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| Tuesday, May 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Crucial ICC meeting from today
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Lewis’ win over Grant does
little for boxing
Pak defeat Windies’ under-23
team
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Crucial ICC meeting from today LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) — Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Indian businessman in his last year as President of the International Cricket Council, is the man at the centre of the probe into the match-fixing scandal threatening the game’s credibility. Dalmiya chairs a two-day emergency meeting starting at Lord’s tomorrow. As Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Dalmiya was present at a rancorous meeting of the ICC in London six years ago to consider rival bids for the 1996 World Cup between England and a joint submission from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. England believed it was its turn to stage the World Cup and presented a bid in full confidence that the world’s premier one-day competition would return to the country which staged the first three tournaments. Instead an acrimonious meeting ended in deadlock and a resolution was reached only when England agreed to withdraw its bid on the agreement that future World Cups would be rotated. The tournament was awarded instead to the Indian subcontinent. “It was by a long way the worst meeting I have ever attended,” said England delegate Alan Smith. “There seemed a grave danger of the ICC disintegrating.” The scars from that fraught day still run deep and there is a risk that this week’s emergency meeting could split between the traditional powers of England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa and the four subcontinent countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The meeting will hear a report from chief executive David Richards, who has suggested that an amnesty for players confessing to match-fixing might be the way to get hard proof of corruption. “We might have to do that in a discreet fashion,” he said in a television interview to be broadcast today. “We might have to give an amnesty for people to bring forward that information. I don’t have a personal problem with that.” The major problem for the ICC has been the number of allegations of match-fixing without any evidence after South Africa captain Hansie Cronje sparked the crisis with his admission last month that he had taken money from a bookmaker. Cronje confessed to taking up to $ 15,000 from a local South African and an Indian bookmaker based in London during a triangular series with Zimbabwe and England this year. He admitted giving information to the bookmaker but denied match-fixing. Four days earlier Delhi police charged Cronje and team mates Herschelle Gibbs, Pieter Strydom and Nicky Boje with involvement in match-fixing during a one-day series in India in March. The four deny the charges. Bacher has subsequently alleged that two matches in last year’s World Cup were fixed and promised to raise the issue at this week’s meeting. “All I will say is that during my international travels in the past few years, several former international players of integrity have told me they are aware of international matches that have been fixed,” he said. “I am as confident as one can be that match-fixing or match manipulation has taken place in world cricket.” PTI: Former Indian board chief Inderjit Singh Bindra, a bitter critic of Dalmiya, has made many allegations of corrupt practices by Indian players and claimed BCCI did nothing despite his raising the issue many times. Bindra himself has reached London and is seeking an invitation to the meeting — Presidents and secretaries are empowered to represent respective boards — though it is highly unlikely that he will be permitted despite claims that he can provide evidence of corrupt practices. India will be represented at the meeting by former BCCI President Rajsingh Dungarpur, who is rushing to London after Board President A.C. Muthiah was forced to return after reaching Frankfurt following his mother’s death in Chennai. Bindra told PTI he would be happy if they (ICC) called him. “I will be happier if they don’t call me,” he said adding then he would present his case before the press. In the letter, a copy of which he gave to PTI, Bindra said he would present information on how money from television rights and other sources was not being ploughed back into the game. “In some cases, more than 80 per cent of the revenues generated are going into the hands of vested commercial interests, TV rights-holders and other middlemen,” he claimed. “As a consequence,
marginal amounts are being reinvested in the development
and promotion of the game. So called
‘globalisation’ has become a veritable
privatisation of the game,” he added. |
Bindra
‘not withdrawing’ letter to BCCI chief CHANDIGARH, May 1 — The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has taken strong objection to reports that the PCA President, Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, has withdrawn his letter written to the President of the Board of Control for cricket India (BCCI), Dr A.C.Muthiah, where he had reiterated the statements he had made to various television channels of the issue of match-fixing. At the moment Mr Bindra is in London. Therefore, a senior functionary of the Punjab Cricket association released the letters written by the BCCI President to Mr Bindra and the replies sent by Mr Bindra to Dr Muthiah. Mr Bindra had received two letters from the President of the board requesting him to give certain clarifications on the stand taken by him and the statement which Mr Bindra had made during his various press conferences and television interviews. Mr Bindra had replied to Dr Muthiah vide his letter dated April 25 to clarify his stand and in reply to the points raised by the BCCI President. Dr Muthiah in his first letter had sought details of the match at Sharjah which had been “fixed”. He had also said in his letter that the International Cricket Council was keen to know the names of the three Indian players whom Mr Bindra had reprimanded for their alleged involvement during “your tenure as the BCCI President and also the names of the former Secretary of the Pakistan Cricket Board who had knowledge of the India vs New Zealand match at Sharjah in 1998 being fixed,” the letter pointed out. Dr Muthiah , in his letter, emphasised that the information was needed prior to the meeting of the International Cricket Council to be held from May 2. In yet another letter written by Dr Muthiah on the same date (April 21) the BCCI President said Mr Bindra had alleged that some of the former managers (Jyoti Bajpai, D.V.Subba Rao and Brijesh Patel) and coach (Madan Lal) had mentioned the names of some cricketers for their involvement in betting/match-fixing in their tour reports. Dr Muthiah said that these reports would be handed over to the Union Sports Ministry and the Delhi police for necessary action. In his reply Mr Bindra has informed the BCCI President that the information he had sought was well within the knowledge of all senior members of the board, including most of its office-bearers, and also the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal who also happens to be heading the International Cricket Council (Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya). “As regards the Sharjah match which I had referred to in my chat show and had fully elaborated during my interview with Mr Rajeev Shukla of Zee TV .......the match I had referred to was the India vs New Zealand match played some time in 1998. I am sure the board office will have in its record the names of various office-bearers of the Pakistan Cricket Board at that time. The information was shared with my immediate successor Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur) and few senior members of the board. I have also been reliably informed that another senior functionary of the Pakistan Cricket Board has also brought this information to the notice of an extremely respected former office-bearers of the board,” Mr Bindra said in his letter. Mr Bindra continued : “As regards the reference in your letter about the reprimanding of three players in concerned, it seems that my observation had been taken out of context. At no stage have I mentioned that players were reprimanded for betting and match-fixing. All I had said was that players were reported to be placing small bets on cricket matches in a country where betting is legal and when their oral explanation was sought they had clarified that they were placing bets on non-Indian match. “I had pointed out that players had neither violated the law of the land nor the code of conduct and it was only subsequent to that we had incorporated the clause in the players’ agreement. In fact, this incident had been brought to the notice of the Honorary Secretary and me at the same time.” The PCA President, in his letter, expressed surprise that the President of the ICC did not think it fit to invite him to the meeting held at Calcutta on April 18 last to discuss the issue of match-fixing. “I was surprised that the meeting was concerning the issues pertaining to match-fixing and betting, issues which are of vital importance for the image as well as the health of Indian cricket and you allowed the ICC President to decide upon the list of invitees,” the letter points out. Mr Bindra’s letter
also clarified that Mr Bajpai had reported to him orally
and had made a report in writing. he also had informed
other senior functionaries of the board. |
Bookie approached Lankans in 1992 LONDON, May 1 (PTI) — An Indian bookie had approached three prominent Sri Lankan Test cricketers eight years ago for fixing matches but the offer was rejected, the British media has reported. Current skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, Roshan Mahanama and Asanka Gurusinha were reported by the Sunday Times as the trio who had spurned such an offer. The paper, quoting a source, said the incident occurred during Australia’s 1992 tour of the Island. The then Sri Lankan Board President Tyrone Fernando confirmed such an approach was made and admitted the concerns of the three players were not treated with due seriousness. “In hindsight, we should have taken the matter more seriously,” he told the weekly newspaper. Gurusinha, who migrated to Australia soon after the 1996 World Cup victory and lives in Melbourne, was reluctant to discuss specific events related to the allegations while Mahanama and Jayasuriya were not available for comment, the paper said. But Sidath Wettimuny, former Sri Lanka skipper, who is here to attend the world body’s (ICC) two-day EGM from tomorrow to discuss match-fixing, said” three of the guys were approached and Roshan was certainly one of them. He came to speak to me about it”. The Sunday Times claimed an attempt was also made by a bookie to corrupt one of the players in 1996, but the offer which was said to be around $ 250,000 and subsequently doubled, was rejected. In 1994, the Sri Lankan board had ordered an inquiry into the national team’s performances after a disastrous tour of India during which they suffered innings defeats in all three Tests. The report had said:
“There is evidence that a bookmaker of Indian origin
has attempted to make his presence felt in the national
cricket scene. The subject of ‘gambling with the
toss’ had been a part of discussions at one of the
team meetings on the tour. There is, however, no further
evidence available in this field”. |
Big name revealed, says Prabhakar MUMBAI, May 1 (PTI) — Former India allrounder Manoj Prabhakar claims he has revealed the name of the team-mate who allegedly offered him Rs 25 lakh to under-perform in the 1994 Singer Cup series in Sri Lanka to a “big gun in the government”, without disclosing who the big shot is. In his column “Yorker” in the website “cricketnext.com”, the Delhi-based Prabhakar says it was “something I have been waiting for”. “Someone well-placed in the government will bear me out when I say that I will have no hesitation in naming the senior team-mate who offered me Rs 25 lakh to under-act in the Singer Cup game against Pakistan in Colombo in 1994. He has already heard me name the central character in the drama,” he says. Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s announcement in Parliament on Friday last that the CBI would be asked to find out if any Indian cricketers or officials were involved in match-fixing “comes as a relief”, he says. Prabhakar also writes in the article that Mr Dhindsa promised him security cover when he met the minister hours before the announcement was made in Parliament and assured him that he (Prabhakar) would extend all co-operation to the investigating agency. In return, Mr Dhindsa
promised him not only security cover but also to get the
cricket board to release his benevolent fund that
“it has held back”, Prabhakar says in the
article. |
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BANGALORE, May 1 (PTI) — The country’s first National Cricket Academy (NCA) was inaugurated today to give a boost to budding talent and fringe players determined to make it big in the game. As 20 trainees heard intently, there were words of encouragement and caution by eminent cricketers of yesteryear, who called for passion for the game, which, they said, was the only thing that would take them to great heights. “It is the most ambitious project of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in its long history’, former BCCI president and academy chairman, Rai Singh Dungarpur, said at a simple inaugural function at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here. The BCCI has made an initial investment of Rs 1.5 crore for the academy, the first phase of which began operations today. Mr Dungarpur later told reporters that five feeder zonal academies had been planned in the country in the second phase. “There are dark clouds over the game. I see a silver lining in the establishment of the academy”, Mr Dungarpur said in an obvious reference to the ongoing match-fixing controversy. Out of the first batch of 24 trainees, four did not report due to examinations. “They will join shortly”, Mr Dungarpur said. Among the trainees at the camp that will go on till August end are Mohammed Kaif from Uttar Pradesh, Railway’s Murli Karthik, Bengal’s Nikhil Haldipur and Orissa’s Shiv Sundar Das. Former Australian wicket-keeper, Rodney Marsh, who has been appointed consultant of NCA, said the academy could help India improve their performance, but stressed that ‘a new culture of hardness is needed from Indian cricketers’. “There is so much passion for the game here that India must become the world leader (in cricket)”, he said. Marsh, who has established his coaching credentials as Director of the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Australia, told reporters he would travel to India five times a year to coach the NCA trainees. He warned the trainees, whom he called athletes, that becoming a member of the team here did not ensure them a place in the Indian squad. “You have to be good enough”. Marsh said it would take four to five years for ‘results to come’ and it would not happen overnight. Cricket, he said, no longer remained a game of skill alone. “Technology and sports science are playing a major role and it has been proved also. The NCA would work closely with the Sports Authority of India in this regard”. Earlier, Mr Dungarpur said the trainees would be coached, apart from academy Director Hanumant Singh, by Roger Binny and Vasu Paranjpe, assisted by Rajesh Kamath. “The academy will
lay great emphasis on application, attitude and
athleticism”, he said. |
Airlines edge out CISF, enter semis MUMBAI, May 1 (PTI) — Star-studded Indian Airlines edged out Central Industrial Security Force 6-5 via the tie-breaker in an all-Delhi encounter to move into the semifinals of the 6th Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here today. IA, fresh from their title-triumph over Punjab Police in the Sher-i-Kashmir tournament yesterday at Jammu, and the fighting CISF were locked 2-2 at regulation time, thanks to a controversial, late equaliser awarded to the latter, before the fancied ia clinched the tie-breaker 4-3. CISF, who dominated the proceedings for the better part of the first half, went ahead in the 15th minute through a penalty-stroke goal scored by their captain G.V. Khakha. IA neutralised the lead 10 minutes later off their second penalty-corner when international Sameer Dad swept into the goal a chest-high shot after the ball was relayed to him by fellow-India player Mohd Riaz. IA went ahead in the 6th minute of the latter half when their captain and ex-international Shakeel Ahmed converted a penalty-stroke and were sitting pretty to settle the issue in regular time when CISF’s Mangra Munda smashed in the ball which rose above his head off Khakha’s stick from close range. The goal was hotly disputed, without success, by Airlines as they felt umpire Ranjit Dalvi should have pulled up the CISF for dangerous play. Further drama followed in the strokes’ duel with Dalvi awarding a goal in favour of Airlines despite the rival custodian Raziuddin having blocked the flick from Mukesh Kumar. The umpire felt that Raziuddin had moved before the flick was taken by Mukesh. In the tie-breaker, Altaf-ur-Rehman, Riaz, B. Munda and Mukesh were successful for IA while Khakha, Praveen Kumar and Bharat Kumar found the target for CISF whose Cyril Ekka and Irfan Ahmed failed to score. It was a fine performance by CISF against the Airlines outfit which had 9 current or ex-internationals in their starting line-up. Strong man-to-man marking and hard running kept the CISF ahead of their rivals move-wise in the first 15 minutes before they translated their superiority into goal. Left-winger Khakha, who was easily CISF’s most impressive player, cut in from the left and his goalbound scoop was stopped with his hand by defender Sabraj Singh. The CISF skipper himself converted the award. IA slowly got into their
groove after this reverse and earned a penalty-corner,
their second out of six overall. |
Sarwan in squad for first Test ST JOHN’s, Antigua, May 1 (Reuters) — Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan was named in a West Indies squad of 14 yesterday to face Pakistan in the opening Test, starting in Georgetown on Friday. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who missed the recent triangular one-day series in the West Indies because of exhaustion, was also in the squad. Sarwan is one of the brightest West Indies batting prospects. If he plays, Pakistan will present a true examination of his ability, since it is widely felt Zimbabwe are weaker opponents. After serving a long apprenticeship, Mahendra Nagamootoo is nearer to making his Test debut. In six long, hard seasons of first-class cricket, he has taken 145 wickets at 25.80 apiece. He might have slipped into a state of depression earlier in the season, after the selectors completely ignored his 31 wickets at 20.83 apiece in this year’s Busta Cup West Indies first-class championship and chose others with lesser credentials for first-class matches against Zimbabwe. Nagamootoo may find it hard breaking into the final 11, though. Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Reon King and Franklyn Rose have bowled so splendidly in the last six weeks, the selectors may be inclined to keep them together even though the Bourda Oval pitch is normally quite benign. The West Indies may feel much happier facing Pakistan knowing that Chanderpaul is fit again and seems to be carrying some kind of form. Chanderpaul missed the 2000 Trophy series because of exhaustion and has been under medical observation over the last month. After undergoing further treatment in Jamaica last week, he was given the freedom to play in a club match on the weekend there and scored an unbeaten 52 for Kingston Cricket Club against Boys Town. In keeping with their policy to take exceptional care of their two ageing warriors, Walsh was rested for the tri-nations limited-overs series. He returns looking to add to his world record tally of 435 wickets. Griffith, the batting hero on the ill-starred tour of New Zealand, struggled with his form during the Zimbabwe Tests, but will be looking to give West Indies good opening stands along with vice-captain Sherwin Campbell against the Pakistanis. McLean is recalled after bowling steadily, if not spectacularly, in the Busta Cup and the 2000 Trophy Series. West Indies squad: Jimmy
Adams (capt), Sherwin Campbell (vice-capt), Adrian
Griffith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavel Hinds, Chris
Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ridley Jacobs, Curtly Ambrose,
Courtney Walsh, Franklyn Rose, Reon King, Nixon McLean,
Mahendra Nagamootoo. |
Lewis’ win over Grant does little for boxing NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) —Michael Grant said Lennox Lewis knocked him off his equilibrium when he knocked him down in the first round at Madison Square Garden. Lewis’ ridiculously easy victory over the American on Saturday didn’t do much for the equilibrium of boxing either. While Lewis won the fight by slamming home a right uppercut to knock Grant out in the second round after putting down the American twice in the first round and forcing an eight count that may or may not have been counted as another knockdown, the bout pointed up the sorry state of the heavyweight division and boxing. For as the big men go, very often so goes boxing. And the big men are not going very well these days. Grant simply did not belong anywhere near a heavyweight title fight. That he was the number 2 contender in both the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Council (WBC) and number five in the World Boxing Association (WBA) speaks volumes about the poor health of the sport. That’s not to say that Lewis didn’t do his job on Saturday. He quickly took advantage of Grant’s amateurishly wild swings to finally put him out of his misery, made off with 10 million dollars and did not get hurt. That makes the night a success for him. But where do Lewis, the heavyweights and boxing go from here? Lewis says he would like to fight Mike Tyson, but isn’t holding his breath. “I’m sure there’s an opportunity out there for me and him. I’m the man at the top and he knows where to find me,” said Lewis. Tyson does not appear to be in any ry to fight again. After several postponements he is now scheduled to fight Lou Savarese on June 24 somewhere in Europe, where he was exiled professionally after his last few fights were marred by ugly incidents that turned off fans and corporate sponsors. Nevertheless, if Tyson just appears to straighten out his life in and out of the ring, he still will be the biggest draw of the sport. But without a rehabilitated Tyson, or someone else on the horizon who can generate excitement in the sport, there likely will be more of the same one-sided contests like Lewis-Grant to grease the slide of boxing’s popularity. Emanuel Steward, Lewis’ highly-respected trainer, said there were no promising heavyweights on the horizon, prompting him to predict that the 34-year-old Lewis (36-1-1) could dominate the division for 3-4 more years. They could be 3-4 boring years. Lewis is simply not exiting in or out of the ring. There was little buzz in the run-up to the fight, and Madison Square Garden was not sold out. Of the 19,000 seats 17,234 were sold, even according to the garden’s figures. Steward has admitted that his fighter has not impressed American fans and that he needed an impressive performance against Grant to convince them that he is a great fighter. “I’m very satisfied. Lennox did what I knew he could do,” Steward said after Saturday’s fight. “Lennox Lewis was definitely aggressive enough for me tonight and in a smart way, and I’m real happy.” Steward may be, but fans of exciting competitive fights found little to be happy about on Saturday. And they may find little to get enthused about with Lewis’ next fight. Shortly after Saturday’s execution of Grant, Lewis’ handlers said the Briton would put his IBF and WBC titles he retained against Grant up against South African Frans Botha in England in July. While certainly better schooled than Grant — who isn’t? — the slow-footed, ponderously punching Botha is not likely to have a much different fate than Grant had in Madison Square Garden on Saturday. After demolishing the 27-year old Grant (now 31-1), who was paid about $ 4 million for showing up, Lewis insisted that, “I’m out there to prove I’m the best fighter on the planet and I’m not going to duck anyone.” But Saturday, through no fault of his own, he proved nothing. And while Lewis wasn’t exactly ducking other fighters he did seem to be bobbing and weaving around the subject of fighting David Tua, the hard-jawed, hard-punching fireplug from New Zealand who is the IBF’s number one contender. Lewis said he thought Tua of New Zealand, deserved a title shot before John Ruiz, the WBA’s top contender. But the 6-5 (1.95 m) Lewis quickly added that he thought the 5-10 (1.8 m) Tua was “too short for me.” Lewis did not add that Tua, unlike Grant, is also a well-schooled fighter who punches very hard. Ruiz is set to fight Evander Holyfield in June for the vacant WBA title in June. Lewis lost that crown on a US federal court ruling that said Lewis was obligated to fight Ruiz under an agreement the Briton had signed to fight the WBA’s number-one contender. If Lewis’ appeal of the decision fails as is likely, he probably will have to fight the winner of Holyfield-Ruiz to get back his WBA title. The possibility of that fight does not seem to excite many people. “Every time I step into the ring,” said Lewis after knocking out Grant, “I just have to improve upon myself.” An abysmal Grant didn’t give Lewis a chance to improve on anything other than to prove he can hit a heavy bag Disguised as a boxer. The question is how will
boxing improve itself? |
PSEB win
inter-board TT title PATIALA, May 1 — PSEB paddlers proved their dominance in no uncertain terms as they walloped Bombay Suburban Electricity Supply (BSES) 3-0 in the summit clash to emerge worthy winners in the team championships of the 27th All-India Inter-State Electricity Boards Table Tennis Tournament which concluded at the NIS here today. PSEB added another feather to their cap when Vikas Mahajan ended the challenge of his colleague, Pankaj Sharma, to win the title in the individual championship. With both players having the advantage of the ‘home environs’ and with a vociferous crowd applauding every shot, the final had all the ingredients of an absorbing contest. Two sets down Pankaj Sharma did not panic, and showed his cool and with a steely determination managed to win the third set. Vikas Mahajan won the fourth set, and with it the title, in what turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Mahajan showed slick technique, fine temperament and above all played some classy shots in the fourth set to ultimately pin down his rival. Vikas won the final 21-18, 21-16, 15-21, 21-19. With the hosts lapping up the first two spots the PSEB team management had enough reasons to be pleaded on a hot and sultry evening as the third spot in the individual championship was also won by its player, Vikram Aditya, who beat Rahul Dutt of Uttar Pradesh 21-7, 21-15. The only jolt the hosts received was in the doubles final when both Pankaj Sharma and Vikas Mahajan fumbled against the Uttar Pradesh pair of Rahul Dutt and Sanjiv Kapoor. In the best of three final, the PSEB pair could not reproduce the form that helped them to reach this far in the tournament and seldom looked threatening. On the other hand the Uttar Pradesh paddlers shrugged of their initial lethargy and opted for an attacking style with remarkable effect. Their service, backhand shots, slices and approach to the game were much sharper than their rivals. With this win the race for the inter-boards general trophy has hotted up with PSEB leading in the pecking order with 19 points to its credit. Results: (Team
championship-final): PSEB b BSES 3-0 (V. Mahajan b
N.Limaya 21-09, 21-15. Vikram Aditya b R.Sharma 21-14,
21-12. Pankaj Sharma b G.Sarvade 21-18, 21-09) (Team
championship-third and fourth places): Tamil Nadu b
Haryana 3-1 (P.Ramesh b Nalin Somani 21-11, 21-17. E.Mani
lost to Vivek Lakhanpal 21-13, 12-21, 15-21, V.S. Rajan b
R.K. Dogra 21-10, 21-10. P.Ramesh b Vivek Lakhanpal
22-20, 21-16 (individual championship-final): Vivek
Mahajan (PSEB) b Pankaj Sharma (PSEB) 21-18, 21-16,
15-21, 21-19. (For third and fourth place)Vikram Aditya
(PSEB) b Rahul Dutt (UPSEB): 21-7, 21-16. |
Guards may go on strike during Olympics CANBERRA, May 1 (AFP) — Australian federal security guards, who protect politicians and other VIPs, threatened today to go on strike during the Sydney Olympics. Australian Protective Services officers made the threat while trying to burst into government offices as part of a long-running dispute over a new-pay agreement. Ms Janet Watson, representative for the Community and Public Sector Union branch, said industrial action during the Olympics was possible. “That’s a consideration,” Ms Watson said. “Everybody really needs to get this sorted out before the Olympic Games happen so that we can assure that the security there is going to be as it should be.” Asked if she could
guarantee that security would be provided if the pay
dispute was not resolved, Watson said: “Not by APS
officers, no.” |
Pak defeat Windies’ under-23 team GEORGETOWN, May 1 (AP) —Pakistan beat the West Indies under-23s on the last day of their four-day match although Azeemul Haniff and Marlon Samuels hit half centuries for the West Indies. Haniff topscored with a painstaking 75 and Samuels hit a stroke-filled 61 as the under-23s were bowled out for 221 in their second innings yesterday. Haniff and Samuels shared a sixth-wicket stand of 104, but once they were separated, the way was clear for Pakistan to complete a morale-boosting win ahead of their opening Test against West Indies, starting on May 5 at Bourda Oval, Guyana. Haniff and Sylvester Joseph had earlier added 45 for the fourth wicket before late morning rain stopped play for more than two hours, with the under 23s struggling on 72 for three. The under-23s had declined to 27 for three, but the two led a spirited fight back. When play resumed at 1:30 p.m., Joseph became the first of two quick wickets for leg-spinner Shahid Afridi that left the innings in a tailspin. Haniff and Samuels tried hard to save the under-23s after they slipped to 96 for five. The two fought earnestly, but Pakistan’s experienced attack kept up the pressure and finally broke through when Haniff edged off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq to substitute fielder Moin Khan at slip. Pakistan (first innings) 299 (Yousuf Youhana 81, Mohammad Wasim 59). West Indies under-23s first innings 143 (Mohammad Akram 5-16) Pakistan second innings 172-4 dec (Younis Khan 103 not out) West Indies under-23s second innings (overnight 12-1) D. Ganga lbw b Mohammad Akram 4, A. Haniff c Sub Moin Khan b Saqlain Mushtaq 75, K. Jeremy c and b Mushtaq Ahmed 1, R. Morton c Mohammad Wasim b Mohammad Akram 1, S. Joseph c Wasim b Afridi 23, R. Hinds st Wasim b Afridi 5, M. Samuels b Saqlain Mushtaq 61, W. Phillip c Wasti b Mushtaq Ahmed 0, C. Alexander b Arshad Khan 7, P. Collins c Younis Khan b Saqlain Mushtaq 0, R. Cunningham not out 0. Extras: (b-26 lb-6 nb-12) 44 Total: 221 Fall of wickets: 1-12 2-21 3-27 4-75 5-96 6-200 7-203 8-219 9-219 Bowling: Mohammed Akram 9-3-28-2 (5nb), Mushtaq Ahmed 21-4-71-2, Saqlain Mushtaq 17-4-37-3 (6nb), Arshad Khan 14.2-2-24-1, Shahid Afridi 8-2-18-2 (1nb), Younis Khan 2-0-11-0.
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McGrath’s 4-wkt haul of no avail LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) — Glenn McGrath produced the day’s best bowling of four for nine in the opening round of the English national league yesterday — but the Australian failed to stop Worcestershire Royals losing by 19 runs against division one rivals Yorkshire Phoenix at Worcester. Paceman McGrath sent down six maidens in his nine overs as the visitors were restricted to 151 for eight off 45 overs. He bowled England all-rounder Craig White for one and came back to dismiss Michael Vaughan, Matthew Wood and Gavin Hamilton in his first full game for Worcestershire. But McGrath was out for a duck as the Royals fell for 132 in 43.2 overs. Steve Rhodes made the top score of 42. Australian one-day specialist Michael Bevan reached 52 not out and ran out of partners as the Sussex Sharks collapsed to a 10-run defeat against Gloucestershire Gladiators in a dramatic finish at bristol. Kim Barnett (55) and Mark Alleyne (30) steered the Gladiators to 145 all out in 43.5 overs. But from 86 for three off 24 overs, the Sharks slumped to 135, losing their last six wickets for just 10 runs. James Averis took for 21. The game between last year’s champions Lancashire Lightning and the Kent Spitfires at Canterbury was abandoned because of rain. In division two, Jason Gallian (74) and John Morris (50) led Nottinghamshire outlaws (209-6) to a thrilling four-wicket win over Durham Dynamos (208-6) with just one ball to spare at Trent Bridge. England batsmen Graham Thorpe (61) and Mark Butcher (47) helped Surrey Lions (185-9) to a 10-run triumph over Glamorgan Dragons (175) at Cardiff. Middlesex Crusaders suffered a crushing 60-run defeat against Essex Eagles in a match reduced to 23 overs a side at Chelmsford. Mark Ilott (3-13) and Ronnie Irani (3-10) reduced the Crusaders to 16 for seven before they closed at 83 for nine in reply to 143. England captain Nassar Hussain made 60.
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BANGALORE, May 1 (PTI) — Northern Railway (NR) retained title in the 60th All-India Railway Hockey Championship, defeating Rail Coach Factory (RCF) 5-4 via the tie-breaker after being locked 1-all at the end of regulation time in the final here yesterday. This is the 32nd time that Northern Railway were winning the championships. In the penalty shoot-out, Ajinder Pal Singh, Sukhwinder Walia, Jasbir Singh and Sukhdev Singh scored for Northern Railway while Harmit Singh’s hit was off the mark. The scorers for RCF were S.K. Barla, Jagmohan Singh and Satwant Singh, while Lalit Ekka and Anuranjan Tate were denied by saves from custodian A.K. Srivastava. RCF shot into the lead in the 16th minute at the Karnataka State Hockey Association stadium when Lalit Ekka scored off a Walter Lakra pass but their joy was short-lived. Northern Railway restored parity two minutes later with Ajinder Pal Singh converting a penalty corner as the teams were level at half-time. Later, NR lost a chance when Brijnav Singh, from a close range, scored a feeble shot which was easily stopped by the rival golie B. Karketta. Both the sides failed to break the deadlock in the second half, forcing the tie-break. Earlier, in the match
between the losing semi-finalists, Western Railway beat
Diesel Locomotive Works 8-2 to finish third. |
Gurdit
outplays Raghav CHANDIGARH, May 1— Gurdit Singh of Chandigarh created a flutter when he outplayed to stun seventh seed Raghav Nanda of Delhi in the first round of the boys under 14 section of the AITA ranking tennis tournament, the main rounds of which began here today. The other seed and the local players comprising of Ardaman Sidhu, Neha Singh, Isha Toor surged ahead into the main rounds. In girls under 14 section, those have qualified into the second rounds include Anukriti Prasad, Amanpreet Shallu, Isha Toor, Bhavana, Shubhneet Sandhu, Sanjana Kapoor, Anjani Kanat, Neha Rana, Bhavna Trimurty, Vishaka sheoran, Parul Goswamy, Bahaar Paul, Nitya Uppal, Simmer, Tara Iyer and Neha Singh. In girls under 16 category, the second round entrants were Manasi Modi, Isha Toor, Pallavi Sharma, Monika Goel, Aastha Uppal, Parul Goswami, Neha Singh, Bhavana V, Sanjana Kapoor, Anukriti Prasad, Simmer, Aastha Chaudhary, Kamalpreet Bhullar, Khushleen Kaur and Tara Iyer. The boys to make it to second rounds were Under 14 Ardaman Sidhu, Kinshuk Sharma, Dilpreet Singh, Abhinav Grover,Vivek Sheoran, Jitin Bishnoi, Sunil Sharma, Kushagra Mahajan, Sidhharth Gulati, Sahil Vasudeva, Jitinder Mehlda, Harneet Singh, Gurdit Singh, Paras Thakur, Izreek Singh and Yuvraj Chaudhary, In Under 16 Section the
boys to sail into second rounds were Chhatwinder
Singh,Vivek Shokeen,Viraj Bhargava, Gurneet Singh,
Ardaman Sidhu, Sidhharth Gulati, Arjun Talwar,
Mahanandan, Anoop Anand, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Varun
Walia,Varun Giri, Harneet Singh, Atul Kumar and Wrik
Ganguly. |
Olympic torch may travel under water SYDNEY, May 1 (AP) — In the most varied route ever leading into an Olympic Games opening ceremony, travel plans for the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch were expected to include underwater travel and even time travel. And just like the
proposed underwater submersion, the time travel segment
will be no illusion. |
Airlines
lift trophy JAMMU, May 1 — Indian Airlines on Saturday lifted the All-India Sher-e-Kashmir Hockey Cup defeating Punjab Police 4-2 in the final. Till the fag end, the two teams were level 2-2 but Indian Airlines scored two quick goals minutes before the close of the game. In all 32 teams, 14 of them from outside the state, participated in the tournament played at K.K. Hakhu Astro-Turf Hockey Stadium here. Hockey teams from all districts of the state participated in the tournament. The Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, gave away the trophies. Mr K.P.S. Gill, president, Indian Hockey Federation, also joined the Chief Minister in presenting the trophies and medals. Mukesh Kumar of Indian Airlines was adjudged best player of the tournament. Punjab and Sind Bank were presented trophy for being adjudged the best losing team, CRPF were presented the fair play award. Congratulating the
winners and participating teams, the Chief Minister
announced that from next year the winners would get Rs 5
lakh and the runners-up Rs 2 lakh besides the trophies.
He also assured that necessary facilities like flood
lighting and construction of a stadium would be taken up
in due course. |
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BANGALORE, May 1 (PTI) — Cricket board secretary Jayawant Lele today confirmed that the captain and 19 probables for the May 28 — June 7 Asia Cup Tournament at Dhaka would be selected in Mumbai on May 5. Lele, who was here in connection with the inauguration of the National Cricket Academy, said this in an informal chat with reporters. BCCI sources had said in Mumbai yesterday that the selected players would undergo a 10-day conditioning camp at Pune instead of Calcutta, as originally planned, prior to departure for Dhaka. The final team would be selected towards the end of the camp, the sources had said.
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NEW DELHI, May 1 (PTI) — Top Indian women golfer Irina Brar of Chandigarh will lead the Indian challenge in the 22nd Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship starting in Calcutta tomorrow. Brar with another Chandigarh girl Guneet Raikhy will form the Indian team in the 15-17 years division while Mayali Talwar of Delhi will take part in the 13-14 year category in the first ever girls team event in the Asia Pacific Juniors to be played during the 22nd second edition of the tournament at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club course. Besides, four Indians — Delhi Girls Ayesha Kapur, Sonavi Chopra and Neha Majitha (in junior section) and Manavi Halwasia of Calcutta (in the 13-14 section) — have received direct entries for the individual event, a release from the Indian Golf Union Ladies Section said here today. All of them had a hectic
10-day long training camp under chief coach Nonita Lal
Qureshi here before leaving for Calcutta, it added. |
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