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Wednesday,
September 11, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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ICC sends revised agreement
Player power to the fore Expert comments: Ian Botham West Indies tour itinerary Triumphant Sampras faces tough choice Performance exceeded expectations: Rajinder
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AAFI names 42 athletes for Asian Games
India juniors rout Myanmar Indian girls go down to Russia Jeev finishes tied 10th
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ICC sends revised agreement
Kolkata, September 10 The redrafted version of the controversial sponsorship agreement has already been sent by the ICC to the BCCI, President Jagmohan Dalmiya told PTI here. The fresh agreement, which would be applicable only for the Champions Trophy, was finalised following an unprecedented global tele-conferencing involving the chiefs of the cricket boards of all the full members of the ICC last evening. Dalmiya also said that he had personally spoken to the Indian players in England after the matter was resolved and formally informed them about the resolution of the month-long crisis. The dramatic resolution came almost in the 11th hour as the BCCI was ready with an alternative second string team when the ICC acceded to the Indian board’s demand that it would not be saddled with the damages arising out of the changes made in the players terms for the Indian stars. Meanwhile, the Saurav Ganguly led Indian squad has left England for Mumbai en route to Colombo. The team will be playing its first match in Champions Trophy against Zimbabwe on September 14. Captains wary Colombo: Cricket captains said today they doubted the efficacy of the new applications of television replays in the International Cricket Council’s 12-nation tournament. The most controversial is the use of replays for leg-before-wicket decisions, which can now be referred to a third umpire. A replay will show where the ball had pitched in relationship to the stumps and the height of the ball when it hits the pads. Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his main concern was how much time it would take to refer decisions back to the third umpire, given the fact that a less complicated run-out decision now takes the TV umpire one to two minutes. “One of the major concerns I’ve got is that it’s likely to slow down the game a lot,” he said. It is also not clear if the match referee will take into account the time used by TV umpires for such decisions while computing the time penalty clause for the bowling side, which must complete the allotted 50 overs in a given time. “It’s hard enough to get through 50 overs at the moment without having any more breaks through the course of an innings,” Ponting said. Pakistan captain Waqar Younis also said that it was too early to say if the new method will work. “We have to watch two or three games to see how it works,” Waqar said, admitting that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar generally takes about four to five minutes to complete an over. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was, however, optimistic. “This is the opportune time to try it out before the World Cup and we hope it goes well, adding another dimension to the game,” Fleming told reporters. Other changes to the third umpire’s role will be the scrapping of the red or green light for run-outs and stampings. Instead, the third umpire will give his decision to the field umpires, who will signal out or not out. Technology will also be used to verify bat-pad catches and caught-behind decisions.
PTI, AP |
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Player power to the fore Chandigarh, September 10 The international body largely as also the BCCI partly must take the blame the way things moved once the various clauses in the players contract were made public. The players would not accept any threat to their livelihood and the initial reaction of players not only from India but also from Australia, England as also South Africa was one of dismay and their refusal to sign on the dotted line only affirmed that the contract was one-sided and full of loopholes. But it must go to the credit of the Indians that they stood form on their stand right till the end and only when the ICC agreed to delete some o the clauses which were troubling them did they agree to sign the contracts. Let us first admit to one fact. International cricket, in any form, cannot just survive without Indian players, Indian money and Indian participation. If the suggestion put forward by the President of the New Zealand Cricket Council President at the last meeting of the ICC Executive at Dubai last week that India be debarred from international participation had been accepted then it could well have drawn the curtain on the Champions Trophy. That it was not even discussed at the ICC meeting proves that the international body knows which side of its bread is buttered and the importance that Indian cricket and cricketers enjoy wherever cricket is played. That Indian money rules the roost is apparent by the sponsors who have come forward not only for the Champions Trophy but also for the World Cup to be held in South Africa next year. But these sponsors will not pay the astronomical sums if the Indian super stars are forced to stay away for reasons other than cricket. One good thing that the current stand-off between the Indian players and the administrators has seen is the emergence of the players association which was first formed by the Indian players way back in 1989. If this body now finally get going it will help the players to derive a lot of benefits from the board. And this benefit should percolate down to the lowest level of the first class players — cricketers who play in the Ranji Trophy and other tournaments conducted by the BCCI. It is these players who contribute a lot to the growth and development of the game at the grassroot level but get a pittance for their efforts. In any case the players association should see the involvement of more and more players in the running of the BCCI, a thing which is absolutely missing in the current board, barring a few. The trouble has been solved at a time when Dalmiya is scheduled to face the general body of the board later this month. Maybe this will help him to keep his detractors at bay and cement his hold over the BCCI for yet another year. |
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Expert comments: Ian Botham It was quite literally a damp squib ending to what has been a very keenly fought series. However, I doubt whether a result would have been possible even if we had bright sunshine at the Oval on Monday. The pitch was too true for a fourth day pitch on Sunday evening and you rarely get a result when the second innings begins late on day four with the team batting second still in arrears, albeit marginally. I had mentioned that it was a crucial toss, and by losing it, India knew that winning was dependent on some very poor batting from England. The hosts did not oblige thanks largely to Michael Vaughan. This series has seen him emerge as a batsman who is consistent and not wary of taking on the bowlers. The Ashes will be an acid test for both him and Marcus Trescothick, but their performances this summer have been quite heart-warming. The Indians did not bowl well on the first day, and when England ended the day on 350-plus, there was only one team that could have won the match. I know critics will say that neither captain went in for the kill, but I think that was largely due to the placid nature of the pitch. You could hardly expect Hussain to attack when it was evident that Rahul Dravid and the Indian middle order were having no trouble due to the lack of movement. Similarly, India might have had a chance to force the issue on the fourth evening, but I doubt whether they could have pressurised the English batsmen into getting out for less than 150 on that wicket. Dravid has been quite simply outstanding in the last two Tests. This series could be a crucial one for the Bangalore youngster who has always been in the shadow of his more flamboyant contemporaries. However, at the Oval he showed no signs of being troubled and a run out was actually the only way England could have hoped to dismiss him. After the first Test in Lord’s, the Indian middle order has been remarkably consistent right through the series. This must give a lot of heart to coach John Wright and even though they did not win the series, they have gone back with their heads held high. Both sides will, however, have to work on their bowling. Caddick and Hoggard will be bolstered with the return of Darren Gough for the Ashes tour, but the injuries and lack of a second string that has penetration might be a worry for Hussain and Fletcher. On the Indian side, the absence of Javagal Srinath will be felt for some time. Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra look promising, but they would have benefited tremendously from the presence of Srinath. Another crucial lesson for the Indians is the fact that for the bowling to have some sting, they must pick their best four bowlers at all times. It was only when both Harbhajan and Kumble played that they looked like taking 20 wickets. There were lessons to be learnt off the field too. India’s top players finally got the ICC to see sense, and are on their way to Sri Lanka. It was good to see that all parties eventually agreed that cricket matters more than anything else. Once that was agreed upon, the rest automatically fell in place. (Gameplan)
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West Indies tour itinerary
St. John’s (Antigua), September 10 The 22-year-old Samules only recently returned to action with Jamaica following a knee operation in February, after first complaining of the injury during the series against Pakistan in Sharjah. Surgery meant he had to miss the series against Pakistan, as well as the home series against India and New Zealand. Lawson, part of the squad that went to Sri Lanka last year, helped Jamaica reach the final of the domestic Caribbean series this season where they lost to Barbados. The West Indies will play three Tests at Mumbai (October 9 to 13), Chennai (October 17 to 21) and Kolkata (October 30 to November 3), as well as seven limited-overs internationals. Earlier this year, West Indies beat India 2-1 in a best-of-five home series, but went down 1-2 in the rain-affected limited-overs international series. This will be West Indies’ ninth tour of India, where they have only lost once on the 1978-79 visit when Sunil Gavaskar’s side prevailed over Alvin Kallicharran’s tourists. Schedule (main matches) Oct 9-13: Ist Test (Mumbai), Oct 17-21: IInd Test (Chennai), Oct 30-Nov 3: IIIrd Test (Kolkata), Nov 6: Ist limited-overs international (Jamshedpur), Nov 9: IInd limited-overs international (Nagpur), Nov 12: IIIrd (limited-overs international (Rajkot), Nov 15: IVth limited-overs international (d/n Ahmedabad), Nov 18: Vth limited-overs international (Baroda), Nov 21: VIth limited-overs international (Jodhpur), Nov 26: VIIth limited-overs international (Vishakhaptnam). AFP |
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Triumphant Sampras faces tough choice
New York, September 10 Few are likely to offer the 31-year-old Sampras career advice now, not after he beat old foe Andre Agassi 6-3 6-4 5-7 6-4 on Sunday to win his fifth US Open title and record 14th Grand Slam championship. He’s the Open’s oldest winner since 1970. “I’m going to have to weigh it up in the next couple months to see where I’m at. To beat a rival like Andre, in a storybook ending, it might be nice to stop,” Sampras said. “But ...” If he does take his time deciding whether to keep playing or concentrate on being a family man (his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson, is pregnant with their first child), well, he’s earned it. After one last crisp volley found its intended spot to close out Sunday’s victory, Sampras mustered what energy was left in his weary legs to climb into the stands and hug his wife, his sister and his coach, Paul Annacone. Sampras credited his ability to stay strong through two tough years - he hadn’t won a tournament since July 2000 - to “just a lot of support from my wife, my family, working with Paul again. That really gave me a lot of peace of mind. Some stability.” “So much of what I was going through this year was mental,” he added. “It wasn’t forehands and backhands and serves. It was kind of my head space. I wasn’t real positive out there; kind of got down on myself extremely quick out there.” He wasn’t the only one. Plenty thought or wrote or said that Sampras should get out while the gettin’ was good, retire before he lost so often that it would erode the memories of all his triumphs. “That was one thing I promised myself, even though I was struggling this year and hearing this and that: I deserved to stop on my own terms,” Sampras said. “I’ve done too much in the game to hear the negative things and start believing it. Because there was a point I was believing it, maybe this time.” As he tried to get things going in the right direction, he switched coaches repeatedly in the past nine months, going from Annacone to Tom Gullikson to Jose Higueras and back to Annacone. Sampras had to weigh more than a decade of excellence - all the major titles, the record 286 weeks at No. 1, the 64 titles, the 762 match wins - with two seasons of mostly mediocre play. He was seeded 17th at the Open; Sampras hasn’t finished a year outside the top 10 since 1989, his second as a pro. And while losing to Lleyton Hewitt or Marat Safin might get easier to take, Sampras wasn’t exactly staring across the net at a rising star each time he lost. His 20-17 record in 2002 heading into the Open included defeats against Paul-Henri Mathieu, Georg Bastl and Andrea Gaudenzi. It turns out it was good for the sport for Sampras to stick around, because little drives interest like a good rivalry. It was the 34th edition of Sampras vs. Agassi, the same number of times John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors played. Who will be the next transcendent pair? Perhaps Andy Roddick and James Blake, two up-and-comers who are unbeaten for the USA in Davis Cup play but have yet to get past the quarterfinals of a major. Hewitt isn’t exactly a media darling, Safin is as inconsistent as he is talented, and no other young player has shown an ability to contend at big tournament after big tournament. For Sampras, the low point came at Wimbledon in June. He lost to Bastl - in the draw only because someone else withdrew - on a tiny side court with a hand-operated scoreboard. During that match, Sampras read notes his wife had written on a small sheet of paper, words meant to inspire. After losing, he sat in his chair for a few minutes, head down, processing the disappointment and knowing that shouldn’t be his lasting image. “I’m not going to give in to the critics,” Sampras said then. “I’m just going to have to stop here and just kind of reflect little but also not get too down. “I still want to continue to play. And there is the US Open in another month or so. I just hope I can find it pretty soon.” He certainly did, right on cue. AP |
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Performance exceeded expectations: Rajinder
New Delhi, September 10 “We had earmarked certain areas like penalty corners and man-to-man marking and we did improve in those areas. Our penalty corner conversion was 50 per cent,” Rajinder Singh told reporters after the team returned from a 20-day trip in Europe here yesterday. India held Holland 3-3 in the six-nation Champions Trophy, which was creditable as it came close on the 2-5 defeat to the same team at Amstelveen earlier in the Rabobank Trophy. The team then lost to Germany 2-3 but went on to beat Australia 3-2. In both the matches against the European superpowers, India conceded goals in the closing stages when they were in a winning position. “Bad marking,” captain Dilip Tirkey said bluntly. But Rajinder Singh defended his players. “Look, teams are now playing very fast hockey. Goals are scored in no time, it does not matter what stage of the match they come,” he said. The highlight of the Cologne tournament without doubt was the clash of the two Asian giants and arch-rivals India and Pakistan. India won the first match 3-2 but Pakistan avenged the defeat in the bronze medal play-off with a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory. “We had to win that match (the league match against Pakistan) to make it to the top three position, that’s what motivated us to go for all out attack,” Tirkey said. “We played as a team, the inexperienced players gelled well. That was the plus point. The forwards were brilliant, and so were the defenders and Devesh Chauhan (at the goal mouth),” he added. The captain had a special mention for Dhanraj Pillay, who was named Player of the Tournament after his dazzling performance proved once again that, at the age of 35, he was still a force to reckon with at the international level. “Dhanraj combined very well with the youngsters like Gagan Ajit Singh, he kept creating chances for the forwards,” Tirkey said. The team, however, suffered a reverse losing to Korea in the last league match. “The Korea match was inconsequential as we had already qualified for the bronze medal match. So we tried out a few new things and gave chance to fringe players,” Rajinder said. The team will assemble again here on September 14 for a preparatory camp for the Busan Asian Games. PTI
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AAFI names 42 athletes for Asian Games New Delhi, September 10 In the men’s section, the government had not cleared the 4x100m relay team and javelin thrower Harminder Singh, hammer thrower Pramod Kumar and 1500m runner Kuldeep Kumar while they figure in the AAFI list. In the women’s section, the federation has omitted Mandeep Kaur (4x100m relay) and Sunita Dahiya (4x400m relay), and kept the selection of Sunita Rani in abeyance, though she has attained the qualifying mark in the 1500 metres “several times”. The AAFI list also figures Poonam Tomar (4x100m relay) and S Geetha (4x400m relay), who were not in the government list. The 42 athletes selected by the AAFI are: Men: Anand Menezes (200m and 4x100m relay); K M Binu (800m); Kuldeep Kumar (1500m); Gulab Chand (5000m and 10,000m); Anil Kumar, Sandeep Sarkaria, Piyush Kumar, Cliford Joshua and Sanjay Ghosh (4x100m relay); P Ramachandran, Paramjeet Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Manoj Lal, Satbir Singh and Jata Shankar (4x400m relay); Shakti Singh and Bahadur Singh (shot put); Anil Kumar (discus throw); Harminder Singh (javelin throw) and Pramod Kumar (hammer throw). Women: Saraswati Saha (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay); Vinita Tripathi (200m, 4x100m relay); K.M. Beenamol (400m, 800m, 4x400m relay); Jincy Philip (400m, 4x400m relay); Madhuri A Singh (800m, 1500m); Bobby Alloysius (high jump); Anju Bobby George (long jump and triple jump); Harwant Kaur (shot put and discus throw); Neelam J Singh (discus throw); Gurmeet Kaur (javelin throw); Hardeep Kaur (hammer throw); Soma Biswas (heptathlon and 4x400m relay); J J Shobha (heptathlon); Anuradha Biswal (100m hurdles); Rachita Mistry (4x100m relay), V Jayalakshmi (4x100m relay); Anuradha Biswal (4x100m relay); Poonam Tomar, Manjuma Kuriakose, Manjeet Kaur and S Geetha (4x400m relay). AAFI secretary Lalit Kumar Bhanot said though Punjab girl Sunita Rani has attained the qualifying mark for the 1500m, and also figures in the first list released by the government, her selection has been kept in “abeyance” as she had not participated in the Open National Athletic Championships, which concluded at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium last night. “The AAFI has no information about her”, he said. Veteran coach Joginder Singh Saini, one of the selection committee members, said Sunita Rani’s case would be considered after finding out her whereabout. “She is a medal prospect for the Asiad”, Saini observed. The AAFI selection committee met here today before finalising the squad. The committee comprised former Olympians Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, P.T. Usha, Shiny Wilson, Sriram Singh, Bahadur Singh, junior national coach J S Saini, special invitees Rajesh Tomar, Ranga Rao and P.K. Srivastava and Bhanot. Bhanot said though Gulab Chand has not attained the qualifying mark for the Asiad, “he has been running exceedingly well, and would be a medal prospect in the 5000 and 10,000 metres as both the races involve tactical running. Gulab Chand is capable of doing well in these events”. He said Gurmeet Kaur (javelin throw) has also been selected considering her potential to achieve greater heights. She has done 54.99m and in the Circuit Meet at Ludhiana recently, she cleared 53 metres. “She is capable of doing better”, he noted. Bhanot claimed that the AAFI has picked only “medal prospects”. He said he was not aware of the list released by the government. “We had given a provisional list to the IOA (Indian Olympic Association). It was not the final list. The IOA must have forwarded that list to the government”, Bhanot explained. The athletic contingent will leave for Busan only on October 3, though Beenamol will have to leave with the first batch, as she is the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent. “The IOA will decide about that”, Bhanot said. The athletes will be attending a coaching camp in Patiala till their departure for
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India juniors rout Myanmar
Abu Dhabi, September 10 India, who had lost their first match to China 1-4 on Friday, will take on the UAE in their final league encounter for a place in the last eight. In another match, China beat the UAE 1-0 to become the first country to qualify for the quarterfinals. Suting Marlangki scored the fastest goal of the tournament so far to put India ahead 24 seconds into the game. Getting a pass from Jerry Zirsanga, Marlangki craftily shot the ball into the goal to the delight of the Indian supporters. Malsawma made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute when his free kick eluded the Myanmar keeper Tun Tun Lin. India tightened their grip on the match with another goal through Ralte Lalmuankima shortly before the half time. A fourth goal in the third minute into the second half by Lamare Rocus virtually clinched the issue for India. Myanmar missed a golden opportunity to score in the 27th minute when Kyaw Kyaw Soe’s shot hit the crossbar. But Myanmar managed to reduce the margin through a Win Min Htut goal scored in the 70th minute. PTI
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Indian girls go down to Russia New Delhi, September 10 India, very much the underdogs against the fourth-seeded Russians, lost both their singles matches and the doubles tie. Sania Mirza was beaten 5-7, 4-6 by Elena Vesnina while Ankita Bhambri lost to Ektarina Kirianova 6-3, 4-6, 3-6. The pair capitulated in the doubles tie 2-6, 6-1, 0-6 to Vesnina and Olga Panova, according to information received here. Sania’s defeat might be put down to her tough scheduling. She had to enter the singles match with barely an hour’s practice after flying in from the USA, the previous evening. The fact that she also had to adjust her game to the slower red clay after playing on hard courts for three weeks did not help her cause. Ankita on the other hand started off well playing a very attacking game. Her loss of serve in the second set when scores were level at 4-4 probably proved to be the turning point. Still, she fought gamely to pull back from 1-5 down in the decider to 3-5 before Kirianova sealed the match on her next serve. The Indians take on Germany, the sixth seeds, in their next encounter later today.
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Jeev finishes tied 10th New Delhi, September 10 Jeev’s tournament tally stood at an impressive seven-under 277. The week’s performance also earned him euros 27,800. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson won the tournament and Euros 250,000 by a
comfortable margin of four strokes. Karlsson’s winning tally of 14-under 270, came despite a final round effort of level-par 71. Scotland’s Paul Lawrence and South Africa’s Trevor Immelman finished joint runners-up at 10-under 274, according to information received here today. Jeev started with a birdie but dropped a shot on the
second. PTI |
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