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Saturday,
June 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Indians cruise to 10-wkt win over Zimbabwe A Pakistan clash with Australia today
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One-day flops:
England selectors summoned Windies look for decent showing Injured Lara pulls out |
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New Delhi, June 22 India’s Jeev Milkha Singh fired six successive birdies in his front nine to finish joint third at the end of the second round of the $813,000 Mizuno Open at the Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama in Japan today. Paes, Bhupathi need to market themselves Sonal to meet Sekar in final Rahman ordered to fight Lewis
Greene equals
outdoor record Spotlight to be on
Anju, Satish Rai
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Indians cruise to 10-wkt win over Zimbabwe A Harare, June 22 After bundling out the hosts for a mere 103, the Indians notched up the required runs in a whirlwind fashion in just 17 overs. Captain Saurav Ganguly finally got some runs remaining unbeaten on 31 while Virendra Sehwag, one of the four players to have joined the team for the one-dayers, blasted an unbeaten 75. The Indians completed the match in just one session, with Ganguly requesting umpires for a half an hour extension at the time of scheduled lunch by which time the visitors were well on course to victory. Earlier, Zimbabwe A, electing to bat, collapsed from 74 for three to 103 all out in 32.4 overs with Hemang Badani, Zaheer Khan and Reetinder Singh Sodhi, another of the four replacements, taking two wickets each. Badani conceded just eight runs in his 4.4 overs. It was an inspired performance by the Indians who are smarting under a four-wicket loss in the second Test to Zimbabwe which dashed their hopes of the first series win on foreign soil in 15 years. Sehwag proved that his fine all-round performance in the first one-dayer against Australia in the home series was no flash in the pan and chipped in with a wicket too to complement the hurricane batting effort which came off just 53 balls and contained nine fours and two sixes. Sehwag, just three days into the African country, was the early aggressor, cutting and pulling fours but Ganguly picked up late. The captain, woefully out of form in the last few months, looked more like his usual self as he came out to the spinners and went over the top for two sixes. His 31 came off 39 balls. He hit Dirk Viljoen for a straight six and, with India at 60 without loss, requested the two umpires to extend the game by half an hour instead of having lunch at the scheduled break. The umpires agreed and the two batsmen went into the accelerated mode to finish the match within that time itself. Sehwag hit Viljoen for 16 runs in one over including a towering straight six. He completed his 50 off just 40 balls with the help of six fours and that six. Gary Brent replaced Viljoen but was treated in the same fashion by Sehwag who hit an astonishing six over the extra cover. The Indians, who take on Zimbabwe in their first match of the tri-series on Sunday, then cantered their way to victory without much trouble. Earlier, Zimbabwe A were in trouble in the very first over with Debashish Mohanty dismissing Gavin Rennie for four. But for a third wicket stand of 56 runs between Stuart Metzikanyire (38) and Craig Wishart (22), the rest of the batting crumbled in a heap. From 74 for three, the hosts collapsed like a house of cards after left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan had a two wickets off successive balls in one over. There were two run-outs too in Zimbabwe A innings with the new Test wicketkeeper Tetinda Taibu (3) being one of them.
PTI Scoreboard Zimbabwe A: Rennie c Sodhi b Mohanty 4 Masakadza run out 7 Matsikenyere c Laxman b Khan 38 Wishart lbw b Sodhi 22 Rogers c Dighe b Khan 0 Viljoen b Badani 12 Taibu run out 4 P.Strang c Dighe b Sodhi 0 Brent c Dighe b Shewag 1 B.Strang not out 0 Mutendera c Dighe b Badani 0 Extras (b-3 lb-5 w-4 nb-3) 15 Total (all out, 32.4 overs) 103 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-18, 3-74, 4-74, 5-78, 6-85, 7-85, 8-101, 9-101. Bowling: Mohanty 6-1-17-1, Harvindar 6-0-26-0, Sodhi 6-1-21-2, Khan 5-0-18-2, Shewag 5-2-5-1, Badani 4.4-1-8-2. India: Ganguly not out 31 Shewag not out 75 Extras (lb-1 w-1) 2 Total (for no wicket, 17 overs) 108 Bowling: B.Strang 6-1-20-0, Mutendera 6-0-40-0, Viljoen 3-1-24-0, Brent 1-0-11-0, P.Strang 1-0-12-0. |
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Pakistan clash with Australia today London, June 22 Step one was to qualify for the final, which will be a carbon copy of the deciding game of the 1999 World Cup. Step two was to hand England a severe pre-Ashes series bruising on the way. Step three was to transform the way they played the limited-overs game. The best side in the world but still looking to improve and innovate, the Australians did that by in effect playing Test cricket while bowling, employing strikingly attacking fields, before shifting into one-day machine-gun mode while batting. It would not have been more obvious if they had changed from whites to coloured clothing between innings. The fresh approach was best illustrated in the final two games against England when Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee bowled long, unbroken spells to a cordon of four slips and a gully. England, their side bloated with inexperienced bits-and-pieces players used to being fed easy runs in the middle overs, suddenly found themselves under constant attack in quasi-Test matches. The result? A record low 86 all out at Old Trafford and 176 at the Oval. Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist said: “It’s been probably pretty obvious from the sidelines, having the attacking fields and bowling a little bit more like Test cricket, and that’s one modification we’ve made to our game. “It’s been a positive move. It won’t always be that way but the conditions we have been provided with, and the way our bowlers bowl, have allowed Steve to do that. “And he is very quick to pounce on a situation when the opposition are a bit down.” Waqar Younis’s Pakistan, however, will be far less daunted by Australian innovations. His one-day side is a virtual replica of the Pakistan Test team. Like Waugh’s side, they can score quickly while they have a useful pace attack backed up by a world-class spinner in Saqlain Mushtaq and two world-class all-rounders in Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood. Waqar himself could not be more confident. In his team’s penultimate game against England he took seven for 36, the second-best return in one-day international history. In his final round-robin outing against Australia he took six for 59 to inspire his side to a 36-run win in the day-night match at Trent Bridge, confirming Waqar as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker by a street. Australia would prefer to look back to their earlier seven-wicket win over Pakistan in Cardiff. That day they removed Inzamam-ul-Haq, the core of the Pakistan batting, for a duck while Ricky Ponting picked up the first of his three man-of-the-match awards. “Punter” made 70 that day, followed by scores of 102, 21 and 70 not out, making him the heaviest scorer in the series. Wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, meanwhile, continued his return to form on Thursday, following a 44-ball 70 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge with a 90-ball 80 against England. Australia’s pace attack of McGrath, Gillespie and Brett Lee, regarded as the world’s fastest bowler, also gives them the edge, particularly following Shoaib Akhtar’s early release from the Pakistan squad following a long bout of ill health. The teams did not meet in the 2000-01 season, either at Test or one-day level. Their last one-day meetings date back to February 2000, when Australia beat Pakistan 2-0 in a triangular best-of-three final. Ponting was the man of the match in the final game in Sydney. Razzaq, however, was the man of the series.
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Security plans for final London, June 22 The competition has been marred by a number of incidents of bad crowd behaviour, mainly involving Pakistan fans, that has led to pitch invasions at Edgbaston, Headingley and Trent Bridge with firecrackers also posing a threat to crowd and player safety. Roger Knight, the secretary of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns the Lord’s, said: “We’re planning for a cricket match. We are looking forward to an exciting contest between two good teams.” “As the ground authority, the MCC has a responsibility to provide a safe environment for players, umpires and spectators.” The Lord’s is known as being the most traditionalist of all England’s cricket grounds and flags, whistles and horns, particularly popular with Pakistan supporters, will be banned as they would have been under the usual ground regulations. “Our whole approach to cricket is that it is a day when people can come and watch a match in a way that doesn’t impinge or detract from the enjoyment of others.”
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One-day flops:
England selectors summoned London, June 22 England have now lost 11 consecutive one-day games and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb said here today the team’s performance needed improvement. “It’s hugely disappointing for an England side to lose all six games. It’s not good enough and that’s why we’ve called this meeting between the ECB management and the selectors.” “I think we’re entitled to ask the selectors what their plans are particularly in regard to international one-day cricket.” The men who will have to face the questions are Chairman of selectors David Graveney, coach Duncan Fletcher, and former
England off-spinner Geoff Miller. AFP |
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Windies look for decent showing Harare, June 22 Coming from a Test and one-day series defeat at home against South Africa, the West Indies were hoping that they would be able to put up a decent performance here. But nothing has gone right for Carl Hooper and his men in over a week they have been in this African country. They have played two practice matches and have appeared novices against lightweight oppositions. They nearly lost the first one against CFX Academy, the team of students who got a hammering from the Indians in a three-day first class fixture, and on Wednesday lost to County Districts XI, made up of veteran and retired Zimbabwe cricketers, by seven wickets. “I’m very disappointed, I suppose we underestimated the opposition a little,” said Hooper. “The batsmen showed very little application and patience and it was a poor performance. On the other hand, Zimbabwe come into the series fresh from a morale-boosting four-wicket win against India in the second Test and though the inspirational Andy Flower, nursing a thumb injury, would be missing, they certainly look to be a far better side. Be it batting or bowling, the West Indies are having problems on every count. Mercurial Brian Lara was dismissed for 11 and only a fighting 84 from Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and 34 by Hooper were saving graces. In bowling too, none of their pacemen looked impressive as even County Districts XI rattled up their target of 207 losing just three wickets. For Zimbabwe, the only problem seems to be the absence of Andy Flower who has gone to Johannesburg to have a check on his broken thumb. He would be out for eight weeks and will not only miss the triangular but also the two Tests against the West Indies, with the first starting at Bulawayo on July 19. Flower, on return, was downcast at the turn of events. “I caught a ball awkwardly in the Harare Test and it ripped the ligaments off one of the bones in the thumb. It has to be re-attached and then I’ll be in cast for five weeks,” he said. In Flower’s absence, talented little wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, (18), will make his international debut. Teams: Zimbabwe: Heath Streak (capt), Guy Whittall, Andy Blignaut, Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower, Dion Ebrahim, Mluleki Nkala, Travis Freind, Tatenda Taibu and Brian Murphy. West Indies (from): Carl Hooper (capt), Wavell Hinds, R. Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs, Cameroon Cuffy, Mervyn Dillon, M. Nagamatoo, D. McGarrell, Reon King and M. Samuels.
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Injured Lara pulls out Harare, June 22 Lara is one of the most prolific run scorers in modern cricket and holds the world record for scoring 501 runs in a single innings in first class cricket and the Test record of 375. “It’s a right hamstring injury, which I picked up in England last year,” Lara said. “I should have had it seen to earlier but the challenge of playing against Australia and South Africa was too much to pass up. “I was never more than 80 per cent fit at any time, but I’m still hopeful of making a good recovery and returning to the team when they go to Kenya in August.’’ A specialist told Lara that he needed three to six weeks rest. It was not clear on whether a replacement will be flown in yet.
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Jeev joint third with 6 birdies New Delhi, June 22 Jeev, the lone Indian on the Japanese PGA Tour had a superb front nine as he made seven birdies in the first nine holes. Starting with a birdie in the opening par-4 hole he parred the second par-5 hole and then changed gears from the third birdying each hole till making a par on the ninth. The 29-year-old who had a two-under-70 in the first round returned a six-under-66 in the second for a total of eight-under-136 to tie for the third place. Leading the tournament at 10-under-134 was Kenichi Kuboya of Japan who added a bogey free 66 to his 68 yesterday. “I am eager to do well here as Mizuno also happens to be equipment sponsors. What better way for me to show my gratitude for the excellent service they have provided me all these years than by doing well in their tournament,” Jeev said Jeev could not maintain the front nine momentum on the back nine as the birdies dried up. He made eight pars and a solitary bogey on the on the longest par-5 of the course to finish at six-under-66. Earlier in the day, Zoe Moe of Myanmar blazed the course with a 11-under 61 to join Jeev in the third position.
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Paes, Bhupathi need to market themselves London, June 22 Mediocre players with far less talent than this golden couple, who won the doubles title at the French Open a fortnight ago, will get more publicity, and a lot more money, because they know how to market themselves. Sporting audiences today demand more from their heroes than just a solid backhand. Neither man will say why it is they dissolved their successful partnership in 1999, just as they were establishing themselves as the most formidable pair on the circuit. Their fans, and the tabloids, still want to know. There were rumours of professional jealousies. Some insiders on the circuit claim Bhupathi couldn’t stand the fact that his much shorter partner was the better player. Others speculated wildly that they fell out over money. Instead of capitalising on this, the pair has taken an almost monastic vow of silence on the matter. Ask Paes and he shrugs, rolls his eyes and reluctantly talks about injuries, loss of form, insisting he doesn’t see the point of the question and only wants to talk about their tennis. Bhupathi will not say anything at all on the subject. Surely, they look around the dressing rooms on the international circuit and see how a player like Anna Kournikova makes £ 11 million a year though she has never won a single tournament. The Indian pair has already taken three Grand Slam titles. One marketing executive said, “Sport is big business and those who succeed know how to develop their personality as well as their God-given talent. These boys are a formidable couple, but nobody knows what makes them tick.” Paes’ explanation that his broken wrist and Bhupathi’s damaged shoulder were to blame for their split does not ring true as both were playing the circuit with different partners and only a fraction of their former success. They got back together just before last year’s Sydney Olympics, but didn’t leave themselves enough time to make the impact that was expected and it cost India what should have been a near certain medal. They weren’t even seeded at the French Open because nobody was quite sure just how comfortable they were both on and off the court. Their chemistry is clearly still as potent as it was, which is why they are ranked second at Wimbledon, which starts June 25. In his rented flat in south London, Paes said all this talk of them being the odd couple distracts from their tennis. Given their success in Paris, who is to say that silence is not the best policy. But modesty won’t get them on the front cover of leading magazines. Paes’ modesty is not a show. The Goan boy brought up in Kolkata still finds it hard to believe he travels the world with his tennis rackets and has an enviable home in Orlando, Florida. He zealously guards his private life and has never confirmed to any journalist the name of his partner. This is a sharp contrast to the Amritraj brothers, who knew how to sell themselves. They never made it to the top 16, but by shrewd marketing they made sure that they make household names worldwide. Paes remains singularly devoted to tennis. “My singles ranking before Wimbledon was 280, doubles ranking is 19 and as a team we’re ranked two in the world. I pretty much live to play for the Grand Slams and for the country,” he said. “The success in France is a culmination of many things,” Paes said. “The first is that we’re so comfortable on the clay with our doubles and the fact that the clay courts are a little slower than the hard courts or the grass courts. It gives us a fraction of a second longer.” “In our doubles play we’ve had a very good record on clay and leading into the French open we got into the semifinals of Monte Carlo...(and) we won two tournaments back-to-back in Atlanta and Houston,” he pointed out. Paes trains for five hours a day and is grateful to his Indian heritage for the alternative therapies that have helped to enhance his game. He consults an Indian yoga teacher in Florida and says yoga has helped him in ways he cannot measure. Time will tell if Paes and Bhupathi have got it right. They may not make the millions that others do. But by concentrating on what’s most important — playing the game they love — they might yet make the history books as the most successful doubles act ever in Indian tennis.
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Sonal to meet Sekar in final New Delhi, June 22 In the doubles final Sheetal Goutham and Liza Pereira will take on Karishma Patel and Sonal Phadke. The semifinal match between Sonal and Isha was a battle of breaks and break-backs as the contest witnessed 21 breaks of serves—eight each in the first and third sets, and five in the second set. The two-hour, 20 minutes match was a test of stamina, skills and the ability to play under searing heat. In all the three departments, Sonal proved her mettle to shut the door on Isha, who had had a fine run upto the semifinal. |
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Rahman ordered to fight Lewis New York, June 22 Judge Miriam Cedarbaum found that Rahman, who knocked out Lewis on April 22 to win the WBC and the IBF world heavyweight titles, breached a contract he had signed to give the Briton a rematch within 120 days of their first fight in South Africa. By signing a deal with promoter Don King in May to fight Nigerian David Izon in China on August 4, Rahman, 28, has breached the contract he signed with Lewis, said Cedarbaum. She added that the American could have fought an interim fight within the time allowed, but that when he did not the original contract was “binding and enforceable’’. Referring to arguments that Lewis would be irreparably harmed by not having an immediate rematch, Cedarbaum said there was “credible evidence” that Lewis would not be able to fight beyond the next two years. She was referring to testimony that a boxer has a finite physical peak and that the 35-year-old was not planning to fight beyond the next two years. “Lennox Lewis has only two more years to fight. He is not in position to go on indefinitely,’’ said Cedarbaum. “Since Mr Lewis can’t fight Mr Rahman beyond the next two years, Mr Rahman is enjoined for the next 18 months from fighting anyone else until he fights a rematch with Mr Lewis,” she said. She added that “I would expect all parties to negotiate in good faith,’’ for the terms of the rematch. Cedarbaum often interrupted King’s lawyer Peter Fleming, peppering him with questions and repeatedly asking him for his point in his arguments to uphold Rahman’s contract with King. At one stage she said Fleming’s arguments were “very, very circular’’. Pat English, a lawyer for Lewis’s U.S. Promoter Main Events, said a Rahman-Lewis fight could take place in August but that “September would be better’’ as far as marketing the bout was concerned. Rahman’s deal with King was for a package of fights worth more than $ 20 million. Immediately after the court decision, a disappointed Rahman said that he had no comment. But later, outside the court house, he shrugged and said: “If I don’t get the purse I want, I won’t fight.” King said he had “no comment’’. Lewis, in a statement released by Main Events, said: “I’m very pleased and gratified. I look forward to regaining my titles.’’ English added that the decision “sends a strong signal that the rampant disregard of contract rights in boxing must stop’’. Lewis’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, said after the ruling that the British fighter’s “rights have been respected by the court. What took place here,’’ seemingly referring to Rahman’s bid to negate the rematch clause, “is an outrage and it’s nice to see justice has been done’’. Shortly after he won the titles, Rahman had cable broadcasters HBO and Showtime bidding against each other to sign him to multi-fight deals worth upwards of $ 17 million. Reuters |
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Greene equals outdoor record Eugene (Oregon), June 22 Greene won his heat in 9.90sec, fastest in the world this year after his own 9.91 in Athens, and equalled the US outdoor championships record he shares with Leroy Burrell. “I said I was going to run fast,” said Greene, who was charged with the one false start of his heat. “I didn’t have a good start, and I slowed down a little too much at the end. I was looking into the crowd, I shouldn’t have done that.” Any fans who missed Greene flashing past won’t get another chance before the meeting — the US trials for next August’s World Championships in Edmonton — ends on Sunday. With a defending champion’s bye in both the 100m and 200m at the Worlds, Greene will forego the semi-finals and final, from which three runners will qualify. The move has been described as a protest of USA track and Field’s insistence that any athlete who wants to go to Edmonton as part of the US delegation must at least put in an appearance here, even if he is a defending world champion. Greene said it was a means of satisfying the USATF requirements with the least amount of disruption to his training and least amount of wear and tear on his body. “I personally don’t worry about the politics,” Greene said. “I have to follow the rules. That makes it easy. I don’t spend time dwelling on what decisions they make.” Greene said limiting himself to one race will keep him fresh for Edmonton — not to mention the lucrative IAAF Golden League meeting in Rome just eight days away. “I really do need to rest,” Greene said. “I’ve been doing a lot of things lately,
travelling, a lot of appearances and trying to run. Rest right now would do my body good. I need to make sure I am 100 per cent ready for the World Championships.” The USATF officials required world champions to at least show up for the start of a race — or provide a medical waiver — citing concerns that television and marketing deals would suffer if they couldn’t guarantee that the country’s top athletes would compete at the national championships. “Maybe in time athletes will show us that there is no need for such a requirement,” said USATF Chief Operating Officer Craig Masback, who praised Greene and US sprint queen Marion Jones for competing in several meets on home soil this year.
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Spotlight to be on
Anju, Satish Rai Bangalore, June 22 With the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (AAFI) likely to send a small
contingent for the World Championship at Edmonton in Canada from August 4 to 12, the spotlight will be on long jumpers Anju Markose in the women’s section and Satish Kumar Rai in the men’s section as they had in the past cleared the marks set for the premier event. Though Shakti Singh’s achievement of 20.60 m in shot put last year had been referred to a committee for ratification, a repeat performance would earn him a berth for Canada. Sprinters in men and women’s sections would also have a chance to catch the flight as part of the relay team with a good showing at the three-day event here. In the track events, focus would be on sprinters C.Thirugnandurai, Sandeep Sarkaria, Clifford Joshua in the men’s section and K.M.Beenamol and Kavita Pandey, who were the fastest women in all the three circuit meets.
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