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Missing ODI series was not pre-determined: Sachin
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Cronje was the ‘toughest’ bowler to face
Warne’s tips for Strauss to win Ashes
OZ players want less ODI’s, more of T20 Big Bash
Indian Premier League’s monopoly may go
India to field big squad for Asiad
McLaren to support Button’s campaign
Woods set to move into his £34m bachelor pad
Ranjit fetches another gold for Kapurthala
Kapurthala beat Muktsar
in women’s hockey
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Missing ODI series was not pre-determined: Sachin
Mumbai, October 30 "The decision to skip the last two ODI series was taken at the last moment and was not pre-decided. My kit always contained coloured pads," Tendulkar said at a media conference to announce his tie-up with Pune-based reality firm Amit Enterprises Housing. "I have been playing cricket for some time now. If I was not playing cricket there would be something to think about. Having been around for some time, I know how to adjust to the formats," he added. The 37-year-old batting icon also said he would follow whatever was needed to keep himself in prime condition for the all-important 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent. "I know my body. I would do whatever is needed for the World Cup and it won't be pre-decided," said Tendulkar, who has often said that he is dreaming of being part of a World Cup-winning team. Tendulkar would be playing in his sixth World Cup and second in the sub-continent. Tendulkar, who last played a ODI against South Africa in February at Gwalior, where he became the first batsman to score a double-hundred in the 50-over format, said it was too early to think about the upcoming tour of South Africa. — PTI
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Cronje was the ‘toughest’ bowler to face
London, October 30 The ex-South African captain, who died in a plane crash after being banned for match-fixing, was the one man Tendulkar found hard to deal with and bowling technique had nothing to do with it. "Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone. When we played South Africa he always got me out more than Allan Donald or Shaun Pollock. It wasn't that I couldn't pick him - it's just that the ball seemed to go straight to a fielder," Tendulkar told 'The Guardian'. Cronje, primarily a middle-order batsman, was efficient with his medium pace fetching 43 wickets in 68 Tests and 114 ODI wickets in 188 matches before his spectacular fall from grace owing to the 2000 match-fixing scandal in which he was the prime accused. He died in a plane crash in 2002. Cronje snapped Tendulkar's wicket five times in Tests, just two less than Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and one behind Aussie speedsters Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, all three of whom faced off against the Mumbaikar more than the late Proteas captain as bowlers. The late Cronje, however, does not figure in the list of bowlers to have dismissed Tendulkar the most in ODIs which is headed by Aussie pacer Brett Lee (10 times). Tendulkar said facing Cronje was always a tricky proposition for him. "I was going great guns in Durban one year and played some big shots against Donald and Pollock. Hansie came on and I flicked his first ball straight to leg-slip. I never knew what to do with him," he said. The 37-year-old batsman, who has spent over 20 years in international cricket, is often compared to Sir Don Bradman and Tendulkar recalled some special moments he spent with the late Australian legend. "We went to see him on his 90th birthday. It was very special. We were talking about averages and I said, 'Sir Don, if you were playing today, what would you have averaged?' And he said, '70 - probably.' I asked, 'Why 70 and not your actual average of 99?' Bradman said, 'Come on, an average of 70 is not bad for a 90-year-old man.' "This is what I tell my son. Whether you're an 11-year-old boy or Don Bradman we should never forget it's just a game we can all enjoy." — PTI
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Warne’s tips for Strauss to win Ashes
In a long list of tips to the England team, the former Australian leg-spinner also advised the team to not underestimate Australia because of their recent poor run. Warne also felt that Andrew Strauss should employ spinner Greame Swann more into attack and early on apart from suggesting that their fast bowlers should rely on full length deliveries than short-pitched stuff. "It will be very difficult for England to win in Australia. It has not happened for such a long time and people forget they are coming off the back of a 5-0 embarrassment here four years ago. "But before a ball is bowled, this is England's best chance of winning in Australia for a generation if they follow simple rules when they arrive in Australia. "They have to be ruthless, disciplined and play with flair. They must also not get involved in the war of words," Warne wrote in his 'Daily Telegraph' column. "If England are to be successful, then two men have to perform. The first is Kevin Pietersen. He is the best match-winner in world cricket and can turn the course of the game in a session. I do not agree with John Buchanan's view that he is selfish. I have worked with KP and seen him operate....... He is forensic in the way he prepares both physically and mentally so just let him go. The more you cage him and encroach on his preparation time then the less he will perform for you," he wrote. "If England give him room to breathe and the leadership of the England team make him feel super-important then he could really hurt Australia. He can be the man who gives England a chance to win. If they give him a free reign then he could have a 500-run-plus series," he added. About Swann he wrote," Swann has an air of confidence about him that can worry the opposition. He is spinning the ball profusely for an off-spinner and he will really enjoy using the Kookaburra ball too.... If I was Andrew Strauss I would give him a go early. Don’t wait for all the seamers to bowl and then bring on Swann. Let the opposition know he is the trump card. — PTI
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OZ players want less ODI’s, more of T20 Big Bash
Melbourne, October 30 The Australian Cricketers Association has written in this regard to Cricket Australia, which is not keen to tamper with the number of ODI games in a season. ACA has written to the CA that for the league to be successful it was imperative that all Australian stars play in the Big Basht. However, as per the current arrangement Australia's one-day players have no chance of playing in the state-based Big Bash because the competitions run concurrently. "The ACA believes it is critical to the appeal of the Big Bash competition that the involvement of Australian players is maximised," the cricketers Association said in its submission, accordiong to a report in the 'Australian'. "This is also based on the assumption that the total workload of these players would not increase, i.e., Big Bash games would replace international games. "Given that each team will have a salary cap, ACA is of the belief that Australian cricket has a responsibility to ensure that this is largely distributed to Australian players." CA chief executive James Sutherland said there was "great merit" in Australia's best players being available for the competition but was reluctant to promise on reducing ODIs. — PTI $30m price tag for Oz T20 teams
Sydney: Australia's version of Indian Premier League-style Twenty20 franchises could be worth as much as 30 million dollars. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the franchises will be valued between 2.5 million to three million dollars a year for 10 years. Investors would be allowed to own up to 33 per cent of a franchise in the eight-team tournament owned, controlled and managed by Cricket Australia. "Some of the valuations that we have done recently on these interests put these teams immediately in the upper echelons of Australian sport, in terms of values of sporting teams," CA chief James Sutherland said. —
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Indian Premier League’s monopoly may go
Chandigarh, October 30
Initially, it was announced that new player auction will be held in November. Now, everything is hazy, nebulous and unclear. Even the eight teams have not been finalized. So, how in the world can the auction take place? Far away, in another part of the world, Australia have announced the launch of their own IPL-style league and have roped in big Indian investors for the event. Cricket Australia (CA) have unabashedly announced that “there is an existing model (IPL) that has been incredibly successful and they have a lot to learn from this model-both positive and negative things” Sadly, for the IPL, right now it’s their negative things that are holding centrestage. The Governing Council has been disbanded and reconstituted. Former players Sunil Gavaskar and MAK Patuadi have exited the council (they wanted more money for devoting their time and energy to the venture). But, the biggest losers in this war have been the small domestic players. Like other IPL teams, King’s XI and Rajasthan Royals (RR) had their own ‘catchment’ areas and local players from these areas had a great chance of playing alongside big players like Shane Warne, Graeme Smith etc. Now, young domestic cricketers from Punjab, Himachal and Rajasthan have very few opportunities of making it to any IPL team in season IV. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and Yousuf Pathan will get their fat IPL team in season IV. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and Yousuf Pathan will get their fat packets with other IPL teams as well. It will be the smaller Amit Uniyal’s that will suffer. There is a lot of concern and anxiety in the minds of officials and team management of franchises as well. They are far from sure when will things fall in place for IPL-IV. “This time there does not seem to be any settled look about the whole thing. When will the player auction be held? If Kochi is not going to be the eighth team, when will the new team be decided? When will that auction take place? Things are being delayed and planning will suffer,” says an official of Bangalore Royal Challengers. And, this is the same league, which almost at the press of a button had packed up every little thing in India and had resurfaced in South Africa the next day, ready to start afresh. IPL in South Africa was a hit too. But, BCCI honchos Manohar and Srinivasan have little time for these side-issues. They have scores to settle. The fear, however, is that in this internecine rivalry a highly successful league might be losing it sheen and Cricket Australia’s newly-launched Big Bash T20 might be the benefactor. CA have said that they are going to be very transparent about the holding pattern of their franchises. They have allowed private investors to buy 33% stake in eight city-based franchises which will form the Big Bash League. And they are going to vet these investors thoroughly before offering them a stake. It’s about time the BCCI and IPL rise above petty individual differences and concentrate on making IPL-IV a huge hit too. Soon, they will be facing tough competition from Australia’s Big Bash T20 as well. They better be prepared.
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India to field big squad for Asiad
New Delhi, October 30 India's century-plus medal haul, including 38 golds, emboldened the Government to clear the largest-ever contingent for an Asian Games. "We are delighted with the progress made by Indians in a number of Olympic sport disciplines in the past few years. We are confident that our athletes will do well in the Asian Games as well to sustain the interest of the sports fans", observed IOA president Suresh Kalmadi. Kalmadi added: "Our contingent will draw confidence from India's wonderful showing in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games where our athletes won a record 101 medals. They are aware of the different challenges presented in the Asian Games and are geared up to deliver their best efforts". The large contingent will include 127 coaches, 44 managers, eight doctors, seven physiotherapists, six masseurs, nine technical officials, 12 contingent officials, six Government observers (in athletics, cycling, kabaddi, rowing, shooting and wrestling), five nominees of the Sports Authority of India and 10 other officials. In the 2006 Doha Asian Games, India fielded 432 athletes in 31 disciplines, and returned with a haul of 53 medals, including 10 gold, 17 silver and 26 bronze. The maximum number of 71 have been cleared in athletics, including 40 men and 31 women, while the least number of eight athletes each have been cleared in archery, golf, judo, soft tennis, squash and yatching. After athletics, shooting will field the next big squad of 40 sportspersons, including 25 men and 15 women.
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McLaren to support Button’s campaign
London, October 30 "While Jenson lies 42 points adrift, he has vowed to fight on. As the reigning world champion, and a great driver, he knows better than most that you can't lift the title without being a resolute fighter," the Sun quoted McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh, as saying. "That's exactly why we hired him and we'll be supporting him fully next weekend. If Formula One has taught us one thing over the past couple of seasons, it's to never give up hope," he added. Button had earlier said that he can still win the championship title. "Sure, looking at it written down on paper, you've got to admit it's a long-shot, but I'd regret it for the rest of my life. — ANI
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Woods set to move into his £34m bachelor pad
The 10,000 sq ft property is complete with pool, hot tub, tennis court, basketball court, gym and a four-hole golf course. What's more, Woods, 34, will also be able to tie up his yacht on the water next to the home. The home is also just down the road from his ex-wife and their children Sam, three, and one-year-old Charlie. Woods form on the golf course has been far from satisfactory and he is yet to win a tournament in 2010.
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Ranjit fetches another gold for Kapurthala
Ferozepur October 30 Ranjit Kumar covered the distance in 9:17.51s while Vivek Kumar of Mohali won Silver by clocking 9:20.16s. Amandeep Kumar of Fathegarh Sahib had to content with Bronze with a timing of 9:44.26s. In Boxing, Patiala ruled the ring by displaying strong punches and grabbed gold on the basis of medals, pocketing 19 points with 6 gold and 1 bronze as Sangrur got silver with 19 points but it could collect only three gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze whereas Bathinda had to satisfy itself with bronze with 8 points, 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. In Long Jump, Mehakpreet Singh of Sangrur won Gold with a jump of 6.28m, Narinder Singh of Fathegarh Sahib won Silver with a distance of 6.23m and Vinod Kumar of Ludhiana won Bronze with 6.13m. In Judo , Prabhjit Singh of Amritsar won gold in 60 Kg. weight category, Sudhir Kumar of Ferozepur got silver and Gurpreet Singh of Bathinda and Avtar Singh of Patiala shared bronze medal. |
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Kapurthala beat Muktsar
in women’s hockey
Rajpura, October 30 First match between Patiala and Bathinda remained a draw (1-1). Kulwinder of Bathinda scored first gold in 12th minute of first half. Sarabjit Kaur of Patiala leveled the score (1-1) by hitting the ball in net in second half. Second match was played between Kapurthala and Muktsar wherein Muktsar girls failed to open their account and was defeated by 5-0. While Amandeep Kaur and Vartika scored two goals each for Kapurthala team, Anuradha Devi contributed with one goal to win the match. |
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Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar today said his decision to skip India's last two ODI series, in Sri Lanka and against Australia at home, was not a pre-determined one and he knows how to adjust to various formats of the game."The decision to skip the last two ODI series was taken at the last moment and was not pre-decided. My kit always contained coloured pads," Tendulkar said at a media conference to announce his tie-up with
Pune-based reality firm Amit Enterprises Housing.
Melbourne, October 30
London, October 30
But, now we do not know for sure how many teams will finally enter the slugfest. Two teams have been dumped, another one is close to being dumped. All this while, BCCI has been insisting that it will surely be an eight-team affair. But, as things stand, no one is quite sure which that eighth team will be.
London, October 30
