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Friday,
May 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Mohanty,
Nehra, Dighe for Zimbabwe tour Team
selection along expected lines India to
host ICC tourney: BCCI |
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Squad
confident of good show: Arif Liverpool
win UEFA Cup India lose to Japan Cautious
start by Anand Punjab
eves enter quaterfinal league HP to
double prize money for players 4-member
squad for boxing meet WICB
opens academy Rain
prevents play on 1st day Capriati
beaten Gurcharan’s
father to be honoured
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Mohanty, Nehra, Dighe for Zimbabwe tour Bangalore, May 17 Left arm spinner Sairaj Bahutule will partner off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who with a fabulous haul of 32 wickets, played a stellar role in India’s recent 2-1 victory over Australia. Mumbai’s Sameer Dighe, though not a great success behind the stumps in the series against Australia, seemed to have impressed the selectors enough with his batting abilities, to get their nod for the trip. The formidable seven-strong batting line-up will be led by the trusted quartet of Sachin Tendulkar, skipper Sourav Ganguly, his deputy Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, who rose to dizzy heights in the series against the Aussies. A lot is also expected from openers Sadagopan Ramesh and Shiv Sundar Das and middle order Hemang Badani. After hour-long deliberations here, selection committee chairman Chandu Borde announced the following team: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), S. Ramesh, S.S. Das, V.V.S. Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Hemang Badani, Sameer Dighe (wicketkeeper), Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Debashis Mohanty, Harbhajan Singh and Sairaj Bahutule. Mohanty, who was not considered either for the Tests or one-dayers against the Australians, forced his way back into the national team with his consistent performances in the domestic circuit and left-arm Nehra, who had been on the verge of breaking into the national team, will support the pace spearhead Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, who gets one more chance to perform, and young tearaway Zaheer Khan. Justifying the selection of five seamers, Borde said the pitches in Zimbabwe were likely to help seam bowling with the ball coming “nicely on to the bat”. He asserted that India would not be short of bowlers with Tendulkar’s talents too well known and Badani also able to turn his arm, if needed. Borde said the 15 selected players were for the two Tests only and a 14-member squad for the tri-series, also involving the West Indies, would be announced in the second week of June in Mumbai after watching the present lot’s performance. He said a third opening batsman was not discussed. “In case there is an injury to either opener, Dravid will step in” that would mean an additional responsibility for the vice-captain as he is always expected to double up as wicketkeeper whenever the regular one gets injured. Among the names discussed were Harvinder Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Dinesh Mongia and Virender Sehwag, as were those of the two young stumpers Ajay Ratra and Deep Dasgupta, said Borde adding “Dasgupta and Ratra are coming up nicely”. There will some hope for Sodhi and the chief selector said “we may pick him for the one-dayers”. On Rakesh Patel of Baroda, who was replaced by Jammu and Kashmir’s Surinder Singh Bagal, Borde said he had a swelling in the back of his knee and should be fit in 10 days. Board secretary Jaywant Lele said the team would leave for Zimbabwe on May 25.
PTI |
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Team selection along expected lines Chandigarh, May 17 There were strong indications that the national selectors might look beyond the players attending the conditioning camp at Bangalore while picking the final 15 for the tour party. The fact that players like Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Joshi as also Anil Kumble were attending the camp although their names did not figure in the original list of 25 players selected for the camp, had only added to the rumour mill. While Anil Kumble is yet to declare himself fully fit, both Prasad and Sunil Joshi are still hopeful of making a comeback. And with so much cricket in the coming months for India both at home and abroad they know they have to be in fine trim just in case they get a recall. The biggest debate was generated by the question of who would accompany the team to Zimbabwe as wicketkeeper given the fact that Nayan Mongia, arguably the best stumper in the country, was not included in the camp for reasons other than cricket. There were also reports that Mongia had approached the national selectors to seek a pardon for what he had done in the home series against Australia. However, this debate was given a quick burial after skipper Saurav Ganguly publically indicated that he would like Sameer Dighe to go as the wicketkeeper to Zimbabwe. The Mumbai-based keeper had given his chances a big boost by his resolute batting in the third Test against the Australians at Chennai where India won by the skin of their teeth. Most of the players in the 15-member squad, specially the batsmen, have selected themselves. In Sadagopan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das India have finally found an opening pair who can be expected to deliver. Then of course the national selectors needed very little time to pick the batsmen who will man the third, fourth and fifth and sixth batting spots, held by V.V.S. Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, skipper Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The only other specialist batsman included in the squad for Zimbabwe is Hemang Badani who has probably been picked up to give him a feel of the opposition given the fact that India will figure in a three-nation one-day tournament in Zimbabwe immediately after the conclusion of the Test series. Badani has done enough in the recent pasty to justify his place in the squad. The only department which look weak in the Indian squad is the spin section. Harbhajan Singh, never mind his 32-wicket haul in the home series against Australia, is yet to prove his utility and worth abroad . True, the Zimbabwe team has a number of left handers in the squad and the hard bounce in the wickets there should be welcome by the Punjab-based bowler. His partner, Sairaj Bahutule, is also yet to be tried abroad and in case either of them fail to deliver then India might well have a tough task on hand in both Test matches. Five medium pacers in a team of 15 is probably a luxury but then India will need net bowlers in the run-up to the Test series. These five bowlers have probably been selected given the fact that during India’s last tour of Zimbabwe the spinners were unable to make any impact. Maybe this time around as India make a determined bid to record a series win abroad for the first time since 1993 the medium pace bowlers would things difficult for the opposition. The tour selection committee, in all probability, will opt for Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar for the Test matches. Debasis Mohanty and Asish Nehra should be happy with the experience they pick during the tour of Zimbabwe. |
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India to host ICC tourney: BCCI Udhagamandalam, May 17 Over-ruling Lele’s statement that the cricket board was “not necessarily keen” on hosting the tournament next year, BCCI president A.C. Muthiah said today that India would certainly go ahead with it. Mr Muthiah said here “there is no hitch in India hosting the tournament. The Union Sports Ministry has cleared it and Sports Minister Uma Bharati had extended all support for the success of the ICC Knockout Tournament”. “We do not want to deny the best opportunity for the cricket loving public of India of witnessing players from all Test playing countries of ICC in action,” Mr Muthiah told PTI. International Cricket Council president Malcom Gray had on March 21 met the union ministers concerned and officials and was assured of all governmental support. The final decision on India hosting the 2002 ICC Knockout Tournament, better known as the mini-World Cup, will be taken in London on June 15. Asked to comment on India playing Pakistan in any future tournament, Mr Muthiah said “the government’s letter clarified that there is no hitch in these two countries competing in multi-lateral tournaments”. Mr Muthiah said the government had clarified, in its letter dated May 10, that “India will continue to play Pakistan in multi-lateral tournaments at regular venues. Regarding bi-lateral contests between the countries, the government after careful consideration has already decided that in the prevailing circumstances it would be inappropriate for the Indian team to participate in a two-nation cricket tournament against Pakistan’. He said “the government has said it has no objection to the Indian team playing in ICC knock-out and World Cup and other ICC recognised tournaments despite the fact that certain matches in such tournaments may be played between India and Pakistan either in India or in Pakistan’. Accordingly, the government has considered all venues in Test playing countries and venues recognised by the ICC for one-day internationals such as Kenya as regular venues. As for India’s participation in the coming Asia Cup to be hosted by Pakistan, Mr Muthiah confirmed that India would be taking part in it. However, the programme for the Asia Cup would be decided at the meeting of the Asian Cricket Council in Lahore on May 24, he said. On Mr Lele’s statement that “he was not aware when and where a decision would be taken on the new sponsor for the Indian team,” Mr Muthiah said the board had received offers about 45 per cent above the previous sponsorship of ITC and a decision would be taken by the BCCI marketing committee within two days. “The players will benefit immensely by the additional revenues since 60 per cent of the sponsorship money goes to the players,” he said.
PTI |
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Protect
budding pacers from injury: Marsh Kolkata, May 17 “This is my first visit to Kolkata and I am amazed at the load of talent we have here,” a visibly excited Marsh said. There are lot many players here and there is passion for the game, he said here at the National Academy zonal camp adding that in Australia cricket was not taught at zonal level and there were only 14 regulars in their camps. “Kolkata Zonal Academy itself has 23 players which in itself is more than the total number of regulars in the Aussie academy,” he said. “One does not get a Kapil or Sachin everyday. It will be very hard to replace them. But with their retirement they can be the best coaches with all their experience, conditioning, equipment and knowledge of sports psychology.” Talking about his assignment in the sub-continent, he said: “I am enjoying my second stint with cricket all the more though I can’t work miracles and provide the magic elixir to success. But give me some six months and I will handpick the talents available here.” When asked about the difference between the Indian and Aussie sides, ‘Iron Gloves’ Marsh said: “Australian boys are just much more stronger and that’s because of their socio-economic background, eating habits, social surroundings and the fact that they are brought up in an atmosphere of sports and fitness.” When asked about his role as the consultant to the National Cricket Academy, Rodney Marsh said: “I will have to take a closer look at things before I can really comment on my role, but I can say that I am no better than any of the coaches in these academies. “Coaching is not rocket science, its growing. The coaches must not tie down the players, rather they should be allowed to experiment and let the talent come out automatically and harness them. Four players every year go to Australia on Gavaskar Board of Scholarship and five to MRF to groom their talents.” Talking about India’s prospects of producing fast bowlers, he said: “MRF is doing a great job. Very soon we can hope to see some real speedsters burst into the international scene. But the key is to protect them from injury. Most of the batting coaches cannot decide when to stop the bowlers from bowling. They automatically bowl them to ground. And you cannot let go the cherry at 120 kmph consistantly with a broken back or pulled stomach muscle. That is where one has to be careful.” On whether India lacked killer instinct, Marsh said: “With the likes of Tendulkar and Laxmans around we can’t say that, can we?” Marsh, however, reserved his comment on Indian captain Sourav Ganguly as he had not seen enough of him and besides how he was as a captain would be best known by his teammates he felt. As for him Ian Chappell was an excellent captain and he cherished having played with him. When asked about the recent scandal that had rocked the cricketing world, he said: “I
don't remember that after the excellent Australia-India series played here. Besides, forget the past and get on with cricket. I am sure that after the cleansing a loot of god cricket is in the wings.” On whether their was any need for special institutions to impart moral lessons to the cricketers, Marsh responded with a quick, “No, no, that’s not necessary. The players have to be self-disciplined and that’s all.” Going back to the Aussie-India series, Marsh lauded the Indians for their superlative performance. “This has been the most memorable series. Yes, the Australian winning streak stopped and India came out on top. Congratulations to them. But, I think cricket is the winner and that is most important, for nothing is bigger than the game.” On the secret of the Aussie success, Marsh said: “We are fighters and that’s the reason we win. The juggernaut of Australian cricket will continue for quite sometime.”
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Squad confident of good show: Arif
Bangalore, May 17 Arif told PTI he expected a tough fight from Hong Kong in the team championship to be held at Seville, Spain, from May 28 to June 2. “But somehow, I have a feeling that the way our players are showing progress (at the ongoing training camp here), we should be able to pull through,” Arif said. India at present ranked 16th, are clubbed with Hong Kong, Austria and Wales in Group 3-B, while Russia, Canada, Finland and Norway are in group 3-A. For India to qualify to the higher Group 2 for the 2003 championships, they not only have to head the Group 3B but also beat the team heading the Group 3A. In their own group, India do not expect much challenge from Austria and Wales, Arif said, adding “If we beat Hong Kong to book a match against leader of Group 3-A, we should qualify for the next grade” he said. He expects Russia or Canada to head Group 3A, who, he feels, are not as strong as Hong Kong at present. Arif said in the last edition, India lost narrowly to Ukraine in the final in the group match. “But this year we are expecting to pull through”. The coach said the team did not expect the newly crowned All-England champion, Pullela Gopichand, to support them in doubles and mixed doubles. “We want to keep him away from doubles as far as possible. Only in case of dire need, we might ask him to play a match or so — probably against Hong Kong. A match a day, that too against not very highly placed players which will not be difficult for him to manage,” he said. Arif said with top shuttler Aparna Popat pulling out of the women’s championships because of her exams, the morale of the team had been affected but he expected Manjusha Kanwar to “compensate” to a large extent. “We are banking on Manjusha. She is a good player and has experience. We want her to shoulder the responsibility in singles,” he said but conceded: “Manjusha could not replace Aparna 100 per cent”. In the Open World Championships to be held at the same venue from June 3 to 6, Arif said, he expected Gopichand, who is world number five at present, to win the world title.
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Liverpool
win UEFA Cup Dortmund, May 17 Geli headed in a free-kick from ageless Scot Gary McAllister on 117 minutes to hand Liverpool an astonishing 5-4 triumph in a drama-filled match that also saw two Alaves players sent off. The triumph for Gerard Houllier’s men at Westfalenstadion sealed a historic hat-trick of trophies for the Anfield giants, following their successful FA Cup and League Cup campaigns earlier this season. It also wrote another epic chapter in Liverpool’s rich European history following their glory days of the 1970s and 1980s. “We played for immortality today because people will remember this match,” a delighted Houllier said after the win, Liverpool’s first triumph in Europe since 1984. “We were strong and determined to win the trophy and I think it showed. Even before extra time they were mentally and physically solid, they were ready for penalties, they were ready for anything.” On winning the treble, Houllier added: “You enjoy victory more when it’s tough, just ask Manchester United when they won the Champions League. To win these three trophies in the same year, they have made history.” Jose Manuel Mane, Houllier’s opposite number, said: “we played with bite and passion and really gave our best and that’s why the players were exhausted afterwards. We gave our utmost to work hard and gain the right result”. “People will see us again and again in important matches,” Mane added, although few matches in future are ever likely to rival this final for sheer drama and incident.
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India lose to Japan
Islamabad, May 17 Barring the stray good performances against Chinese Taipei, Indian boys never lived up to their potential in the tournament. Today they appeared to have not recovered from their shock loss to Pakistan in a keenly-contested match yesterday. Though Japan was considered to be a relatively easy team in the nine-nation tournament, India went down 27-29, 19-25, 21-25. So far, India has won only once in six outings. Coach G E Sridharan said India came close to winning the first game after the Indian spikers managed to level the score 25-25. However Japan, held their nerves in the crunch time and won the game 29-27. Thereafter, Japan played with renewed vigour to clinch the remaining two games with relative ease even as the Indians threw in the towel. India play Kazhakistan tomorrow, also considered a weak team in the tournament. India round off the tournament on May 19 playing their last match against Australia, who also struggled to make an impact in the tournament.
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Cautious
start by Anand Merida (Mexico), May 17 The white pieces did not yield much for Anand in the Panov Botvinnik variation as Khalifman came up with a relatively new plan in the middlegame. The game progressed on level terms after the 12th move and after trading a couple of pieces, peace was agreed to in just 16 moves. Having drawn his first game with white and split the point, the pressure will be on Anand later today, as he takes on Gilberto Hernandez with black pieces in the second round.
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Punjab eves enter quaterfinal league Gurusar Sadhar (Ludhiana), May 17 Maharashtra girls played an attacking game right from the word go. In the 12th minute, Maria opened the account by firing a field goal. Genevieve increased the lead in 20th minute, with the help of an excellent pass from Grace. Seven minutes before the breather Maria made the tally 3-0. After seven minutes of the lemon break, Genevieve scored the fourth goal. Haryana girls tried their luck many times, and Ranu Joan finally opened her team’s account just two minutes before the final hooter. Punjab entered the quaterfinal league, trouncing Madhya Pradesh 5-0 in a one-sided match. Manjit Kaur scored a hat-trick while Harkamal and Hardeep scored one goal each. Punjab remained on the offensive throughout the game and did not give any chance to their opponents. Harkamal started the victory march in the 28th minute scoring the first goal with the help of a calculated pass from right-winger Aarti. In the first minute after the interval, Hardeep struck the second goal. In the 45th minute, Manjit with the help of long pass of her sister Gurmeet from middle of the ground made the tally 3-0 by a header and then in the 47th minute she found the target again from a pass from Satwinder. The last goal of the match was also scored by Manjit a few minutes before the hooter on a pass from Gurmeet from the centre. In another match, Karnataka beat Delhi 1-0. Shinshawigar scored the winning goal in the 24th minute of the first half. In the first match of the quaterfinal league tomorrow the winner of group B, Assam, will face Bengal while in the second match, the winner of group C, Punjab, will clash with Bihar, the winner of group D. In another match Orissa crushed Chandigarh 6-0 to enter the quarterfinal league. In the first half both team played a fast game but failed to score a goal. After the break Orissa girls overwhelmed their opponents. |
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HP to double prize
money for players Shimla, May 17 This was announced by Mr P.K. Dhumal, the Chief Minister, while presiding over a state-level function here today to honour the sportspersons who brought laurels to the state. The government had decided to construct outdoor and indoor stadia at all district headquarters, besides providing a good stadium in each block of the state to give a boost to sports in rural areas. He said Rs 1.50 lakh would be spent on construction of each block-level stadium. Mr Dhumal said the present state government had reserved 3 per cent posts for outstanding players and made it mandatory of all departments, boards and corporations in the state. The Chief Minister said the government had appointed 40 coaches on contract basis in various disciplines to impart training to players of the state. Mr Dhumal announced the enhancement of the prize money for gold medal winners in kabaddi from Rs 2000 to Rs 10,000. Rajiv Nayyar, has shown his talent in cricket, will now received Rs 10,000. Among those who were honoured and given prizes by the Chief Minister included Deepak Thakur (hockey), Sita Gosai (hockey), Chanderashawar Sharma (boxing) Shiv Chaudhary (boxing), Dickey Dolma (mountaineering) and various other winners of national and other events. National coaches and Arjuna Award winners, including Charanjeet Singh,
Captain of 1964 hockey team which won gold medal in Olympics, Virender Singh Thapa and Suman Mehta. |
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4-member squad for boxing meet Shimla, May 17 The team consists of Mohammed Ali Quamar (light fly weight) of the Railways, S. Suresh Singh (fly weight) of the CISF, Rama Nand (feather weight) of the Servies and Jatinder Kumar (light heavy weight) also of the Railways. Mr G.S. Sandhi of SAI will accompany the team as coach and Dr Nirmolak Singh as doctor. Mr Rajesh Bhandari, general secretary of the federation, will be the manager of the team, while Mr R.S. Dalal, executive president of the federation, the chief-de-mission. The team which is training at Shimla these days will leave for New Delhi on May 25 and depart for Belfast on June 1. The federation also decided to send its team for the King’s Cup being held at Bangkok from July 1. |
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WICB opens academy St George’s (Grenada), May 17 The players, between the ages of 18 and 23, will camp at the cricket academy at Grenada’s St George’s University. Six cricket boards nominated the players, who come from several Caribbean countries. World Cup champions in 1975, 1979 and unbeaten in many Test series between 1980 and 1995, the West Indies have lost most of their recent Tests, including their latest series against England, Australia and South Africa. Former West Indies player Michael Holding addressed the academy participants, urging them to learn the importance of teamwork. |
Rain prevents play on 1st day London, May 17 The officials announced play had been abandoned for the day shortly after the scheduled lunch
interval. Steady rain during the morning continued into the afternoon, ending any prospect of a delayed start to the first match of the two-Test series.
Reuters
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Capriati
beaten Rome, May 17 Australian Open champion Capriati had romped to victory in the first set on the clay at the Foro Italico but with her feet clearly hampering her then lost the second, asking for courtside physiotherapy before the start of the decider.
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Gurcharan’s father to be honoured Patiala, May 17 Punjabi singer Harbhajan Mann and comedian Bhagwant Mann will regale the audience on the occasion. Prominent among those to be honoured are veteran athletes Makhan Singh, Parduman Singh and the 109-year-old Baba Joginder Singh. |
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