Kerala had beaten Punjab 3-2 to lift their fifth title.
— UNI
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Bihar eves win football title
Dhanbad, November 20 The winners got a flying start when Edhi Kumari unleashed a booming rightfooter in the 15th minute, giving a 1-0 lead at the breather. After putting up a brave fight, Jharkhand’s Sushila Kerketta levelled the score 20 minutes into the second half. The tie-breaker was enforced after the two finalists failed to break the deadlock.
— PTI
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