 |
|
|
‘Racial bias forced me to switch over’
‘Strip umpires of power to forfeit matches’
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
England struggle
Sherwood College win
Kashyap causes upset, Saina loses
US set up Greek clash
First-class matches
to be filmed
|
|
‘Rolling camp’ begins
Bangalore, August 30 A bowling machine has been installed at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (B) ground here and the former Australian captain made no secret of his intention to see that the Team India players faced tall quicks better, though he did not name the pacers he had on his mind. Asked if there would be “innovative measures” at this camp, Chappell pointed to putting in place a bowling machine on the ground. There are certain teams around the world that have got tall fast bowlers and “we have got to try and simulate as much as possible...the sort of teams we expect to see in the next few months in various tournaments,” he said. India will play in the tri-series, involving Australia and the West Indies, in Malaysia next month, which would be followed by the Champions Trophy at home before proceeding for a full-fledged South African tour. Chappell said the “rolling camp” is aimed at addressing the individual needs of the players. Noting that while the two camps prior to the (aborted) tri-series in Sri Lanka was about leadership and team development and the group itself, the current one is more about developing individual players. “So, it’s looking at their personal needs ... looking at how by making them better we can help make the team better,” he said, adding, “we will talk about the particular needs ... what areas we think they need to work and what areas they think they need to work. That’s what we are going to work on in the next few days.” Chappell said this camp was also an attempt to give the players as much variety as possible. “If we are doing the same thing day in and day out, we are not probably going to go forward very much as a group nor as individuals.” Some part-time bowlers need to develop their batting, and efforts would be made in this direction at the camp, he said. Asked about the yardstick for putting players in three groups and senior players slated to take part in the last phase, Chappell said nothing should be read into it. Who is in which camp depended on their availability, he said. Some of the senior players have commitments with functions in Mumbai (clashing with dates of the first two phases of the camp). Asked if there are any plans for Sachin Tendulkar, Chappell said: “There will be some specific things. But they won’t be different from what he has done in the past ... they won’t be very different from what most of the guys will be doing.” Asked if Tendulkar is fit, Chappell said: “He (Tendulkar) is fit to play. That’s the important thing.” On Anil Kumble, who cut short his Surrey county stint and returned home earlier this month after being diagnosed with tendonitis in his right shoulder, Chappell said the ace spinner needs some rehabilitation but he’s much improved. “For the Malaysia tri-series, I don’t expect him to be considered for selection. We would expect him to be fit very soon. So, it’s not a long term problem as I understand it.” Meanwhile, the first set of five players — vice-captain Virender Sehwag, replacing Ramesh Powar who could not make it due to personal reasons, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif and Irfan Pathan began training here.
— PTI
|
|
‘Racial bias forced me to switch over’
London, August 30 Pietersen said he took “the biggest decision” of his life when he was dropped from a Natal side because of the quota system brought into South African cricket to “positively discriminate in favour of players of colour”. “I had taken wickets against Nasser Hussain’s touring England side in 1999-2000 and I had spoken to him about playing cricket in England,” he was quoted as saying in Daily Mail today. “Yet there was a huge setback around the corner which forced me into the biggest decision of my life. I was dropped from the Natal first team for political reasons. “I was dropped because of the quota system brought into South African cricket to positively discriminate in favour of ‘players of colour’ and to fast-track the racial integration of cricket in the country.” Pietersen, who starred for England when they beat Australia in the Ashes last year, said merit should be the only criteria for selection world over. “To me, every single person in this world needs to be treated exactly the same and that should have included me, as a promising 20-year-old cricketer, he said. “If you do well you should play on merit. That goes for any person of any colour... It was heartbreaking,” Pietersen said. Recalling his decision to move to England, his mother’s place of birth, the batsman said he impressed for Nottinghamshire then Hampshire to earn a call-up to the national side of his adopted country. “I’d always been aware I had other options. England was my mum’s birthplace. I had a British passport and I had often thought about playing cricket in England.” In retrospect, he said his decision to play for England has turned out to be the “best thing” to have happened to him. “If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been standing at The Oval as part of an Ashes-winning England team and I wouldn’t have been named one-day player of the year at the ICC awards dinner in 2005, or been standing on a Sydney stage in front of the best cricketers in the world,” he added.
— PTI
|
|
Hair in big trouble: Inzamam
London, August 30 “Darrell is in big trouble, I don’t know why he is doing these things,” Inzamam said, referring to the controversial match and the e-mails the Australian umpire sent to the ICC a few days later. He claimed Pakistan were ready to resume play after a delay following the tea break on the fourth day, and were prepared to take the field even on the final day of the match. “I was quite happy to play the game after half an hour - and then the next day - because we had launched our protest. I don’t know why he was not interested in playing,” Inzamam told Sky Sports. The Pakistan Cricket Board has written to the International Cricket Council demanding an inquiry into Hair’s conduct in the Test and asked that it be scrutinised before Inzamam’s disciplinary hearing next month into charges of ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute. Inzamam expressed confidence that the hearing scheduled for the end of September will exonerate him of the twin charges. “I’m sure 100 per cent because I have done nothing,” Inzamam said. “That is why I am doing these things, because I know we are not guilty and that is why we take this stance,” the Pakistan captain said. New role for Hair?
London: Darrell Hair, the Australian umpire in the midst of the ball tampering row, may be considered for a new role next summer as an assessor of first-class umpires in England, a leading British paper reported today. Peter Willey, the Chairman of the umpires’ association, told The Times that if Hair was no longer involved in Test cricket, he could be added to a list of candidates selected by the ECB. Willey’s statement comes in the backdrop of the decision to withdraw Hair from officiating in a match involving second string players of Derbyshire and Gloucestershire at Chesterfield today to avoid further attention from the media. Willey, who, along with Barrie Leadbeater, his predecessor, and other umpires, is solidly supportive of Hair, has given his backing to a proposal by the ECB that umpires should be assessed during county matches in the same way that referees are in football and rugby, the report said. An assessor would also act as a form of coach, he said. “His views would go alongside those in the captains’ report.” Hair, who had hoped to umpire first class matches in England before becoming embroiled in the ball-tampering row involving the hosts and Pakistan at the Oval ten days ago, is on the ECB’s reserve list. A new position as an assessor would provide Hair with an opportunity for anonymity that he would not now be afforded even in a second XI fixture. It would entail focusing on the state of mind and the confidence of officials and offering advice, as a coach might do, after the close of play. “This will provide constructive feedback and will be different to the issues the players are concerned with,” Chris Kelly, the ECB’s umpires and match operations manager was quoted as saying. “It will also provide work for umpires who are not content with a life away from the game, but they will need to be prepared to go along with changes in umpiring. Cricketers have taken professionalism to new levels.”
— PTI
|
|
‘Strip umpires of power to forfeit matches’
London, August 30 The Sri Lanka Cricket is the first board to come out with such a suggestion and has asked International Cricket Council to initiate discussions in this regard. SLC chairman Jayantha Dharmadasathe said the power to forfeit a match should rest with a match referee and not the umpires. “I think the ICC should discuss whether some decisions, such as ruling that a match had been forfeited, would be better left to match referees than umpires. This should be settled quickly for the good of the game.” He did not think that the Oval ball tampering controversy could result in a rift in world cricket. “There will be no split between Asia and the other Test countries on this. I am confident that a settlement will be reached,” Dharmadasathe was quoted as saying by The Guardian. The move is likely to gain momentum due to certain support from Pakistan, who were aggrieved by Hair’s decision after they refused to take the field after being accused of ball tampering.
— PTI
|
|
|
England struggle
Cardiff, August 30 England, put into bat, lost their last six batsmen for 36 runs as Asif and paceman Shoaib Akhtar wreaked havoc. Akhtar took three for 45 from 10 overs in a hostile late burst when England slumped from 166-4. Ian Bell, dropped on nine, top-scored with a fluent 88 from 117 balls for his highest one-day international effort. He was run out with almost 10 overs remaining after appearing to be the only player who looked at ease as England struggled from the outset. Seamer Asif made early inroads by taking the first three wickets as England slumped to 51 for three in the 14th over. They failed to exploit the early fielding restrictions and struggled to find the boundaries with any regularity. England captain Andrew Strauss departed for two when he top-edged a pull shot to square leg fielder Shahid Afridi. Marcus Trescothick edged Asif to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for 16 and Kevin Pietersen succumbed to the same combination, for two. Akhtar received an official warning in the 19th over when his attempted slower ball slipped out of his hand and went over Bell’s head as a beamer. However, he went on to destroy England’s tail with three quick wickets. The first gave him his 200th one-day international victim when he bowled Jamie Dalrymple. London:
Anjum Chopra hit a gritty 98 to help Indian eves score 307 in their first innings against England on the second day of the second and final Test match at Taunton county ground today. Resuming from their
overbright score of 168 for 2, India squandered a good position and could add only 139 runs while losing 8 wickets.
— Reuters, PTI
|
|
US OPEN
New York, August 30 All 64 matches on the schedule were pushed back to today, as was a remembrance of hurricane Katrina on the one-year anniversary. The forecast called for morning showers. Only nine matches started, and that was after a three-and-a half-hour rain delay. None of them came close to completion. The top-seeded Mauresmo won her opening set against Germany’s Kristina Barrois 6-1, but was trailing 2-5 in the second when play was halted for a second time. About five hours later, organisers gave up on them resuming yesterday. “It can be tough when you’re waiting around all day,” said 13th-seeded Mary Pierce, who was supposed to play Elena Vesnina of Russia. “Sometimes you have to be ready in 20 minutes after you’ve been waiting for hours.” Only a few thousand fans were in Arthur Ashe Stadium when Mauresmo began her match. Those sitting in the upper deck were allowed to move down to the lower, pricey seats. That didn’t stop them from booing, however, when play was stopped. Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champion, and Albert Montanes were tied at 5-5 in the first set when it was suspended. That came right after Hewitt’s right foot slid on the slippery baseline and he almost went into a split. Other players who managed to get on court included 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, up-and-coming French teen Gael Monfils and Chinese star Li Na. The US Open’s official Media Operations Guide said a session must be called by 5 pm if play does not start. Once it begins, it’s up to tournament officials. The cut-off for the night session was 9:45 pm. The last time an entire session was called off at the Open was 2004. With so many matches running behind, the practice courts were jammed. Often, four players shared the same surface, simultaneously keeping two balls in play by hitting to the opposite corners. “There’s not much you can do, and there’s not a lot of places you can go,” Pierce said. “I just try to stay in the locker room and make sure that I drink, that I eat, rest, take naps, read. “It’s good training for your patience,” she said. — AP
|
|
Sherwood College win
Sanawar, August 30 The tournament is being held in the memory of Bhupinder Singh who served Lawrence School for 20 years as a teacher and House Master. “Bhupinder Singh became Deputy Head Master in 1974 and served for another 22 years. Perhaps the longest ever period served by any staff member since the founding of the school in 1847. In his honour and memory Lawrence School holds this prestigious tournament,” said the school Headmaster, Mr Parveen Vasisht. Lawrence School finished runners-up after collecting four points. The Sanawarians won only one match against Sherwood College 2-0 and lost against Bishop Cotton School 2-3 in the last match of second stage played today. In all, four teams: Sherwood College, Bishop Cotton School, Pinegrove School and Lawrence School qualified for the second round of league-cum-knockout matches. Each team played three matches each. The team with maximum points at the end of this stage was declared the winner. In the last match played between Bishop Cotton School and Lawrence School, foggy weather coupled with low visibility could not dampen the spirits of the players. Bishop Cotton was leading 2-0 at half time with Tsewang Topgyal and Pung Pung Rankeau scoring one goal each. After the breather the Shimla lads dominated the proceedings and Pung Pung Rankeau scored another goal. The Sanawarians counter attacked well but could only reduce the margin with the help of Penjo Wangchuk who scored twice in the last 10 minutes making the final scoreline read 3-2. Mr Afrisiab, Deputy High Commissioner, Pakistan and an alumni of Lawrence College, Ghora Galli, Murree, Lahore, which is a sister concern of The Lawrence School, Sanawar, was the chief guest on the occasion. Karan Hora of Lawrence School was adjudged the best player of the tournament. Kabir Singh Gosal from Sherwood College got the highest goal scorer award for his seven goals, while the best goalkeeper award went to Sushant Sharma from Sherwood College.
|
|
Kashyap causes upset, Saina loses
New Delhi, August 30 However, India’s euphoria was dampened a bit by Saina Nehwal’s defeat to world no. 1 Ning Zhang of China. Kashyap came up with a sparkling performance against Wacha as he overcame a one game deficit to win 17-21, 22-20, 21-13. The Hyderabad boy set up a clash with veteran Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia. Saina, who defeated higher ranked Sarotja Chansrisukot of Thailand yesterday, gave a good fight to Zhang but the Chinese top seed handled the crucial points well to pocket the match 21-11, 21-16. Anand Pawar came up with a fighting performance against Chong Wei Lee of Malaysia but gave up 22-20, 6-21, 11-21. Chetan Anand, world no. 22, disappointed again, losing to Hwan Sung Park of Korea 21-12, 21-9. Jayaram, who had to qualify for the main draw and pulled off a stunning upset against world no.12 Eric Pang of Netherlands yesterday, lost to world no 25 Kay Bin Yeoh of Malaysia 16-21, 16-21. — PTI
|
Saitama, August 30 A high-energy third quarter sparked the US to an 85-65 victory over Germany after a poor first half in which the Americans’ shooting touch completely deserted them. The red-hot tournament favourites move on to play Greece in Friday’s last four after the European champions eased past France 73-56 earlier today. Carmelo Anthony led the US with 19 points and fellow co-captain LeBron James added 13 as the US matched Argentina by making it seven wins out of seven in Japan. However, the US flirted with disaster in the first half against Germany and took a narrow 40-39 lead into halftime after making just 14 of 44 shots from the floor. — Reuters
|
|
First-class matches
to be filmed
Mumbai, August 30 The initiative was based on recommendations of the special committee to assess and grade the umpires, the BCCI said today. “The special committee formed to assess the umpires and consisting of Srinivas Venkataraghavan, S.K. Bansal and V.K. Ramaswamy has recommended that we video shoot all the matches to help them in grading the umpires and recommending suitable ones to the ICC panel,” BCCI joint secretary M P Pandove, who is also the convenor of the umpires’ sub-committee of the BCCI, said.
— PTI
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Star batsman Kevin Pietersen has said it was racial discrimination in his native South Africa, which forced him to switch to England colours.
Pietersen said he took “the biggest decision” of his life when he was
dropped from a Natal side because of the quota system brought into South African
cricket to “positively discriminate in favour of players of colour”.
