Sunday, May 16, 1999
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S P O R T | Sunday, May 16, 1999 |
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Pak
official flays "tiny" grounds Aussies
take on lowly Scots We’ll
fight back, says Ranatunga 2-match
suspended ban for Warne Border
feels Warne may skip Lanka tour Simpson’s
recipe for India Woodcock
in awe of Tendulkar
Cup
highlights on Air-India flights |
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Rafter in semis, Steffi loses ROME, May 15 — Patrick Rafter moved a step closer to gaining the no. 1 ranking on Friday by coming back to beat Nicolas Lapentti in three sets in the Italian Open quarter-finals. Second
successive defeat for Konguvel Denmark
to clash with China in finals |
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Favourites South Africa score 4-wkt win HOVE, May 16 (PTI) — In a keenly contested match, India yesterday went down fighting against hot favourites South Africa, losing their first tie of the 1999 World Cup by four wickets due to poor bowling in the slog overs. Opener Saurav Ganguly led the way with a solid 97 on his Cup debut to give India a fighting total of 253 for five in 50 overs. The Proteas were in a fair amount of trouble before a rally built around an enterprising innings of 96 by Jacques Kallis enabled them to notch up 254 for six in 47.2 overs to win the crucial tie at the Sussex County Cricket Ground here. India’s bowling spearhead Javagal Srinath struck two telling blows dismissing both openers Gary Kirsten (3) and Herschelle Gibbs (7) for next to nothing to give the large crowd of Indian fans a scent of an upset victory. But the lanky paceman himself turned out to be the main liability as the Indian attack, badly exposed without an effective fifth bowler, failed to sparkle as the South African batsmen carried out the chase in a professional manner before young seamer Ajit Agarkar was smashed for four fours in the 47th over to hasten the South African win. Barring leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who kept up a fairly tight approach and bowled the dangerous-looking Boucher, the other Indians could not come on top as they failed to get any appreciable movement to trouble the South African batsmen. Kallis brought off his 96 from 128 balls hitting seven fours and had his best partnership of 64 runs with the innovative Jonty Rhodes (39 off 31 balls) to take the match away from India. Earlier, skipper Azharuddin won the toss and the Indians for once put up a steady approach against the formidable pace attack and brilliant fielding of the African side. Sachin Tendulkar, back for his first one-day tie in over two months after a lay-off due to back injury, added 28 runs with caution in a 67-run stand with Ganguly before the latter and Dravid lifted the innings to 190 for one after 40 overs. Both fell into the slog overs in quick succession and though Azhar (24) and Ajay Jadeja (16) helped India past the 250-run mark, the total looked just a bit low as South Africa boasted of a very deep batting line-up. The Indian fielding also slowly lost its sharpness as frustration about their inability to claim wickets set in. India pushed South Africa on the defensive when Srinath trapped Gibbs leg before in his second over and then bowled the consistent Kirsten off an inner-edge. But the ploy to send in Boucher as pinch-hitter worked as he went on the offensive against Srinath to upset his rhythm. He smashed the Indian twice through midwicket for fours and then edged a six over the head of wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia. Kumble finally saw him off, deceiving him with a googly to bowl him off and middle stump. But Kallis and the Daryll Cullinan (19), who shed his usually orthodox approach with some desperate shots which flew to the fence, lifted the innings to 115 for three at the halfway mark. Ganguly removed Cullinan, caught well by Robin Singh at extra cover going for a wild heave, the first over he came on. But the Indian bowlers failed to stop the run flow with Cronje and Kallis with their attacking batting ensuring that it never went beyond run a ball. Srinath squandered the advantage of taking two wickets by giving away 40 runs in the next three. Neither Venkatesh Prasad, who bowled tightly at the outset, or Ajit Agarkar succeeding in preventing the batsmen scampering for quick singles or finding the gaps for fours, the chase grew easy and both Rhodes and Lance Klusener hit a flurry of fours to bring the victory faster. The Indian batsmen looked a composed lot despite Tendulkar’s dismissal after being well set. The master batsman who was playing after over two months of enforced rest, guided paceman Klusener tamely to wicketkeeper Boucher. South Africa: Kirsten b Srinath 3 Extras (lb-4 w-3 nb-10) 17 Total (for 6 wickets, 47.2 overs) 254 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-22, 3-68, 4-116, 5-180, 6-227. Bowling: Srinath
10-0-69-2, Prasad 8.2-0-32-0, Kumble 10-0-44-1, Agarkar
9-0-57-1, Singh 2-0-10-0, Ganguly 4-0-16-1, Tendulkar
4-0-22-0. |
Zimbabwe owe it to Johnson TAUNTON (England), May 15 (AP) — Neil Johnson took four wickets and then notched 59 runs as Zimbabwe defeated Kenya by five wickets with nine overs to spare in an all-African World Cup group A clash at Somerset County Cricket ground today. Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field and then restricted the Kenyans to 229 for seven with allrounder Johnson claiming four wickets for 42 off 10 overs. The 29-year-old former Leicestershire player then opened the innings and belted 59 off 70 balls, sharing an 81-run opening partnership with Grant Flower (20) in 14 overs. He was finally caught off Thomas Odoyo’s bowling. Paul Strang, promoted to no. 3 as a pinch-hitter, scored 29 off 21 balls before he was out to a brilliant catch by Tony Suji at third man, again off Odoyo’s bowling. Zimbabwe were coasting at 119 for one, but lost three quick wickets to slump to 147 for four in the 25th over. But captains past and present, Andy Flower and Alistair Campbell, steered Zimbabwe into a winning position. Andy Flower was for 34 with the score on 217 for five. Campbell was unbeaten on 33 when his team overhaul the target in the 41st over and finished 231 for five. For Kenya, Martin and Tony Suji became the first brothers to open the bowling in a World Cup match. Martin Suji, who played in Kenya’s first World Cup match against India in 1996 and had played for Transvaal in South Africa, while Tony had played just eight internationals going into the tournament. Earlier, Kenya raced to 62 without loss in the 15th over before Johnson struck with three quick wickets and the Kenyans slumped to 87 for four in the 21st over. Johnson’s first wicket was Kennedy Otieno, who cut straight to Grant Flower at point and was out for 16. He then dismissed Kenya’s leading batsman Steve Tikolo, caught behind by Andy Flower for 9, and then bowled Hitesh Modi for 7. Opener Ravinda Shah scored 37 before he skied an attempted drive off Andrew Whittall directly to Paul Strang. But Kenya fought back when Maurice Odumbe and Alpesh Vadher (54 off 90 balls) combined for a 84-run fifth-wicket stand. Thomas Odoyo blazed 28 from 20 balls before he become Johnson’s fourth wicket in the 48th over and Aasif Karim finished unbeaten on 19 off as many balls. Zimbabwe: Johnson c Modi b Odoyo
59 Extras (lb-5, w-16, nb-7) 28 Total (for 5 wkts, 41 overs) 231 Fall of wickets: 1-81, 2-119, 3-123, 4-147, 5-213. Bowling: M.Suji
7-0-47-0, T.Suji 6-1-32-0, Odoyo 9-0-40-2, Kamande
9-0-38-0, Karim 3-0-30-1, Odumbe 7-1-39-2. |
Versatile Pak take on Windies today BRISTOL, May 15 (PTI) - Flair will be the buzzword as two former champions the West Indies and Pakistan lock horns hoping to fire on all cylinders in their World Cup league clash at the Nevil Road Ground tomorrow. The Wasim Akram-led Pakistan, with 23-year-old pace sensation Shoaib Akhtar raring to go, will hope their versatile team will maintain the new-found winning ability in the 1992 champions’ quest for a second title. The West Indies will expect their flamboyant skipper Brian Lara to shrug off injury worries and lead them from the front as he did single-handedly and enabled a demoralised side to square the Test and one-day series against Australia at home. Manager Clive Lloyd, who led the Caribbeans to two consecutive triumphs in 1975 and 1979 was happy with Lara’s recovery and felt the team was capable of doing it. "We have a good blend of youth and experience. We have a side that can see us through and if we start well against the Pakistanis it will give us a real boost," Lloyd said. But Lloyd will beware of Pakistan, who suffered a 10-wicket defeat against the West Indies, but went on to clinch the title in 1992. Lloyd said Lara had looked good in the nets and hoped his wrist to hold on. The West Indies will also bank on veteran pacemen Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose to produce one last flourish in the fag end of their illustrious careers, and in the new weapon, the impressive 20-year-old Jamaican all-rounder Ricardo Powell who has come in after veteran Carl Hooper abruptly retired on the eve of the World Cup. Pakistan have grappled with enough controversies before arriving here. A court ruling is awaited on betting and match-fixing charges and coach Javed Miandad quit on the eve of the team’s departure for the World Cup, showing all is not well in that country’s cricket affairs. But the team has come together as a unit after winning two tri-series tournaments in the subcontinent and skipper Wasim Akram is on a roll after claiming hat tricks in two consecutive matches to lead his side to the Asian Test Championship title. Pakistan bowling has become further menacing as Akhtar has come on superbly well. The Rawalpindi paceman has vowed to break the speed barrier of 100 miles per hour (162 kmph) to beat former Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson’s record of 99.7 mph. But Akhtar’s action has been questioned by some and he is said to have been reported to ICC, but Akram, former skipper Imran Khan and Walsh himself have given a clean chit to the bowler. Akhtar has forced senior teammate Waqar Younis, a master of the reverse swing with Akram in perfect English conditions, to the sidelines. Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who is held as the most difficult to score off, adds further variety. Explosive opener Shahid Afridi is expected to be fit after taking a knock on his forearm playing against Durham. With seasoned batsmen Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul Haq lending solidity, Pakistan fancy themselves going a long way in this championship. The West Indies, with injury worries over Lara and middle order batsman Stuart Williams to contend with also have worries over the creaking limbs of Walsh and Ambrose. But the old war horses are expected to display absolute control under helpful conditions which could lift them. Their batting has undergone much reshuffle in the recent past and to good effect. Sherwin Campbell has had a new partner at the top in wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs, whose gutsy approach has given the West Indian top-order some strength. Left-hander Jimmy Adams has been doing well coming at number three and if Lara regains full fitness it should be a major boost for the beleaguered Caribbeans. Lara single-handedly lifted out West Indies to square the Test series 2-2 against Australia, hitting 213 in the second Test and 153 not out in the third to tie the series, adding another exact 100 in the final Test. "The World Cup is a huge event and the expectation level in the Caribbean is very high. In the past, the West Indies have been known for their flair and great individual performances. But now we also have a great team spirit," Lara said ahead of the contest. Pakistan’s preparation however has been hampered by the weather with rain washing out all three warm-up ties unlike the West Indies who have had a couple of good outings with Powell impressing with his attacking batsmanship. Teams Pakistan: Saeed Anwar,
Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik,
Yousuf Youhana, Moin Khan, Wasim Akram (captain), Mushtaq
Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar. |
Pak official flays "tiny" grounds BRISTOL, May 15 (Reuters) — Pakistan today slammed the "tiny" cricket grounds being used for the World Cup, saying they were keeping cricket lovers away from the sport’s most important competition. Pakistan team manager Zafar Altaf, speaking at the 8,500-capacity Nevil ground where Pakistan will play West Indies tomorrow, also criticised the timing of the World Cup, saying May was too early to stage the tournament in England. Zafar told Reuters: "What the hell is 8,500 for a match of this importance. Come to the sub-continent and I’ll fill a stadium with 100,000 for this type of match. "We are keeping potential supporters away from the game," he said. "These are tiny grounds." Apart from Test grounds, many of the matches are being played in stadiums with a capacity of less than 10,000. Extra seating providing a few hundred extra seats has been erected at many of the grounds. India’s game today against South Africa is being played at Hove which holds just 6,000 spectators. Thousands of Indian fans wanting tickets have been disappointed. Gazing at the cloudy skies as Pakistani players bundled themselves up in thick jumpers, Zafar said it was unwise to have staged the tournament so early in the English summer. Pakistan’s three warm-up matches have been severely affected by rain and Zafar said the players had been deprived of crucial practice. A net today was their first serious chance to practice outdoors, he said. He said he had received no response to an indirect request to World Cup organisers to be allowed to play an unscheduled match today in Bristol against a local team. "We know Australia have had a similar experience," he said. Pakistan’s batsmen caused mayhem in the nets at the Nevil ground today, peppering houses around the ground with shots as they worked off their rain-induced frustrations. Inzamam-ul-Haq and captain Wasim Akram slogged the ball all over the ground as new team coach Mushtaq Mohammad put the team through their paces. Mohammad is not talking to the media after saying he was misquoted in the English press about England’s chances of winning the Cup. Mushtaq replaced Javed Miandad as coach two weeks before the World Cup. Zafar said Javed had roomed with Mushtaq on his first tour to allow the youngster to learn from Mushtaq, a star of the Pakistan team in the 1970s. "The master has replaced the student," he said. The Pakistan team were faced with further disruption yesterday when they were forced to change hotel because the beds were too short. "Waqar Younis is
hardly the tallest member of our team but he said his
legs were hanging out of the bed all night," said
Zafar. |
Aussies take on lowly Scots WORCESTER, May 15 (Reuters) — Australia begin their quest for a second cricket World Cup title with the most gentle of tests tomorrow when they take on the “Tartan amateurs” of Scotland in front of 4,400 fans at Worcester. Only three of the Scotland squad are professional players - all in England - and avoiding humiliation, rather than dreaming of an upset victory, will be their realistic target. Scotland were the surprise qualifiers ahead of Ireland and are keen to put up a good show to support their campaign to be given one-day international status. But their best chance will come in the later games when they can more realistically hope to beat Bangladesh and perhaps hope to push New Zealand. The 500-1 tournament outsiders also face the West Indies, who some observers consider to be something of a one-man team, they should look to Scotland for a real example. Gavin Hamilton, an England international and named in the provisional English World Cup squad, has pledged his loyalty to the land of his birth. The Yorkshire all-rounder is in great form and scored an unbeaten 91 when the Scots narrowly lost a warm-up game against Durham last week. If they are to have any chance of success then Hamilton has to be at his peak. He hit a career-best 86 and took eight wickets. Australia’s only problem could be motivation after another gruelling year of virtual non-stop cricket. The Australians could be excused for treating the game as just another warm-up, but that is unlikely for a team famed for their single-minded approach and they will be as happy to skittle the Scots and quickly knock off a small total as they would be batting first for some practice. After losing the 1996 final to Sri Lanka the Australian selectors followed their conquerors’ lead and moved towards a specialist one-day team. That opened the door for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who as a fast-scoring opener ensures a sharp start, and brilliant one-day batsmen and fielders Michael Bevan and Ricky Ponting. But there is still room for paceman Glenn McGrath and leg-spinner Shane Warne, two of the most devastating bowlers in the Test arena. Because of his prodigious wicket-taking, Warne’s ability as a one-day bowler is often overlooked. But he can be miserly when he wants and was Australia’s leading bowler in the recent one-day series against the West Indies when he took 13 wickets at an average of 19. Captain Steve Waugh, a famed competitor, also wants to build his own reputation as skipper after Allan Border lifted the trophy in 1987 and Mark Taylor reached the final in 1996. Australia are not the world leaders of the game they were during Border’s reign but there is enough talent, and more than enough attitude to make them one of the favourites. Although they will treat Scotland with professional respect they should sweep them aside and start preparing for their next game, against New Zealand on May 20. But while the Scots have won just three of their 86 Natwest and Benson Hedges Cup games in England, they can boast a famous victory over Australia when they scored 167 and bowled them out for just 122 in their first ever one-day game. The only trouble is that it happened 117 years ago. Teams Scotland: Bruce
Patterson, Iain Philip, Mike Allingham, George Salmond
(captain), Gavin Hamilton, Greig Williamson, James
Brinkley, Alec Davies, John Blain, Keith Sheridan, Asim
Butt. |
We’ll fight back, says Ranatunga LONDON, May 15 (AP) — Under-fire Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga insists his team will not panic after the eight-wicket loss to England at Lord’s in the World Cup cricket opener yesterday. The defending titlists struggled after being sent in to bat by Alec Stewart and only managed to score 204 in a rain-interrupted innings. He admitted the loss to England was a setback but it hadn’t derailed Sri Lanka’s ambition of winning back-to-back championships. The 35-year-old batsman, who contributed 32 runs in an innings-saving 84-run partnership with Romesh Kaluwitharana, also said he ignored comments attributed to Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne in a national newspaper that the game would be better off without him. Ranatunga, who captained Sri Lanka to the last title in 1996, said his team had a bad game in all departments. “I’m not taking anything away from England. They took all the catches and bowled to a plan,” he said. “It was a really good toss (Stewart) won and they capitalised on the conditions...the conditions didn’t help us at all.” Ranatunga said his team had four days until its next game against tournament favourites South Africa and had ample time to reconsider the tactics. “Hopefully
we’ll put everything together and try and win the
next couple of games.” |
2-match suspended ban for Warne WORCESTER, May 15 (Reuters) — Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was fined and given a suspended two-game ban today for his scathing attack on Sri Lanka’s World Cup captain Arjuna Ranatunga. The fine was equivalent to half of Warne’s payment for a match, the Australian Associated Press said. Warne was charged with misconduct by the game’s ruling body, the ICC, after his comments in a newspaper column yesterday. Australian team manager Steve Bernard said the two-match ban would be suspended until November 19. Bernard said: "Shane wishes this situation hadn’t occurred." Australia play Scotland in their World Cup opening match tomorrow in Worcester. Warne was reprimanded by the Australian Cricket Board earlier on Saturday after he told the Times newspaper yesterday that the game of cricket would be better off without Ranatunga. He also said the Sri
Lankan captain’s on-field behaviour was against the
spirit of the game and that most international players
shared that opinion. |
Border feels Warne may skip Lanka tour LONDON, May 15 (AFP) — Australian selector Allan Border here today questioned whether Shane Warne would make himself available to tour Sri Lanka later this year following an acrimonious public spat with Arjuna Ranatunga. Border, a former Australian captain, said: "It will be interesting if Warne makes himself available for that one." Warne, writing in the Times newspaper yesterday, began the controversy by questioning Ranatunga’s sportsmanship, criticising his play and arguing the sport would be better off without him. The Sri Lankan captain, who led his side to the 1996 World Cup, also said that he had achieved more than Warne, regarded as the world’s best spinner. Australian Cricket Board chiefs rang their team’s hotel soon after Warne’s remarks were published in express their concerns. Border, speaking on Sky Television, said Warne could have breached his playing contract with the ACB, adding: "There might be more heard and said about that." Sri Lankans manager Duleep Mendis and Ranatunga both stated yesterday they would not complain to the International Cricket Council, the sport’s governing body, about Warne. But the ICC’s code of conduct states that players should not "make any public pronouncement or media comment which is detrimental either to the game in general, or to a particular tour in which they are involved." Warne’s comments — and Ranatunga’s response — might both have breached that clause. Australia tour Sri Lanka in August. There has been bad blood
between the two teams since 1995, when off spinner
Muttiah Muralitharan was called for throwing while
playing in Australia. He was called again there last
year, sparking a new uproar. Many Sri Lankans felt the
affair was a plot to drive their best player out of the
game. |
Simpson’s recipe for India LONDON, May 15 (AP) — Bobby Simpson’s position is safe in cricket history, having shaped the destiny of Allan Border’s Australian team that lifted the World Cup in 1987. The former Australian captain and coach is now seeking to become the first man to steer two countries to the one-day throne. He’s guiding India’s resurgence as the squad’s technical adviser, which makes him a crucial cog in the team management besides coach Anshuman Gaekwad. Simpson’s arrival to the Indian camp last year completely altered the team’s outlook and his recipe has instilled a focussed sense of purpose in a side which tended to fade away from winning situations. Returning to the venue of its title triumph in 1983, India are among the leading six World Cup contenders. Simpson has managed to curb the easygoing attitude in the immensely-talented side to give it an attitude. “The spirit and enthusiasm in the Indian team is simply fantastic,” says Simpson. It’s a naturally gifted side and all they need is to remain focussed. “Take my word, the boys have acquired an attitude. They won’t throw away the matches any more. And the change has come from just getting the basics right.” “All they need to do is to stay with the basics and success will follow,” says Simpson, who has a firm belief that orthodox methods can reap a rich dividend even in this age of tactical innovation. The most visible effects of Simpson’s influence on the Indian team is shaking it out of its tendency to surrender winning situations and the drastically improved fielding. Indifferent fielding has been one of India’s major drawbacks for long, but not any more. “Bob (Simpson) is very, very particular about fine tuning the fielding,” says coach Gaekwad. His innovative ideas have evoked the boys’ interest by making the fielding training sessions interesting. The Indian officials landed a prize catch in Simpson but his appointment as the Indian team’s technical adviser caused a controversy back home in Australia, the news breaking out on the eve of the Australian team’s tour of India. Simpson, however, did not join the Indian team until a while later and his business commitments have only allowed time for short-term training camps, quite different from his long haul as an Australian coach. Simpson’s arrival doubled the Australian input into the Indian team, trainer Andrew Kokinos being the other part of the two-pronged support from down under. India are just one of the several teams in the World Cup whose fortunes are being guided by foreign coaches, a trend which has become immensely popular since another Australian Dave Whatmore provided the technical inputs that saw Sri Lanka surge to the top three years ago. Besides India, three
other leading teams have foreign coaches shaping their
destiny. |
Woodcock in awe of Tendulkar HOVE, May 15 (PTI) — Sachin Tendulkar would be the ideal man to lead an eclectic eleven from players who have appeared in the previous six World Cups, according to celebrated English cricket writer John Woodcock. "What a talent and what a constellation," Woodcock says in admiration of Tendulkar, the only Indian among the eleven of the venerated cricket writer’s choice. "He (Tendulkar) has the game in his bones as incontestably as anyone I ever saw," he says. "He may be the smallest man in the side but in other ways he is the tallest -and he has just turned 25." In Woodcock’s opinion Tendulkar would bat at number four in his dream World XI behind Sanath Jayasuriya, Gordon Greenidge and Vivian Richards, a choice at variance with Tendulkar’s splendid one-day career where most of his 7081 runs and all 21 centuries have been scored as an opener. "There is no one better than Tendulkar to have at number four, a batsman I dared to describe not long ago as being already as accomplished as Sir Donald Bradman, although not, of course, as prolific," Woodcock says. "He has infinite concentration, the soundest of methods, great resilience and, for someone so short, extraordinary power," he adds. Other than Tendulkar,
Woodcock’s imaginary team comprises Sanath
Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards,
Clive Lloyd, Joel Garner (all West Indies), Ian Botham
and Allan Knott (both England), Imran Khan (Pakistan),
Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) and Shane Warne (Australia).
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World Cup
diary LONDON, May 15 (AP) — Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga says the 1996 World Cup champions will not fall victim to the "pinch-hitting" tactics it pioneered during its winning campaign. The leading limited-overs teams have adopted the tactic of scoring runs as fast as possible in the opening 15 overs instead of the traditional method of establishing an innings before hitting out in the dying overs and Ranatunga takes it as a compliment. "I’m glad to see someone is learning from us," Ranatunga said. "We used to learn from other teams now they learn from us and I’m happy about that." Sri Lanka has played in every World Cup but hadn’t even figured in a semifinal until 1996, when it clinched the tournament with a win over Australia in the final at Lahore. Ranatunga said Sri Lanka had a "bad game in all departments" during Friday’s eight-wicket loss to England in the tournament opener at Lord’s but he was confident the team would regroup and go ahead to win its next games. Match boycott Marylebone Cricket Club members who boycotted Friday’s opening World Cup match between England and Sri Lanka at Lord’s in protest at having to pay an admission charge had deprived themselves of a great cricket match, MCC officials said. Conspicuous by their absence - the members’ stand was the only area with vacant seating at Lord’s - hundreds of members of the exclusive club kept a promise not to attend the game after being asked to pay £ 45 ($ 72.50) to watch the match. But MCC head of marketing Chris Rea said the club’s committee had done the best thing for cricket by asking its members to pay enter a match for the first time in the club’s history. "You can see a few spare seats in the members’ stand, which is disappointing, but there’s a lot of them watching it from the long room or in other areas of the grounds and they’re seeing a great game," Rea said on Friday. Rea said the MCC had spent £ 20 million ($ 32.2 million) at Lord’s over the last three or four years to get it ready for the World Cup, including the building of a new stand and a state-of-the-art media centre. Lara to play BRISTOL (Reuters): Brian Lara said on Saturday the injury he has been carrying for several weeks was a chipped wrist bone but the West Indies captain insisted he would play against Pakistan in the World Cup on Sunday. Lara, who had been in doubt for the group B match, told reporters the bone had healed in time for him to play his first match since the fourth one-day international against Australia almost two months ago. He had been bothered by weak tendons surrounding the chipped bone and wore heavy strapping in the nets at the Nevil road ground. "I think the rest was necessary. I would like to have been out in the middle but I am mentally prepared for the world cup and that’s what is important," said Lara. Cash incentive DHAKA (AFP): Cricketers representing impoverished Bangladesh in the country’s World Cup debut got a welcome boost on Saturday with news they stand to earn win bonuses of up to $ 2,000 each. Sports Minister Obaidul Quader said the players would get 50,000 taka ($ 1,000) for their first win in the tournament, with New Zealand the first target on Monday at Chelmsford in Southern England. Subsequent wins will earn the players 100,000 taka each, while any player scoring a century, bowling four wickets (not five) in an innings or earning a Man of the Match award will also get 100,000 taka, he said. "This is a historic event as Bangladesh are making their debut in the World Cup, and this announcement on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed is to encourage the players," Quader told a news conference here. "We don’t expect our team to win us the moon, so no one should be too stressed as this is just the start," he said, adding that the side’s West Indian coach Gordon Greenidge would share in any team bonuses. Fellow minnows Scotland
could be the Bangladeshis’ best chance of winning
some bonus cash, with their other group ‘B’
opponents presenting a daunting line-up: Australia,
Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand. |
Cup highlights on Air-India flights MUMBAI, May 15 — Air-India will screen highlights of the World Cup matches on a daily basis on its flights in association with ESPN and Star Sports. An Air-India spokesman said here yesterday that for the first time an airline would be screening highlights of matches on a daily basis of any sporting event in the world. While there would be a
one-hour capsule of highlights of matches not involving
India, the matches featuring India would be of two hours
duration. The length of the capsule would gradually
increase as Indian team progresses in the tournament.
"We also have plans to show the full match on our
long haul flights if India reaches the final," he
said. |
Rafter in semis, Steffi loses ROME, May 15 (AP) — Patrick Rafter moved a step closer to gaining the no. 1 ranking on Friday by coming back to beat Nicolas Lapentti in three sets in the Italian Open quarter-finals. The Australian, a two-time U.S. Open champion, combined strong attacking tennis with impressive baseline play in the 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory. Rafter, who is ranked fourth, can become the 17th man to hold No. 1 since 1973 by collecting the title. In the semifinals, Rafter, 26, faces Spain’s Felix Mantilla, who beat German qualifier David Prinosil 6-2, 6-4. Prinosil knocked off defending champion Marcelo Rios in the first round. BERLIN (Reuters): Steffi Graf’s preparations for this month’s French Open suffered a setback when she was beaten on home soil by France’s Julie Halard-Decugis in a German Open tournament she used to dominate. World number 21 Halard-Decugis showed more composure than her German rival, recovering from the loss of the first set to win 5-7 6-4 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Berlin event. Third-seeded Graf, returning to action after two weeks off with a foot injury, was chasing her 10th triumph in the Berlin event. The former world number one, now sixth in the WTA rankings was playing in her first clay-court event in almost two years in her warm-up for the French Open starting on May 24. The German, who will turn 30 next month, looked far from her brilliant best and made many unforced errors. She will need to raise the level of her game dramatically to stand a chance of a sixth triumph on the Paris clay. Halard-Decugis goes on to meet unseeded Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir, who advanced to the last four by beating Swiss Patty Schnyder, the eighth seed. Dragomir, who had knocked out Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna and last year’s German open finalist Amelie Mauresmo of France in the previous rounds, made a sluggish start but then stepped up a gear to cruise to a 3-6 6-1 6-1 win. French open champion
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario had earlier reached the
semifinals when American Serena Williams retired injured
in the second set of their quarter-final. |
Graf sees no reason not to go to Paris BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) — Steffi Graf said she would enter the French Open starting on May 24 despite her poor performance in the German Open and the latest in a long series of injuries "I see no reason not to go to Paris," Graf said after falling to France’s Julie Halard-Decugis in the quarter-finals in Berlin yesterday. "I had decided I would go even before coming here." The former world number one, who has been persistently hampered by injury worries over the past two years, received treatment for back pain before losing in three sets to the unseeded Frenchwoman. Graf, who will turn 30 next month, has dropped to sixth in the WTA rankings and looked only the shadow of her former self in the German capital. She had not played in a clay-court tournament in almost two years when she came to Berlin, where she has won a record nine times. Back in action after two weeks off with a foot injury, she struggled in her first two matches before losing to Halard-Decugis. Graf’s first match in the event was her 1,000th singles appearance on the WTA tour. She became the fourth women to pass the mark and trails only Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Virginia Wade. Graf’s prolific career on professional circuit started in 1982 when she lost 4-6 0-6 to American Tracy Austin in Filderstadt. She has now won 889 of her 1,002 matches. "The three matches I played here were not that good," she said. "It’s disappointing because I had prepared myself well for this tournament. I’m always under pressure in the game, I dont’ hit the ball early enough and my forehand is not what it should be." Graf, who won the last
of her 21 Grand Slam titles at the 1996 US Open, said she
would not play until the French Open. "I will rest
for a few days, then travel to Paris," said the
German, who has triumphed five times on the Paris clay. |
Second successive defeat for Konguvel SANGLI, May 15 (PTI) — International master-elect Vishal Sareen of LIC joined Orissa teenager S. Satyapragyan at the top beating top seed IM P. Konguvel in the sixth round of the 32nd S.K. Vaidya Memorial FIDE-rated Open Chess Championship today. Sareen logged 5.5 points after handing out Konguvel his second successive defeat to share the lead with overnight leader Satyapragyan, who played out a short draw with C.S. Gokhale of Indian Airlines. With five points each, the second spot is shared by IM N. Sudhakar Babu, T.S. Ravi, Tejas Bakre, S. Vijayalakshmi, Gunasekharan K., C.S. Gokhale, Dipanjan Das, S.S. Ganguly and Moti Ram. The Sareen-Konguvel encounter turned out to be an absorbing game of attack and counter-attack. Opting for tarrasch variation in response to Sareen’s French defence, Konguvel sacrificed two queenside pawns to take advantage of his better developed pieces by attacking the black king. Sareen defended accurately and Konguvel was forced to sacrifice more materials to further his attack but not to much avail. After exchanging queens, Sareen avoided all pitfalls to clinch the game in piece up ending. The game between Satyapragyan and Gokhale, in contrast, was a brief affair. The Orissa schoolboy with white pieces went for safe exchange variation of ruy lopez. The queens were exchanged early allowing Gokhale to achieve comfortable equality. Neither player was interested in taking undue risks and settled for a draw in 21 moves. The second board game between Sudhakar Babu and Ravi was a queen’s Indian defence with the former playing with white pieces. Babu could not get any advantage out of the opening and the game petered to a draw after 30 moves. Gunasekharan of Tamil Nadu caused a major upset defeating third seed IM Andrew Webster of England in an old Indian defence game. Little known Moti Ram of Punjab too scored an upset beating national ‘A’ player Suvrajit Saha of Eastern Railways. National women’s
champion Vijayalakshmi of Indian Airlines scored a
victory over Swati Ghate of Maharashtra. |
Denmark to clash with China in finals COPENHAGEN, May 15 (Reuters) — Denmark will face China in the final of the Sudirman Cup. The Danes, roared on by a near-capacity crowd, sealed their place with a 3-2 defeat of Indonesia yesterday. Rikke Olsen and Helene Kirkegaard clinched the deciding women’s doubles rubber. Earlier in the day China had won the first semifinal 3-2 against South Korea. But the clash ended in controversy. Having set up a 3-1 winning lead, the Chinese controversially replaced doubles player Ge Fei because of an alleged hip injury and the inevitable Korean protest sparked a 17-minute hold-up to the contest. But that was nothing compared with the drama and tension of the evening match as Denmark claimed the right to meet the hat-trick chasing defending champions. The night belonged to boyfriend-girlfriend Peter Gade Christensen and Camilla Martin, who made the victory possible after the Danes had lost the opening mixed doubles. Gade, the world number one and favourite for the individual title, won his repeat clash with Taufik Hidayat 15-4 15-1. Then Martin raced past Cindana Hartono 11-4, 11-6. It should have been
straightforward in the women’s doubles with Olsen
and Kirkegaard leading 12-6. But before they knew it
Deyana Lomban and Indarti Isolina had pulled back to lead
14-13. BANGALORE (PTI): India went down to Canada 2-3 in their final league encounter but managed to top group 3A in the Sudirman Cup team Badminton Championships in Copenhagen on Thursday, according to information received here yesterday. Aparna Popat and Gopi Chand put India 2-0 ahead by winning their singles matches but the Canadians were too strong for the Indians in the paired events. Despite the loss, India topped their group and will now play group 3B winner Ukraine, the Badminton Association of India said in a statement here. Ukraine was a well balanced side and unless India’s double players played to their potential, it would be a tough task for them, it said. Results: India
lost to Canada (2-3). |
Orissa lad emerges sole leader SANGLI, May 15 (PTI) — S. Satyapragyan of Orissa emerged the sole leader with an enterprising win over top seed IM P. Konguvel of ONGC in the fifth round of the 32nd S.K. Vaidya Memorial FIDE-rated Open Chess Tournament here yesterday. The 16-year-old schoolboy, who tallied a perfect score of five points from as many games, is followed half-a-point behind by T.S. Ravi (Indian Oil), C.S. Gokhale (Indian Airlines), Vishal Sareen (LIC) and IM N. Sudhakar Babu (Indian Bank). Satyapragyan opted for the Sicilian Taimanov defence to Konguvel’s king pawn opening and permitted the top seed to set up a maroczy bind type of pawn structure. In a tense middle game he played imaginatively to threaten the white king. The Orissa lad advanced
a pawn to open up lines in the king side and combined his
pieces well to launch an attack by sacrificing an
exchange and a rook. Konguvel, who shared a joint lead at
the end of the previous round, resigned on the 42nd move. |
Manipur eves trounce Orissa SHILLONG, May 15 (UNI) — Defending champions Manipur and runners-up Bengal yesterday kicked off their opening matches with triumph, trouncing Orissa 9-0 and Bihar 4-0 respectively in the first round of quarterfinal league of the seventh Women Senior National Football Championship being held at the polo ground here. In other matches last year's semifinalists Goa and Kerala beat Assam 2-1 and Maharashtra 3-0 respectively. Orissa, Bihar and Maharashtra who qualified for the last eight stage without conceding a goal, today failed miserably to penetrate their rivals custodians even once. Except for the match
between Assam and Goa, other three matches could not not
live up to the spectator's enthusiasm, who came out
braving heavy rain in the afternoon. |
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