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Pak pushing for Hair’s ouster
ICC cancels board meeting
Best umpires needed for Tests: Ponting
India reassert regional supremacy
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Indian contingent gets champions trophy
Arjuna Award was overdue: Aparna
16 cricketers named for ‘rolling’ camp
NFL to turn fully pro from 2007
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Bristol, August 28 The tourists, playing their first Twenty20 international, reached 148-5 with 13 balls remaining for a morale-boosting victory at Bristol. Pakistan have a psychological edge going into Wednesday’s five-match one-day series at Cardiff, while England have now lost their last eight limited-overs matches. Typically explosive batting from all-rounder Shahid Afridi, with 28 from 10 balls, and a steady 46 from opener Mohammed Hafeez, saw Pakistan home. Along with Hafeez, Afridi took 22 from Sajid Mahmood’s first over and then 19 from Stuart Broad in the next over. It proved a decisive passage of play as England never looked like recovering following Afridi’s innings, which included five fours and a six. Afridi eventually departed to an amazing catch by debutant Michael Yardy, who misjudged a slog over midwicket before diving backwards to take the catch. Debutant Broad took two wickets in as many balls, after trapping Shoaib Malik lbw and having Younis Khan caught behind down the leg side first ball. Facing the hat-trick ball, Afridi tried to hit Broad for six but his miscued slog instead went for two runs over the bowler’s head. All-rounder Abdul Razzaq (17 not out) clinched the match with two straight boundaries off Darren Gough. Skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq was 11 not out. England, after winning the toss, began their innings solidly through Marcus Trescothick (53) and Ian Bell (14) but slumped from 39-0 to 50-4. After fit-again Shoaib Akhtar had Bell caught, Mohammed Asif claimed two wickets in three balls and recorded the first maiden ever bowled in a Twenty20 international. Inzamam, who ignored sporadic shouts of “cheat” from spectators, faces charges of illegally altering the condition of the ball and bringing the game into disrepute. Scoreboard England Trescothick c Akmal b Razzaq 53 Bell c Younis b Akhtar 14 Pietersen b Asif 0 Strauss c Akmal b Asif 0 Collingwood c Akmal b Naved 2 Dalrymple c Akhtar b Razzaq 27 Yardy not out 24 Read c Naved b Razzaq 13 Mahmood not out 0 Extras
(b-1, lb-7, w-2, nb-1) 11 Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 144 Fall of wickets:
1-39, 2-40, 3-40, 4-50, 5-97, 6-114, 7-130. Bowling: Akhtar 4-0-31-1, Asif 4-1-21-2, Naved 4-0-26-1, Afridi 4-0-28-0, Razzaq 4-0-30-3 Pakistan Malik lbw Broad 16 Hafeez run out 46 Younis c Read b Broad 0 Afridi c Yardy b Dalrymple 28 Yousuf c Bell b Yardy 20 Inzamam not out 11 Razzaq not out 17 Extras
(lb-2, w-7, nb-1) 10 Total (5 wkts, 17.5 overs) 148 Fall of wickets:1-23, 2-23, 3-67, 4-101, 5-127. Bowling:
Gough 3.5-0-33-0, Broad 4-0-35-2, Mahmood 3-0-29-0, Dalrymple 2 -0-10-1, Yardy 3-0-20-1, Collingwood 2-0-19-0.
— Reuters
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Pak pushing for Hair’s ouster
Karachi, August 28 “Pakistan has held discussions with some other ICC member boards on this issue and is confident that after Hair’s demand for money, it would be able to move a motion asking for the Australian’s removal from the Elite Panel,” a PCB official told Reuters today. Hair sparked a major controversy when he changed the ball and penalised the Pakistan team five runs for alleged ball tampering in the controversial Test against England at the Oval. ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed announced last week that Hair had requested for $ 500,000 as a one-off payment to quit the ruling body’s Elite Panel of umpires during discussions with ICC Umpires and Referees manager Doug Cowie. The ICC’s executive board meets in Dubai on September 2 to discuss the issues resulting from the Oval Test, including the charges brought against Inzamam. ICC refutes Hair’s claim
Dubai: The ICC has refuted Darrell Hair’s claim that Doug Cowie discussed a pay-off in lieu of the Australian’s resignation. The governing body said Cowie did not encourage Hair to ask for money to quit international umpiring as claimed by the Aussie in a statement on Sunday. “Hair did discuss the future of his umpiring career with Cowie, before sending an email to him on August 22 but at no stage was there any discussion of a pay-off, nor secrecy, nor deadlines, nor misleading the public regarding reasons for retirement,” an ICC spokesperson said in a statement here. Hair had asked for $ 5,00,000 to resign from the Elite Panel but later revoked the demand. The ICC admitted that several “informal” discussions took place between Hair and Cowie but refuted charges that other officials were also involved in the negotiations.
— Reuters, UNI
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ICC cancels board meeting
New Delhi, August 28 The ICC’s top decision-making body was to have met in Dubai on Saturday to discuss the row which erupted when Pakistan forfeited the final Test after refusing to take the field in protest at a five-run penalty for alleged ball-tampering. In a statement, ICC president Percy Sonn said the meeting was no longer necessary because the board of directors had “an understanding of the situation”. “There has been much speculation over the past few days about whether the executive board has the power to overturn a properly laid charge by the umpires,” Sonn said. “The original intention was to seek legal advice concerning the executive board’s powers but I do not believe it is necessary to obtain that advice. We have processes in place to deal with code of conduct matters and we should not seek to interfere with it,” he added. The hearing was likely to be held in the second half of September, the statement said.
— Reuters
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Best umpires needed for Tests: Ponting
Sydney, August 28 Ponting and Australian cricket officials believe this year’s Ashes series with England should be controlled by the top umpires on the ICC’s Elite Panel, even if they are Australian or English. But it’s a notion that does not have the support of the England and Wales Cricket Board. “The ICC have a well-established principle of appointing neutral umpires for Test matches — it’s a process the ECB are extremely comfortable with,” a board spokesman told the Press Association yesterday. Under ICC guidelines, Test matches must be controlled by neutral umpires and it has been done since the formation of the ICC’s elite list of umpires in 2002, although one-day internationals do still include one man put forward by the host board. Ponting said he was less interested in neutral umpires than having the best. “I’d just like to have the best umpires to umpire cricket around the world all the time,” Ponting told reporters today. “It’s the highest standard of cricket we play so we have to have the best umpires in those games. “Whether that means they are Australian, or two Pakistanis, or two Englishmen, it doesn’t matter to me as long as they are doing a good job in the middle.” Although there has been no formal approach to the International Cricket Council from Australia, Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s head of communications, says the top two men in the ICC ratings should be entrusted with making the decisions in the Ashes series. That would mean two Australians being appointed, either top-ranked Simon Taufel, Daryl Harper or Darrell Hair, notwithstanding the current controversy over Pakistan’s forfeited fourth Test against England last week. “If we lived in a perfect world it would be great if the forthcoming Ashes series, played between the best two teams in the world, could have the best umpires in the world officiating,” said Young. “At the moment the best umpires officiating are Australians.” Despite the row over Hair and West Indian Billy Doctrove forfeiting Pakistan out of the recent Oval Test against England, ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed believes the standard of umpiring at the top level is extremely healthy. “There’s no shortage of good umpires who are knocking on the door and very keen to be added to the elite panel,” he said. Strauss favours neutral umpires
London: Australia’s call for standing “best umpires” irrespective of their origin in the Ashes series has received a cool response from England captain Andrew Strauss who favoured the provision of having neutral umpires. Strauss dismissed the idea of Australian and English umpires officiating in the high-profile series later this year instead of employing neutral umpires. “From my point of view, the regulations the ICC has in place are perfectly adequate and I don’t see any reason to change that,” Strauss was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph. Strauss was backed by the ECB who said that the apex cricket body has a sound system of umpiring in place. “The ICC has a well-established principle of appointing neutral umpires for Tests. It’s a process that the ECB is extremely comfortable with,” an ECB spokesman said. There are 10 umpires on ICC’s Elite Panel and as per the existing rules, only neutral umpires are allowed in Tests. That means Australian Simon Taufel and England’s Mark Benson cannot officiate matches during the Ashes.
— PTI
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South Asian Games Rich medal haul in swimming, shooting; flop show in football Abhaya Srivastava
Colombo, August 28
India expectedly romped home with the highest number of medals to reassert their regional supremacy, but their show here would count only if they manage to translate even a half of it at the Asian Games in Doha later this year. With 118 gold,69 silver and 47 bronze, India exceeded their tally of 101 gold medals won in the previous edition of the Games in Islamabad in 2004. Be it the swimming pool or the track and field events, the Indians made their presence felt in almost every discipline, which meant Pakistan and Sri Lanka were left fighting for the runner up slot on the medals tally. Pakistan finished with 43 gold, 44 silver and 71 bronze, while Sri Lanka’s performance was noteworthy as well with 37 gold, 63 silver and 78 bronze medals. Adding spark to the otherwise lacklustre games was the presence of India’s top athlete Anju Bobby George and Sri Lankan sprint star Susanthika Jayasinghe, both making a comeback after injury-induced layoffs. The two may not have reproduced their best, but the gold medals they won would serve as a morale booster in their quest to regain their vintage form. Anju leapt 6.42m, a far cry from her personal best of 6.83 achieved at the Athens Olympic Games but at least the Chennai-based athlete could at least gauge her current form. Susanthika did not disappoint her home crowd after all, bagging gold in 100m, 200m and the women’s shorter relay to make a golden return to the international stage after a two-year sabbatical. For both Anju and Susanthika, the competitions were more about the battle with themselves rather than the rest of the field, given the quality, or rather lack of it, of the opposition. Susanthika’s exploits notwithstanding, India left a mark in the showpiece track and field events, bagging 15 gold, 14 silver and 16 bronze medals. Sri Lanka finished with just one gold less than India, serving a timely warning to their neighbours ahead of the Asian Games. The most impressive Indian athlete was Pinky Pramanik, who ran away with the gold in her pet 400m and 800m events before adding a third in 4x400m relay. With successive wins in the Asian Grand Prix meets in Bangalore and Pune, Pinky would be the athlete to watch out for in Doha. The two sports which India clearly dominated were swimming and shooting. Spearheaded by teenager Lekha Kamath, the Indian swimmers fished out a rich bounty of 32 gold, leaving other countries with only six gold. Lekha celebrated her international debut in style, claiming six gold medals. She finished ahead of her rivals in two butterfly events — 50m and 100m — as also the 50m and 100m freestyle events. She topped her scintillating showing by setting games records in 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle. Not content with the medal deluge, the Indian competitors erased 11 games records. They also took home 18 silver and three bronze, and finished outside the medal bracket in only one event. Sri Lankan teenage swimmer Mayumi Raheem also made a splash, winning as many as 10 medals, a feat unmatched by any other athlete. However, India missed their best sportspersons in men’s squash and a few shooting events. The absence of the likes of Jaspal Rana, Abhinav Bindra and Avneet Kaur meant India ended up conceding medals to Pakistan in a few categories but overall they won 19 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze to emerge runaway winners. The Indians reigned supreme in table tennis, lapping up all the seven gold medals on offer, besides winning four silver and one bronze. Veteran Mouma Das and champion paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal stood out with their unmatched performances in both the individual and team competitions. It was a similar tale of dominance for the Indians in men’s and women’s badminton individual and team contests. India, though, cut a sorry figure in both football and hockey. In the boxing ring, Pakistan outdid India amid muffed talks about controversial and biased refereeing. Pakistan bagged seven gold and three silver as against India’s four gold, four silver and one bronze. Afghanistan, new entrants in the SAG fold, made a mark in combat sports, picking three gold in taekwondo and the same number in karate. The Indians, who fielded a team at the last moment after the court gave them the clearance to participate, got one gold through Sharmili Ratan Gharu, a black belt and a mother of one. In judo, India garnered all but one of the 11 gold on offer while in rowing, they made a clean sweep, plucking all the seven gold medals. The archers also made a clean sweep, taking home all the four yellow metals, while the men and women’s kabaddi teams also finished on top. Wrestling and weightlifting were the only two disciplines in which India did not take part. — PTI
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Indian contingent gets champions trophy
Colombo, August 28 The glittering gold-plated trophy was presented to India’s Chef-de-Mission Rangil Singh by Shuhei Anan, CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom, one of the sponsors of the Games, at a function last night. Hemasiri Fernando, Chairman of the Sri Lankan Olympic Committee, said precedence had been set by Sri Lanka to award a trophy to overall winners at multi-disciplinary Games. “There is no separate award for champion countries at events like Olympics or Commonwealth Games. But our sponsors have set a precedence which I am sure will be appreciated by sportspersons,” he said. Fernando thanked India for living up to its commitment to take part in the Games without whom the meet would not have been possible. Cloud of uncertainties had loomed large over the Games because of a bomb blast days before the meet. The blast, which killed seven and injured eight in the Sri Lankan capital, had put the proposed tri-series cricket in jeopardy with South Africa opting out of the tournament. Rangil Singh said India had been pleasantly surprised by the gesture to award the entire team and it would motivate their sportspersons to perform better next time. “It was not obligatory on the part of Sri Lanka to present such an award. But having done that, they have made the Games all the more memorable for us,” he said. The trophy was unveiled with much fanfare. Top Sri Lankan actress Yashoda, sitting in an open palanquin, carried it to the main dais accompanied by traditionally dressed dancers, drum beaters and lion-masked performers. Speaking on the occasion, Pakistani Chef-de-Mission Khwaja Sayeed stated that the Games were more about goodwill than competition.
— PTI
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Arjuna Award was overdue: Aparna
New Delhi, August 28 Aparna did not hold any grudge against anyone for keeping her out of the award bracket all these years, though she has been the most consistent Indian woman badminton player in domestic and international competitions. At home, she has had to face absolutely no challenge worth the bother for nearly a decade, as the women players on the domestic circuit were no match or no patch on her. But with the coming of age of an exciting talent like Saina Nehwal, Aparna will have stiff competition now, but she is not scared. “It’s a welcome sign that girls like Saina are emerging on the scene, to give that much needed competitive edge to domestic tournaments”, she noted. Aparna said it was indeed very disappointing every time her name was omitted from the Arjuna Awardees’ list. She should have figured in the Arjuna Award roll of honour after she qualified to play in two Olympic Games — Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) — but was made to wait, apparently for testing positive for a banned substance before the Sydney Games. She had taken a D-Cold to control a severe cold during a practice session, but this proved to be a costly lapse as the medicine contained a banned substance, which was detected in a routine dope test. Though she was cleared to play in the Sydney Olympics by the International Badminton Federation within three months, the mandarins of Indian sports ministry were not to “forgive” her in a hurry. “But I did not allow that to affect my game, or deflect my focus from the job on hand. I knew that the award will come to me one day and I am happy that I have been chosen for the honour this eyar”, she said, after attending a function organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) here today. Aparna, who created a record when she won the national championship women’s singles title eight times in a sequence when she beat 10 years her junior Saina Nehwal in the 69th edition in Jamshedpur last year, said she has been out of action for the past one year due to an injury on her right wrist, but is now back training with her coach Ganguly Prasad in Bangalore. “My target is now the Doha Asian Games”, she disclosed. Aparna’s national title win sequence had begun in 1998. She was ranked 16th in the world in 1999 and her major medals include a silver at the World Junior Championship at Denmark in 1996, a silver at the Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur and the French Open title in 1998, and a bronze at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. Aparna, along with some other Arjuna Award winners of this year like Gagan Narang (shooting), Surya Shekhar Ganguly (chess) and Shikha Tandon (swimming), were present when the SAI inaugurated a state-of-the-art fitness centre at the Nehru Stadium here today.
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Woods wins again, Kapur tied 65th
Akron (USA), August 28 The 24-year-old Indian golfer shot a final round of four-over 74 and finished with 13-over 283. More importantly, the 27,322 euro Kapur picked up for his 65th place carried his past wins on the European Tour — 200,000 euros to 207,042 — for the 97th place. That should secure his European Tour card next season, as the top 115 go through to the Tour. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods continued his winning streak, beating Stewart Cink in a playoff on the fourth hole to record his fourth successive tournament win, which also includes the British Open and the PGA championship. Woods, admittedly not playing at his best, managed to stay in there for a playoff, where he beat Cink. Woods (68) and Cink (69) were tied at 10-under 270 before the playoff. Chopra fourth
Reno (USA): Daniel Chopra finished three strokes behind winner Will Mackenzie, but still managed his career-best finish as he ended fourth at the Reno Tahoe Open golf tournament. Chopra fired a final round of three-under 69, equalling his best closing round at Deutsche Bank Championships in 2004, to finish fourth and set to rest doubts about his ability to finish a tournament with a good round. Chopra’s finish also carried him closer to the $ 1 million mark, as he now has just over $ 972,000 and is placed 69th on the Money List making it by far his best year on Tour. It was his fourth top-10 finish of the year.
— PTI
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16 cricketers named for ‘rolling’ camp
Mumbai, August 28 The camp is to be held in batches of 5-5-6 in Bangalore from August 30 to September 6, the sources said. “The players in the last phase of the camp, if selected, will then go to Chennai with other members of the Malaysia-bound squad to play two practice matches there on September 8 and 9 before the team departs for the tri-series on September 9 evening,” the sources added. Camp schedules: August 30 and 31: Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar and Mohammad Kaif. September 2-4: Munaf Patel, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rudra Pratap Singh, Suresh Raina and S. Sreesanth. September 5 and 6: Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia and VRV Singh. Five in race for Castrol awards
New Delhi: India’s top five cricketers will be rated by former international players of the country for the Castrol Indian cricketer of the year award. Skipper Rahul Dravid, deputy Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have been shortlisted on the basis of an elaborate points rating system taking into account their performances, a Castrol India release said on Monday.
— PTI
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NFL to turn fully pro from 2007
Mumbai, August 28 The agreed clauses include transparency in the payment of fees to the footballers and transfer fees, according to Mahindra United president Alan Durante. “The fully professional NFL has become a reality and it’s going to be introduced from the 2007-08 season by the All-India Football Federation. It is 100 per cent bound to happen and the only question is how many clubs will take part in it in the first season,” said Durante. “Mahindra United are one of the clubs along with five others (who he preferred not to name), who have agreed to implement at least half a dozen clauses, including transparency in the payment of fees to the footballers, transfer fees etc.”, Durante told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the 14-team Mahindra Mumbai Football League.
— PTI
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Bristol, August 28
New Delhi, August 28
