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Thursday,
April 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Weekes rates Tendulkar, Gavaskar among top six Hooper’s dilemma: pace or spin Pak run through ‘shocked’ Lanka
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Pak promises tight security Seles, Serena win
opening round ties 60 selected for Mahilpur academy Megraj stars for RCF Gurbaaz Mann takes lead Gurkirat hits unbeaten
ton as DAV win
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Harbhajan fit for
second Test
Port of Spain, April 17 “Harbhajan Singh is fit and ready for selection,” team manager Gautam Dasgutpa said here today. Harbhajan Singh had experienced a slight pain in his bowling shoulder while fielding in the tour-opening three-day game against Guyana Board President’s XI. An MRI scan showed there was nothing serious but he was ruled out of the first Test nonetheless, his place being taken by fellow off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, who was especially flown in from India for the purpose. Sarandeep Singh did a decent job in the first Test but captain Sourav Ganguly has already expressed his desire to bring Harbhajan Singh back into the team. Meanwhile, vice-captain Rahul Dravid has shown no after-effects of the blow that he took on his jaw from a rising delivery by Mervyn Dillon in the Bourda Test. Dasgupta said Dravid was feeling perfectly fine though he has an entirely different kind of problem. “He has a sore throat, a minor irritation in his throat,” Dasgupta said.
Indians arrive A hectic schedule notwith- standing, the Indian cricket team went straight into a practice session after arriving here yesterday for the second Test against West Indies starting on April 19. The Indians arrived here in the morning but had to wait till noon to get into their rooms which were still being cleaned. Despite getting little rest, the Indians opted to go in for practice in the afternoon at the Queens Park Oval, the venue of the match. The venue is memorable one for the Indians as their only two wins on West Indian soil have come at this ground. Having reiterated his desire to bat at number three, captain Saurav Ganguly was seen honing his skills against the short-pitched deliveries, his weak point. Ganguly was out to a clumsy-looking hook shot against Mervyn Dillon in the first Test.
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Tendulkar’s innings was authoritative Georgetown (Guyana), April 17 Earlier, in 1994 when we toured India, Tendulkar was impressive without quite being the dominating batsman he is known the world over these days. Here, at Bourda Oval, the little master played a very authoritative innings. He was very severe on our fast bowlers though I must say we didn’t bowl that well to him as well. I was very upset when a chance off him was not availed a delivery before he was dismissed. Still, he gave every evidence of why he is regarded as the best batsman of the world. Well, one of the two best batsmen of the world anyway. Invariably the topic in this series has veered towards Tendulkar-Lara confrontation. It’s a kind of match-up which even I am waiting to unfold. Both are devastating batsmen but there is a difference. Tendulkar is very compact and as in attack, his defence is very strong too. Lara, on the other hand, is very attacking from the word go and that’s why he has played a few more devastating innings than Tendulkar has perhaps in his career. I know people point to how many matches Lara has won on his own while Tendulkar has struggled in this area. If he is trying to make up, I hope he doesn’t do it in this series. Is Tendulkar a better batsman than even Sir Viv Richards? Well, I am going to disappoint my Indian readers on this count. I think Richards was the most destructive batsman of my era. When you judge it, you also have to think the kind of opposition bowling Richards played in his time. There were Len Pascoe, Jeff Thomson, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Imran Khan in Pakistan and Kapil Dev in India, not to forget Bob Willis and Ian Botham in England. World bowling in those days was very strong. Yet, Richards just not scored runs off them. He mastered them. Tendulkar of course can’t pick the bowlers for others but even though his record is formidable, the quality of bowling in the world at present is not what it used to be. Ask me, I as captain of the West Indies team, am personally experiencing the difference of quality among bowlers of today from those of the past! Rahul Dravid made a very pleasing hundred but I must say our bowlers gave him a lot of half volleys which he was good enough to despatch to the straight boundary. He has a very solid influence in the Indian line-up. I liked his courage and commitment to the team after being hit on the face by Mervyn Dillon. The third century in this match was made by Shivnaraine Chanderpaul. Again, a fellow Guyanese like me, Chanderpaul hasn’t done enough justice to his talent. He also has been injured. He has made a good start in this series which is good because we the seniors must show juniors the way forward. He played a lot straighter and less across in this innings and it seems the conditioning camp in Trinidad before the series, where Sir Garfield Sobers came and gave us his advice, has been of help. Lastly about me. I made a dream come true with a double hundred for myself. I am unfailingly asked by everyone as to the reason why I am batting so well these days compared to the first 80 Tests of my career. It is said I was careless, didn’t value my wicket and let down my team. I was never careless but may be I am more mature now. I was never flippant but with my languid style, I might have appeared casual to onlookers. I disagree with it. Yes, I am playing less across these days and perhaps there is a better shot selection but I never took my cricket lightly. Yes, practice to my Christianity has brought a new serenity in my life. But I was born Christian and always was religious-minded but the way things have gone in the last two years, mostly positive, I am turning more and more towards God. When I bat in the middle, I feel as if God is there batting it out for me. It composes me, stabilises me and focuses me in the crease. Hopefully, I would be able to bat in a similar vein in coming weeks and for the rest of my career.
PTI
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Weekes rates Tendulkar, Gavaskar among top six
Georgetown (Guyana), April 17 Weekes, one of the three Ws of cricket history along with Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrel, rated Tendulkar amongst the six greatest batsmen ever. “Tendulkar has to be one of the six batsmen of all-time in my list. He has to be one of the best. A few shots he managed during this Test spoke of his class,” Weekes said referring to the Indian’s 79-run knock in the rain-interrupted first Test which ended in a tame draw on Monday. “And there is one more Indian in this six and you know who I am referring to.” Weekes was, of course, referring to another little genius, Sunil Gavaskar who made 10,122 runs from 125 Tests with 34 hundreds including 13 against the fearsome West Indian fast bowlers. Gavaskar averaged a superb 65.45 against West Indies totalling 2749 runs from 27 Tests. Weekes, however, did not reveal the other four names that comprise his top six. And he is too modest to even suggest that he himself could easily have found a place in the list. His record of 4455 runs from 48 Tests at an average of 58.62 with 15 centuries is formidable enough and includes a world record of five consecutive Test hundreds that has not been bettered even after more than 50 years. Weekes was run out on 90 while going for his sixth straight century. Four of those centuries came against India during the 1948-49 series, his first abroad. Weekes is clearly the best batsman to have ever played against India. His record of 1495 runs in 10 Tests with seven centuries at an average of 106.79 is a testimony to the fact. No wonder, Weekes has a special bond with India and Indian cricketers. But he sprang a surprise by revealing his admiration for Vinod Kambli, once a very promising batsman who shared the world record for scoring double centuries in two consecutive innings but who has faded out of international scene since. Weekes remembers Kambli, a childhood chum and contemporary of Tendulkar, as a player with tremendous potential and feels sorry for the left-hander for not being able to continue for a long time in international cricket. “When I was in India as a match referee in 1992-93 during a India-Sri Lanka series, I was mightily impressed with Kambli,” Weekes said. “I thought the chum of Tendulkar was loaded with talent but then more than talent is required if you have to be the best in this game.” There are quite a few other Indian players who remain vivid in Weekes’ mind after decades have rolled by. “I remember Vinoo Mankad, a great all-rounder. He could bowl six different balls in an over and it was the first time I was experiencing something like this,” said Weekes remembering the 1948-49 series. “Mankad used to do so many things, using crease, different angles and was a fascinating bowler. But the wickets were great and very good for batting, but for Calcutta where there was a bit of grass.” “I was only 22, 11 months older than Clyde (Walcott) and we used to travel by train in those days. It was also a tour in which I had to stand in queue to receive my daily allowance from the team management every Friday,” Weekes said. This was Weekes’ first overseas series having made his debut against England earlier in the year at Kensington Park where “I helped to roll the pitch.” He played in the Barbados League from the age of 12. At 17, he joined the army and kept playing until he was demobilised in 1945 and moved on to Empire Cricket Club and into the Barbados team. Weekes remembers Subhash Gupte, now settled in the West Indies, as “easily the best leg-spin bowler of all time. He had no flipper but two leg breaks and two googlies. Gupte was to leg-spin what Alec Bedser was in pace, the greatest of all time”. Asked to compare Tendulkar with Brian Lara, Weekes said Lara, of course, has carried his team through a few more times than the Indian but then “I feel it is the bowlers who take 20 wickets and decide the games.” Talking about the first Test, Weekes was very happy to see Carl Hooper do justice to his talent at last. “It was a great performance from Hooper. All the players recognise Hooper is talented. His only fault is he is not consistent. He is beautiful to watch and coming into his own now.” Weekes though is saddened to see the declining standards of West Indian cricket. “It is difficult for me to put my finger on one point. We were at the top long enough but we didn’t spend enough time on preparing for their replacements. We are paying a price now.” PTI
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Hooper’s dilemma: pace or spin
Port of Spain, April 17 Having made it known before the start of the series that he will rely mainly on his pace bowlers, Hooper is chastened by the experience in the first Test when his fast bowlers couldn’t use the cushion of a 500-plus total to bowl out the Indians. “We haven’t got those quality bowlers right now, maybe sometime in the future we will have, but right now I think we need to have a little more in the wicket for our bowlers,” said Hooper. Sunil Gavaskar just can’t help looking back at the kind of West Indian fast bowlers he encountered during his playing days. “It was like you never got a delivery in your half. When you got one, you sent a postcard to your mom,” said the legendary Indian batsman. These days somebody like Mervyn Dillon is bowling so many half volleys that even a positively defensive batsman like Rahul Dravid is hitting a lot of straight boundaries. “It seems we are bowling a lot of four-hitting balls,” said coach Roger Harper, making a direct reference to Dillon who was taken for no less than 18 fours by the Indian batsmen. “They are not even fast anymore, they are bowling at 80 mph (128 kph) or thereabouts,” said Michael Holding, known in cricketing circles as “whispering death.” Colin Croft, another fearsome West Indian fast bowler of the golden era of the 80s, is worried like everyone else who has the interest of Caribbean cricket. First, he thought debutant Adam Sanford was nervous in his first Test. He isn’t sure anymore. PTI
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Pak run through ‘shocked’ Lanka
Sharjah, April 17 Youhana hit 129 off 131 balls as Pakistan piled up 295 for six from 50 overs and then shot out a dispirited Sri Lanka for only 78 in 16.5 overs before 20,000 screaming fans at the overflowing Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar Younis grabbed three wickets each and Wasim Akram claimed two as the shell-shocked Sri Lankan batsmen fell like nine pins against hostile pace. Youhana hit eight boundaries and three sixes and opener Imran Nazir smashed 63 off 61 balls after Waqar won the toss and elected to bat in the day-night international. But it was Younis Khan’s 66 off 71 balls and his 155-run stand for the fifth wicket with Youhana that enabled Pakistan build a huge score. Pakistan’s emphatic win was, however, marred by a serious injury to Muralitharan which could keep him out of next month’s tour of England. Muralitharan was taken to hospital with torn ligaments in his left shoulder and officials said the injury was serious enough to require surgery. The off-spinner, celebrating his 30th birthday, tripped while fielding in the 11th over and hit the ground clutching his left shoulder. Team physiotherapist Alex Kontouri, who accompanied Muralitharan to hospital, said the shoulder was not dislocated but he was consulting a doctor in Australia for immediate surgery on the torn ligaments. With the versatile Muralitharan out of the way, the Pakistani batsmen made merry and then received wonderful support from the bowlers. Two wickets each by Akhtar and Wasim reduced Sri Lanka to 57 for five by the 13th over and, with the top order gone, the later batsmen proved easy meat for the Pakistanis. Sri Lanka moved to 52 for one when they lost four wickets in as many overs to ensure a certain victory for their rivals. Akhtar forced Sanath Jayasuriya (19) to top-edge a hook in his first over and then had Kumar Sangakkara caught behind by wicketkeeper Rashid Latif. Akram, who had earlier bowled Marvan Atapattu, trapped pinch-hitter Chaminda Vaas leg-before, while Waqar clean bowled Mahela Jayawardena for no score. Pakistan had themselves recovered from the loss of opener Shahid Afridi and Latif by the seventh over to set Sri Lanka a challenging target of almost six runs an over. Youhana and Nazir put on 85 for the third wicket, before Pakistan slipped again when Nazir was bowled by leg-spinner Upul Chandana and Inzamam-ul Haq was run out for 12. AFP Scoreboard Pakistan: Nazir b Chandana 63 Afridi c Buddhika b Zoysa 14 Latif c Jayawardena b Vaas 0 Youhana c Buddhika b Zoysa 129 Haq run out 12 Khan c Atapattu b Zoysa 66 Razzaq not out 4 Akram not out 0 Extras (lb-3, w-2, nb-2) 7 Total (for 6 wkts, 50 overs) 295 Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-33, 3-118, 4-136, 5-291, 6-291. Bowling: Vaas 10-1-58-1, Zoysa 10-0-63-3, Buddhika 9-0-61-0, Dharmasena 8-0-48-0, Chandana 10-1-47-1, Jayasuriya 3-0-15-0. Sri Lanka: Jayasuriya c and b Akhtar 19 Atapattu b Akram 7 Sangakkara c Latif b Akhtar 18 Vaas lbw b Akram 1 Jayawardena b Waqar 0 Arnold c and b Akhtar 19 Chandana not out 4 Dharmasena run out 1 Zoysa b Waqar 0 Buddhika c Latif b Waqar 0 Murali did not bat Extras: (b-1, w-3, nb-5) 9 Total: (9 wkts, 16.5 overs) 78 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-52, 3-53, 4-53, 5-57, 6-76, 7-77, 8-78, 9-78. Bowling: Akram 6-1-33-2, Waqar 6.5-0-33-3, Akhtar 4-0-11-3.
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Pak promises tight security
Karachi, April 17 “We have made all-out efforts to make sure the New Zealand team gets the best available security through the best interaction of administration and law enforcing agencies,” Pakistan Cricket Board director Brigadier Munawwar Rana told AFP today. Pakistan’s assurances convinced New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to reschedule the tour, originally planned for September-October last year. NZC cricket manager Jeff Crowe visited Pakistan last month to assess security facilities ahead of the tour. The tourists are due to play three one-day internationals and two Tests. Rana said local authorities were also looking out for trouble associated with a controversial presidential referendum on April 30. Major political parties have planned protests against the vote, which will decide whether military ruler General Pervez Musharraf should stay as president for five years. “We are conscious of the referendum and security people know what is required during the next 20 to 25 days,” Rana said. Pakistan’s blistering summer heat is another factor which has been taken into account, he said. “As for the heat the tourists made special requests for air conditioners in the dressing rooms and ice tubs which are already in place,” Rana said. New Zealand will play their first match in the volatile port city of Karachi on Sunday, where US journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and executed by Islamic extremists earlier this year. “We have made foolproof arrangements for the teams and for the match and paramilitary troops will also coordinate with the city police,” Karachi police chief Asad Jahangir said. Troops will patrol the National Stadium during the match and the New Zealanders’ hotels will be tightly guarded. “No one will be allowed on the floor where the tourists will stay,” Jahangir said. AFP
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Seles, Serena win opening round ties
Charleston, April 17 The second-seeded Seles, who pulled out of last week’s WTA tournament in Florida with a foot injury, struggled to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 second-round win over fellow American Amy Frazier yesterday. “I really stayed in there,” said Seles, of outlasting Frazier in the one hour, 46 minute match. “I didn’t get down on myself. It was a tough one and not too many things were going my way in the beginning and suddenly I was down 0-5. The third-seeded Williams barely blinked and her 6-0, 6-2 win over American Jennifer Hopkins was recorded in 40 minutes. Williams won 24 of 30 points in the first set and raced to a 6-0, 3-0 lead before Hopkins was able to get on the scoreboard. “Whether it’s the first round or semi-finals or finals if any match goes my way then I’m really happy,” Williams said. “The first set I didn’t have any trouble, but in the second set she really started picking up her game.” Conchita Martinez celebrated her 30th birthday in style yesterday with a 7-6 (7/5) 6-1 first round win over Russian Anna Kournikova. A two-time champion here, loyal Martinez fans serenaded the Spaniard with a chorus of Happy Birthday after her one hour, 27-minute match. AFP
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60 selected for Mahilpur academy Chandigarh, April 17 The selected are: Under-14: Dilshad, Chander Sateeja, Mohd Shahid, Amar Beant Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Balbir Chand, Sarbjit Singh, Sukhdeep Singh, Manpreet Kumar, Lakhvir Singh, Karanjit Singh, Ravinder Singh, Jagdeep, Abdul Shamin and Dalbir Singh. Under-17: Harmanjot Singh, Navtej Singh, Sakatar Singh, Aasim, Gurinder Singh, Mumtaj Akhtar, Dharminder Singh, Harpal Singh, Sukhvir Singh, Sukhbir Singh, Manpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Mohd Shakeel, Gurwinder Singh, Prabhpreet Singh, T.Singh, Iqbal Singh, Ramanjit Singh, Harpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh, Baljit Sahni and Gurprempal Singh. Under-19:
Gagandeep Singh, Mohd Salman, Amardeep Singh, Garmanjit Singh, Prabhjit Singh, Surinder Singh, Sunil Kumar, Kewal Singh, Manjit Singh, Simerpreet Singh, Randeep Singh, Balwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Kumar, Sumit Kumar, Kulwinder Singh, M. Singh, Gurinder Pal Singh, Tirath Singh, Pardeep Singh, Sukhpreet Singh and Avtar Singh. |
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Megraj stars for RCF
Mumbai, April 17 Megraj not only scored the only goal of the match in the 17th minute off centre half Shakti Thakur’s pass but also effected two goal-line saves in the 32nd and 41st minutes. RCF looked a much fitter and faster team though the Delhi outfit fought till the end but their search for the equaliser went in vain. In the 15th minute, RCF forward Joseph D’Souza’s goalmouth cross from the right was messed up by right half Jayesh Jadav when he failed to connect from close. A couple of minutes later Megraj scored what turned out to be the match-winner. In the 32nd minute, Delhi defender Kumer Singh’s push following the second penalty corner was well saved by RCF skipper Megraj on the goal-line. Earlier, in the 23rd minute Mahesh Bagade’s diagonal pass was pushed over by Megraj. However, the RCF forward made amends when he effected the second goal-line save off Delhi’s Prabhakar shot following the third penalty corner. In the 57th minute, RCF forward Hemant Dabak gave a good pass to Bagade from the right flank but Bagade’s cross went abegging when Megraj failed to connect. PTI
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Gurbaaz Mann takes lead Bangalore, April 17 Mann finished the day with a three over 75 as against sub-par 71 in the first round. Though he had a promising round upto the 16th hole, he later hit the trees and then suffered a water hazard to score seven as against the par four. Other two golfers Keshav Mishra and Gagan Verma of New Delhi, who had a sub-par round yesterday finished over-par. With playing conditions getting difficult, the leaders will have to control their game to stay in contention for the title.
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Gurkirat hits unbeaten
ton as DAV win Chandigarh, April 17 Springfield boys comprehensively defeated Don Bosco High School, Chennai by 190 runs at the DAV school
ground here. Mumbai boys, batting first scored 274 runs in 48.4 overs and then sent the Chennai boys reeling for just 84 runs in 14.1 overs. S S Ashwin was the lone batsman to score 30 runs
against to guiles of Murtza and Abdul, who bagged four and three wickets, respectively, giving away 41 and nine runs only. For the winners Harvinder Singh, who scored 123 runs was declared the best batsmen. Anurag Pandey (26), Sidhanshu Mishra (25), Zameer Ali (24) and Jay Chadda (23) were the other main scorers from Mumbai. In the other match local DAV boys also comprehensively defeated St Joseph’s Boys School, Bangalore by 194 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Mohali. Local lad Gurkirat hit up an unbeaten 132 runs to emerge as the best batsman while Karnveer was declared the best bowler claiming five wickets at a cost of 21 runs. Bangalore boys won the toss but put the local boys in to bat, who piled up 338 runs for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs. Besides, Gurkirat, Vijay Kumar (56) Harneet Singh (74 in 54 balls) were the other main scorers.
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The 2002 World Cup logo is shown in this graphic. The 32 team tournament kicks off on May 31, 2002.
—AP/PTI
