The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No home umpires in Tests from April: ICC

London, June 20
The International Cricket Council has given its approval to the formation of a full-time panel of umpires contracted to the world body and announced that there will be no home umpires in any Test match from April next year.

The ICC executive board, whose three-day meeting concluded here yesterday, also decided to address the need for higher pay packets for players, one of the recommendations of Sir Paul Condon report on corruption in cricket, in order to rein in match-fixing activities.

ICC decided to form an elite panel of eight umpires from the best available talent who would stand in all the Tests. The umpires will have a two-year contract with the ICC and their performances will be reviewed at regular intervals based on the captains’ reports, ICC President Malcolm Gray told reporters yesterday.

“Players have been professionalised, administrators have been professionalised, and there is a chief executive in every board, where as umpires and referees are still in the semi-professional, semi-amateur stage,” Gray said, adding that his comment was “not a particular criticism of recent performances of umpires and referees”.

In the one-day internationals, one home umpire will be allowed to stand along with one of those from the ICC panel.

The umpires will get a salary from the ICC plus match fees adjusted according to the purchasing power in each country. The same will apply to the panel of five match-referees which the ICC has also decided to constitute.

Gray said in case the eight umpires were not enough to cover all the test matches going around the world, the ICC would call on the services of those in the international panel, a subsidiary pool of about 25 officials contracted to the respective cricket boards and trained to become part of the elite panel in due course.

The umpires in the subsidiary panel will have a one-year contract, he said.

The selection of the umpires will follow a rigorous trial which will include fitness tests, apart from reports from captains and referees. Sunil Gavaskar, who has been re-elected as chairman of the cricket committee — playing, will also have a major role in the selection of umpires to the elite panel, Gray said. A new ICC umpiring exam will replace the present qualification system.

ICC took a major step towards increasing the pay packets for players by raising prize money for 2003 World Cup in South Africa to $5 million, an increase of five times over the last World Cup in England in 1999.

Gray said Condon’s report had cited low pay for cricketers in some countries as one of the reasons for their being lured into accepting bribes and drawn into match-fixing activities. The ICC was determined to set that in order, he said.

Reacting to the question of crowd control, gray said the ICC had asked all member countries to supply a detailed report on local regulations in force at every ground where international cricket was played.

This, said ICC Chief Executive David Richards, would help the ICC to play a co-ordinating role although each board would still be responsible for the safety of players. PTI

Waqar Younis leads Pak to victory

Nottingham, June 20
Pakistan captain Waqar Younis followed up his seven for 36 against England by taking six for 59 as his side beat Australia by 36 runs in their triangular tournament day/night one-day international here at Trent Bridge yesterday.

The dress rehearsal for Saturday’s Lord’s final threatened to be overshadowed by crowd trouble (following on from the pitch invasion of mainly Pakistan supporters against England at Headingley on Sunday) when fireworks forced world champions Australia off the field for 18 minutes.

The temporary plastic fencing did not make much of an impact although this time around the pitch invasion happened after Pakistan had won the match, not before.

This was Australia’s first defeat in the competition although they had rested fast bowler Glenn McGrath and in-form batsman Ricky Ponting.

But Pakistan’s 290 for nine was made without Inzamam-ul-Haq.

A sixth wicket stand of 77 between Australia captain Steve Waugh and Andrew Symonds threatened to take the game away from Pakistan but Waqar dismissed both batsmen in the space of three balls in his comeback over to leave Australia 190 for seven in the 32nd over.

Waugh had faced 89 balls for his 56, including eight fours, before being well-caught by Saqlain Mushtaq at deep mid-off while the powerful Symonds (35 from 49 balls including six fours) holed out to substitute Imran Nazir at deep midwicket who eventually clung on to a juggled catch.

There was no way back for Australia although number ten Damien Fleming made a spirited 22 not out.

Earlier Waugh led his team off the field when a firework was thrown over the boundary rope and narrowly missed fast bowler Brett Lee at fine leg, with Pakistan 250 for six off 45 overs. The firework had been thrown from a stand largely made up of Pakistan fans, most of whom live in England Waugh, who has been highly critical of the authorities failure to control crowds in England took his team off the field.

Australia’s innings began with a mixture of wickets and fours, mainly from the flashing blade of wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist.

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan

Saeed Anwar lbw b Lee 34

Salim Elahi lbw b Warne 79

Razzaq c Fleming b Lee 5

Youhana st Gilchrist b Warne 44

Y. Khan c Gillespie b Martyn 23

Faisal Iqbal run out 12

Rashid Latif run out 26

A. Mahmood st Gilchrist

b Symonds 15

Wasim Akram not out 28

Waqar Younis b Symonds 3

Saqlain Mushtaq not out 1

Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-14, nb-3) 20

Total: (For 9 wkts, 50 overs) 290

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-71, 3-164, 4-190, 5-207, 6-233, 7-257, 8-261, 9-274.

Bowling: Fleming 10-2-38-0; Gillespie 10-0-58-0; Lee 10-1-41-2; Warne 9-1-60-2; Symonds 6-0-45-2; Martyn 5-0-45-1.

Australia

Gilchrist b Saqlain 70

Waugh c Rashid b Waqar 0

Hayden c Rashid b Waqar 0

Bevan b Waqar 5

Waugh c Saqlain b Waqar 56

Martyn c Azhar b Saqlain 2

Symonds c sub (Imran) b Waqar 35

Warne c Wasim b Azhar 14

Lee b Waqar 10

Fleming not out 22

Gillespie b Razzaq 9

Extras: (lb6, w12, nb13) 31

Total: (46.3 overs) 254

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-6, 3-35, 4-111, 5-113, 6-190, 7-194, 8-208, 9-223

Bowling: Wasim 10-0-68-0 (9nb, 1w); Waqar 8-0-59-6 (2nb, 3w); Saqlain 10-0-50-2 (1nb, 5w); Razzaq 8.3-1-16-1 (2w); Azhar 10-0-55-1 (1nb, 1w). Reuters

I feared for my life: Lee

Fireworks explode in the stand at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, during the Pakistan's match against Australia, on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

London, June 20
Fast bowler Brett Lee feared for his life after a firecracker was thrown near him during Australia’s 36-run defeat by Pakistan at Trent Bridge.

And Australian captain Steve Waugh warned he would not tolerate a repeat of the incident during Saturday’s final when both teams meet again at the Lord’s.

“I feared for my life for the first time. I was fielding at fine leg and felt a cracker explode right next to my head, about two feet away."

“There had been crackers going off for about 42 overs at that stage, but they were basically going off in the stands which didn’t worry me that much. Once one came two feet from my head, I was worried about my eyes and that sort of thing. For once I was really scared.”

Lee said he was concerned for his safety, particularly because he had sunglasses on his head.

Lee said he was uncomfortable returning to field at fine leg after the Australians returned to resume the Pakistan innings. “Steve asked if I was happy to go back and field at fine leg. I said, ‘Not if they’re going to keep throwing crackers’.

Waugh said security arrangements had improved for the Trent Bridge match but he was still unsatisfied.

“I can’t make a player stay on the field if he’s not comfortable,” Waugh said. “He may get struck in the eye from a bunger that is thrown from two stories up or it might lodge in his jumper. It’s a once in a million chance but who knows, something serious could happen out there.” AP

Sachin troubled by hamstring strain

Harare, June 20
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, troubled with a hamstring strain, skipped the nets as the rest of the team worked out at the Harare Sports Club here today.

“I stretched it (hamstring) when I was chasing the second last ball of the Harare Test,” Tendulkar said.

Besides Tendulkar, left arm seam bowler Ashish Nehra too stayed out of the morning practice session owing to a muscle pull on his right thigh.

However, team manager Chetan Chauhan said both Tendulkar and Nehra should be fit for the upcoming triangular one-day tournament.

After missing a golden chance to record a rare series win abroad, the Indians now look to make amends by winning the one-day series which has the West Indies as the third team.

The team will play a practice game against Zimbabwe A at the Sunrise Sports Club here on Friday ahead of their opening match against Zimbabwe here on Sunday.

The one-day specialists Virendra Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Sodhi and Harvinder Singh, who joined the team yesterday, went flat out in the practice session.

Fast bowler Harvinder Singh impressed with his control and movement in the nets, repeatedly beating batsmen with his bounce and pace with the white ball.

Debashis Mohanty too appeared keen to book a one-day slot for himself and bowled impressively.

The nets were used to simulate match situation with batsmen batting at both ends. And to get players into the limited overs mould, coach John Wright insisted players to go for singles when ever they played a shot.

Meanwhile, coloured clothing with the new sponsor’s logo on it arrived this afternoon. Chauhan was concerned with the shortage of warm clothing and wanted to ensure there were enough pullovers with the peak winter just setting in.

The four members of the Test squad, Shiv Sunder Das, Sadgopan Ramesh, Javagal Srinath and Sairaj Bahutule left for home this morning. PTI

Saurav Ganguly writes
Das’s batting a revelation

THE second Test finished in a disappointing manner at the Harare Sports Club on Monday. It was a huge disappointment for all of us as we lost the Test in the first morning of the fourth day. We lost seven wickets for 34 runs and winning a Test from there would have required a big effort.

We finished the third day at 197 for four wickets, a lead of 120 runs with six wickets in hand, a very comfortable situation. Another 130 runs would have put the match in our favour because no way in the world would they have scored 250 in the fourth innings. By this I in no way want to take any credit away from the Zimbabweans. They played very disciplined cricket on the third day. They bowled a disciplined line outside the off-stump because they knew that if they bowled on the stump they could have wickets but also would have gone for a few runs, which they had to chase in the fourth innings. They played a bit of imaginative cricket but they exactly knew what they were doing.

We just had 157 to defend and our bowlers bowled their hearts out. Srinath and Ashish Nehra were the pick of our bowlers once again and another 50 runs would have sealed the match in our favour. It was frustrating to lose the Test after winning the first. Levelling the series 1-1 to me it was as good as losing.

However, we also had a lot of positives out of this series. Our catching was absolutely top-drawer and our fielding was of a high quality. The fantastic outfield also had a lot to contribute to this.

The batting of Shiv Sunder Das was a revelation. He is a player who is improving every series and looks as solid as a rock. He showed extraordinary temperament and has got a lot of time to play the seamers.

Ashish Nehra was the pick of our bowlers. He bowled splendidly right throughout moving the ball both ways. He has immense potential at the age of 22 and if he gets fitter and stronger he will develop into a handy customer.

The one-day series starts in a week’s time. We have three replacements coming from India. It will be good series with the West Indies as the third team. We have played good one-day cricket in the last seven months. The youngsters have done a commendable job, lifted the standard of fielding and have played attacking cricket. The Zimbabweans are a good one-day outfit and I hope we play good cricket to make-up for the draw in the Test series. (Gameplan)

I need to improve my backlift, says Das

Harare, June 20
Shiv Sunder Das has been left out of the Indian one-day squad that will play in the triangular series with Zimbabwe and the West Indies but the diminutive opener is hardly complaining.

With the best average and highest run aggregate in the Test series against Zimbabwe, the technically sound Das has certainly proved his mettle on fast and bouncy tracks too.

And as he leaves for India today, Das has already identified the areas he needs to work upon ahead of the tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa.

“I need to improve upon my backlift. I will be practicing on cement wickets with plastic balls,” said the affable Das.

He realises the importance of hard work and extensive practise and before coming to Zimbabwe, he had practiced playing outgoing deliveries and learnt from the experiences of his seniors.

“I practiced a lot about the deliveries leaving outside the off-stump. I also practised how not to play on the rise and I spoke a lot to seniors like Sourav (Ganguly) and Rahul (Dravid) in the Chennai Camp (ahead of the tour),” he says.

The preparations paid rich dividends as Das notched up 239 runs from four innings at an average of 79.67 with his highest being 82 not out. The effort was worth the man of the series award in just his third Test series.

Success did not come easily to him, though. Das admitted he had difficulty in putting all his preparations into practice straightaway and he struggled in the first few innings in tour matches.

“I really struggled in the first game of the tour at Mutare. I didn’t play well... I realised I was not really moving my feet in line of the ball. I corrected it and the hundred against CFX Academy (in the next game) really gave me confidence,” he said.

Such constant reviews of his performance have helped Das in improving his already solid technique which many experts believe is similar to legendary Sunil Gavaskar. Das most certainly is the first genuine Test opener for India after Gavaskar left the scene in the early 90’s.

And he echoes the master batsman when he says, “As an opener, you must watch for balls outside the off-stump all the time. You must know where your off-stump is.”

He certainly knew where his off-stump was on this tour with home captain Heath Streak saying that only if the other Indian batsmen had emulated Das, India would have put up a much better fight in the second Test that the visitors lost by four wickets to see their dreams of a series win being dashed.

“Das was among the few of their batsmen who showed the patience required on wickets with a little bit of extra bounce. He knew exactly where his off-stump was and he didn’t play unnecessary shots. And the reward was there for him,” Streak said.

Also the correct technique, which Das said he acquired while playing on uneven surfaces in Orissa.

“Playing on matting wicket at home has really helped. For one, it has helped me play bouncing deliveries well. It has also improved my backfoot play which is essential for an opener,” Das said.

Das still had some problems against the rising deliveries during the home series against Australia when he took a lot of body blows from the pace battery of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming.

“I was having a few problems against the Australians.... When the ball was bouncing, I was not watching the ball... but later I think I played them well.

“Getting runs against the likes of McGrath, Gillespie and (Shane) Warne was really encouraging,” he said.

The patience which he has displayed in his batting is evident in his overall approach to the game and future plans too as he dismisses suggestions that he was prone to getting out just when he seemed to be set.

“I may have missed out on hundreds, but they were not bad efforts. The big hundreds will come. After all I have played just seven Test matches,” Das, whose only Test hundred came in the second match in the home series against Zimbabwe last year, said.

Keen to contribute something more than the runs he scores, Das has taken some brilliant catches at forward short leg, a position he specialises in while fielding.

“I just love fielding. I used to do a lot of catching when I was a kid. I was inspired to stand in this position (forward short leg) because of a few outstanding catches I have seen being taken in that position.

“I get hit sometimes but it doesn’t deter me,” he said. His captain Sourav Ganguly was all praise for him but said Das should now be ready to handle the growing expectations of his fans.

“The pressure will now start on him. People will start expecting runs from him, everytime he goes in. It will altogether be a different pressure,” Ganguly said. PTI

Sanjeev Chawla released

London, June 20
London-based Indian businessman Sanjeev Chawla, arrested by Scotland Yard six months ago in connection with allegations of cricket match-fixing, has been released as there was “insufficient evidence” to prove the charges against him.

“There is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against him,” a spokesman of the Scotland Yard said today.

Chawla, who was absconding after his passport was revoked by the Indian Government, “has been advised that he no longer required to attend police station,” the spokesman told PTI.

Chawla, who is also sought by the CBI, was arrested on December 13 by officers of the Serious and Organised Crime Squad from his home in Hendon in North London after claims by former England player Chris Lewis that an associate of the Indian businessman had approached Alec Stewart and Alan Mullaly ahead of a Test against New Zealand in August 1999. PTI

National Games
Basketball stadium: work on war footing
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 20
Work is going on a war footing to complete the country’s second exclusive indoor basketball stadium at Guru Nanak Stadium complex here in time for the National Games in September.

The only other city in the country to have an exclusive indoor basketball stadium is Chennai.

“Our major gain for organising the National Games here has been this indoor stadium,” says Rajdip Singh Gill, President, Punjab Basketball Association. Punjab has been doing well in the national championships. “The completion of this indoor complex will meet our long standing demand of training our hoopsters round the year,” he added.

To be completed at a cost of approximate Rs 1.07 crore, the stadium will have a seating capacity of 2,500. Measuring 50 m by 40 m , the indoor stadium will have floodlights and a synthetic surface.

Besides the indoor hall, the basketball complex at Guru Nanak Stadium will have two flood-lit outdoor courts for practice.

The stadium will have a modern Press box with seating capacity for about 40 scribes besides a Press centre in the adjoining building.

Also coming up as a part of the basketball stadium are dressing rooms for the teams, an office complex for the Punjab Basketball Association and a dormitory measuring about 500 sq m for the stay of the probables training at the complex.

The complex will also have sufficient facilities for the spectators, including three separate entries, drinking water, toilet and canteen facilities during tournaments and major events at the complex.

The floor area, according to Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, is big enough to absorb any modifications in the playing area of the game. One side of the playing area has been earmarked for the scoring table and the two teams. The facing side will have provision for seating VIPs.

To provide for sufficient natural light and ventilation, mild steel glazing and blinds have been provided.

Afro-Asian Games
Contests will be between 2 continents
M. S. Unnikrishnan

New Delhi, June 20
The inaugural Afro-Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Delhi from November 3 to 11, 2001, will have many unique features, the foremost among them being that the medals will be contested between two continents — Asia and Africa — and not among the countries. During the medal presentation ceremony the anthems of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) will be played and of the countries concerned. This was disclosed here today by working chairman of the organising committee Suresh Kalmadi after the first meeting of the organising committee and executive board at the majestic Vigyan Bhavan.

All the old living fossils of the 1982 Asian Games era are in the organising committee — some limping, some walking with the support of sticks. But the clamour to be included in one committee or the other is so great that all the career sports officials, who have been sticking to their posts in various federations for aeons, are there in the organising committee, the exception being hockey Olympians like Aslam Sher Khan and Zaffar Iqbal. The presence of so many women, whose association with sports cannot be logically explained, was also very surprising but it may be due to the “33 per cent reservation for women”, or may be because chairperson of the organising committee is the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Ms Uma Bharati.

Mercifully, the jumbo organising committee, comprising 450 odd members, have empowered the executive board, which in turn, has constituted a seven-member committee, comprising the chairperson (Ms Uma Bharati), Minister of State in the Sports Ministry Pon Radhakrishnan, the working chairman (Suresh Kalmadi), general secretary (Randhir Singh), the Lt Governor of Delhi (Vijay Kapoor), Director General of the Sports Authority of India Sekhar Dutt, secretary, Department of Sports S.S. Sharma, to take all the important decisions concerning the games. The seven-member committee will be the “crisis management committee” with full powers.

Ms Uma Bharati said from July 31 to November 30 all the stadiums in Delhi will be shut out for other sports events. Mr Kalmadi said since only the top four athletes of Africa and the top three from Asia would be allowed to compete in each event, which would make only 40 to 50 countries from the two continents eligible to compete in the games, the organising committee has decided to throw open the games to one male and one female athlete from each of the other countries to participate in the Afro-Asian Friendship Marathon to give them a sense of participation.

Mr Kalmadi said all the top officials of the OCA and ANOCA as well as the new president of the International Olympic Committee will be invited to witness the games.

Secretary-general Randhir Singh said the games secretariat will be setup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, and 17 committees will be formed to look after the various aspect of the organisation of the games.

Mr Kalmadi said efforts are on to get the Champions Trophy, to be held in Pakistan, postponed and the issue may be taken up during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s summit meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Agra. “Our efforts is to have hockey in the games”, Mr Kalmadi said. But if the International Hockey Federation (FIH) refuses to change the dates, which are clashing with the Afro-Asiad, the games hockey may miss Pakistan and South Korea. In their place may come in Bangladesh and Japan, though Mr Kalmadi did not make any categorical assurance on this matter.

Regarding the World Doubles Tennis Championship to be held in Bangalore on the same dates as the Afro-Asiad, Mr Kalmadi said he had spoken to Vijay Amritraj in London two days back, and Vijay was on the job to get the doubles tourney postponed.

Tiger Woods is human after all

Tulsa, June 20
Tiger Woods proved something new at the U.S. Open Golf Championship which concluded on Monday at Southern Hills. He is human after all.

Retief Goosen proved something, too. Goosen blew a fuse on the final hole of Sunday’s showdown round, missing the cup from inside two feet with the open title his for the taking. The South African said “tomorrow is another day” and the new US Open Champion was right.

Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Sergio Garcia proved something as well. The three most highly-touted players yet to win a major don’t need Tiger Woods around to fade into the background at a biggie.

World number two Mickelson shot a 75, Duval a 74 and Spain’s Garcia a 77 on Sunday as the likes of Goosen, Stewart Cink and Mark Brooks battled it out for all the glory.

Woods was strangely absent from the leaderboard at the Open after coming to Tulsa looming as invincible, holding all four major titles as the undisputed king of the game.

The 25-year-old left quietly, posting a three-over-par 283 total that not only ended his unprecedented winning streak of professional majors at four, but also ended his run of 40 successive tournaments shooting under par.

A couple of geezers also proved a point at the perplexing Perry Maxwell layout. Hale Irwin, 56, shot the best score on Thursday, a 67, and 51-year-old Tom Kite put up the best number on Sunday with a 64.

Only four players from the 156-man field managed to break par at slippery Southern Hills, which once again goes to the bottom of the list of Woods’s favourite golf spots.

At the 1996 Tour Championship, Woods shot his worst round as a professional, an eight-over-par 78, on his way to a tie for 21st in the 30-man field.

There were extenuating circumstances that week as his father, Earl, was stricken by chest pains and hospitalised for a heart ailment and the 20-year-old golfer spent nights by his father’s side.

This time Woods was motivated and focussed, but simply undone by the difficulty of the course, the presence of only two par-fives and, most notably, an off-week striking the ball and converting birdie putts.

Scott Hoch, who knows a thing or two about losing a big championship after messing up in a playoff at the 1989 Masters, said the course just might not suit the world number one, who never recovered from an opening-round 74.

Woods may prove Hoch wrong in the near future should Southern Hills win its bid for an upcoming PGA Championship. The tournament will best be remembered for Woods losing and no one seeming capable of winning, at least on Sunday.

Sunday’s bizarre near-finish proved once and for all that golf is a funny — make that unpredictable — game.

Before Brooks, the 1996 PGA Championship winner who has not won since and had plummeted to 195 in the world, got to the 18th hole, only one player among the previous 73 had three-putted the last hole on Sunday. Brooks left his third putt from 45 feet dangling on the right edge of the cup.

Cink, who walked up the 18th tied for the lead with Goosen, vacantly tapped his two-foot putt past the hole and took a three-putt bogey after narrowly missing the 12-footer he believed he needed to make for a chance to win the title. Goosen, thus handed the championship by his two rivals, seemed to catch the brain-lock bug and three-putted from 12 feet, bungling his second putt, a gimme-length in any friendly game.

It was almost enough evidence for the US Golf Association to consider allowing gimmes at the Open.

“Just pick that up Mr Cink, and go share second-place money with Mr Brooks,’’ a USGA official might have said. “That’s good, Mr Goosen. How do you like the trophy?’’

But then Goosen would not have had the opportunity to come back to Southern Hills on Monday and show that tomorrow is another day by shrugging off his gaffe and beating Brooks 70 to 72 over 18 holes. Reuters

Isha upsets Sheetal Goutham
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, June 20
Unseeded Isha Lakhani caused the biggest upset of the third leg of the ITF women’s circuit when she ousted third seed Sheetal Goutham 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association court here today.

Though the other seeded players made it to the pre-quarterfinals, second-seeded Archana Venkataraman and seventh-seeded Liza Pereira had to pull all stops to pip their opponents. Down by a set, Archana had to unleash all the strokes in her armoury to subdue Yamini Thukkaiandi 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 while Liza suffered a mid-match slump, but recovered the lost ground in time, to nose out Deepa Chakrabarthy 7-6, 2-6, 6-2.

Sonal Phadke, the top seed, found the going tough against the hard-playing Ankita Bhambri in the first set, but gathered her wits quickly to post a straight sets 7-5, 6-1 victory.