Top seed Hewitt had been the favourite to lift the men’s crown bu could find no answers to the questions posed by 18th seed El Aynaoui’s powerful service game and booming forehand.

Hewitt looked uncomfortable throughout and was unable to engineer a single break of serve in a tight encounter. The decisive moment came in the seventh game of the fourth set, when El Aynaoui broke the 21-year-old Australian for the only time in the match.

Hewitt had a point to break back to 5-5 but was unable to take it and El Aynaoui held serve to claim a dramatic win.

“There was one break of service in four sets today of high intensity tennis,” said Hewitt. “It’s just disappointing that I was at the other end of it.”

“I had a lot of chances. He served huge today. He kept hitting the lines and I couldn’t get any rhythm on my returns. He was too good.

“He’s a tough player to get any rhythm off. He doesn’t give you an opportunity to put pressure on. He didn’t play any loose games today. He played extremely well.”

The upset was the biggest shock of the men’s event at the Australian Open so far, and came as the second week started in soaring temperatures that forced organisers to suspend play under new heat safety regulations.

The policy was invoked at 2.15 pm local time (0415 GMT) and lifted when the temperature dropped again. Play resumed at 4.15pm (0615 GMT).

Australian Open officials lowered the trigger for halting play this year from 38 degrees to 35 following concerns over player safety.

The heat was no problem for American Andy Roddick, who recovered from two sets down to unravel Russia’s Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny and win a five-set marathon. The ninth-seeded Roddick won 6-7 (4/7), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

Roddick, from Florida and familiar with the high temperatures on court, came through for only his second career five-set victory as the 20-year-old Muscovite fell apart.

Rainer Schuettler claimed his first Grand Slam quarter-final spot with a commanding 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over rising young American James Blake.

The 31st-seeded German swept to victory in 1hr 55 min to lock up a place in the last eight against either Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian or Swiss sixth seed Roger Federer, who play their fourth round match later today.

While Hewitt was sent packing, there were no problems for his female counterpart Serena Williams, who shrugged off the demanding conditions to beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-4, 6-1.

The heat ruling did not affect Williams’ match - ties in progress must be completed regardless of temperatures - and the Florida-based American favourite said she was used to the conditions anyway.

“It was hot but it could be worse,” said the 20-year-old after mopping up a win in just over an hour.

The American star also said thick smoke which shrouded Melbourne from bushfires elsewhere in the state of Victoria had not bothered her.

“I looked out my window this morning and I didn’t realise it was smoke,” Williams said.

“I thought it was a bit strange. But playing-wise, it wasn’t an issue at all for me. I didn’t smell it, added Williams, who will now play compatriot Meghann Shaughnessy for a place in the last four.” Shaughnessy, the 25th seed, overcame Russia’s Elena Bovina in three sets, fighting back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Leander teamed up with Rikl to beat James Blake (USA) and Mark Merklein (Bahamas) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to advance into the pre-quarter-final stage. In the mixed doubles Mahesh Bhupathi and Iroda Tulyaganova (Uzbekistan) upstaged the Australian pair of Nathan Healey and Evie Dominikovic 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 10-3 in the deciding tie-break to progress into the third round. UNI

“The board cannot mention the PIL (public interest litigation) on the agenda as it was the board on whose behalf it was filed,” a senior member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Eight eminent cricket lovers, including former India cricket captain Kapil Dev, on Friday filed the suit in the Delhi High Court urging the Central Government to step in and resolve the lingering World Cup sponsorship controversy.

At issue is the clash of interests of some Indian cricketers and the four official sponsors of the World Cup, which will be held in South Africa from February 8 to March 23.

The court will hear the suit on Tuesday, after it receives replies from the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the International Cricket Council (ICC), its marketing arm ICC Development International (IDI) the various sponsors of the Indian players and the BCCI.

The suit urged the government not to release foreign exchange for the World Cup as “80 per cent” of sponsorship revenue would come from India.

Three sponsors of the tournament, Hero Honda, LG Electronics and Pepsi, are India-based and if the court accepts the petition, they will require RBI permission to transfer foreign exchange to the ICC.

“We, on a personal level, have all along been requesting the sponsors to see reason but they did not budge,” said the BCCI official.

“The effect of the petition is already showing as Hero Honda has already softened its stance and is willing to negotiate. We hope other sponsors, who have been refusing to compromise on the issue, would also soften their stand,” he added.

The official said board’s working committee would discuss the petition under the head “any other matter with the permission of the chair”, which is normally the last item on the agenda.

BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, whom the general body has authorised to discuss the sponsorship issue with the ICC, would “update” the members about his various meetings with the world body, and the latest position vis-à-vis the ICC, the official said.

Another World Cup-related issue that would be discussed is the doping policy of the World Cup organisers. All participating players would undergo dope tests for the first time in the history of the World Cup, which started in 1975.

The working committee will also discuss India’s participation in the upcoming Asia Cup, which is to be held in Pakistan in April.

Since the Indian government is unlikely to clear the team to tour Pakistan under its current sports policy with the neighbouring country, the hosts have offered to shift the tournament to either Dhaka or Colombo to facilitate India’s participation.

Sporting relations, especially cricket ties, between India and Pakistan have been at a virtual standstill for the past two years. The Indian government has said the ties will resume only after Pakistan stops supporting cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) made it clear in a two-page statement that it was contemplating other option as the dragging match fee dispute remained deadlocked, busting ICC deadlines set for signing World Cup contracts.

The BCCSL is already in trouble with the ICC after breaching the Friday deadline to have the player contracts signed and forwarded to it.

A top board source said a fed-up management was thinking of sending another squad or totally pulling out of the World Cup if Jayasuriya’s men insisted on a 20 per cent slice of the $ 6.4 million guarantee money on top of their match fees.

The board had offered 10 per cent plus an incentive of $ 100,000 for the entire team for winning the world cup plus another $ 20,000 for qualifying for the finals.

The board has also offered to double the match fees from $ 700 to $ 1,400, but the players were insisting on the 20 per cent increase after brushing aside the incentive scheme.

There was no immediate reaction from Jayasuriya’s men who are currently touring Australia.

The BCCSL said it was in a crisis with the ICC which had set January 17 deadline for Sri Lankan players to sign contracts to play at the World Cup.

“In the event that the squad members fail to do so the BCCSL will be reluctantly compelled to avail itself of all remedies available to it,” the board said in the statement.

A cricket board source said the options included fielding a different squad or completely pulling out.

The BCCSL said that it had paid 70 per cent of its total revenue last year to its players and argued that the new pay demand would leave the board without adequate cash for development work. PTI

“The intensity of modern schedules has a direct correlation with the amount of injuries suffered by leading players and despite my objections at international captains’ meetings, the authorities appear blind to the problem,” Hussain wrote in his weekly column in The Sunday Telegraph.

“It seems as though the people in charge of international schedules are only interested in how much money they can make in one calendar year. They sell every possible date to television companies, leaving the players as a final thought,” he said.

“We mention this at captains’ meetings and the ICC representative says they are looking into it yet nothing is done. Despite assurances to the contrary I have seen an increase in the amount of cricket rather than a reduction and it worries me that the sport has become a money-making exercise.

“We are creating a situation where the best players, such as Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, will slowly go out of the game through injury. We will then have a bunch of stale cricketers plodding along on the international treadmill trying to get by, rather than performing at their best.”

While admitting that the increase in cricket also meant players making more money, Hussain said, “but that is not the reason we play the game. I am not here to take as much money as possible and suck the game dry. I want to compete against the best players but if we continue to play non-stop international cricket that will not happen.”

He said one-day cricket has always been played at a frenetic pace but now fielding has become such an essential part of the game that coaches and captains are asking players to dive around trying to save every boundary.

“We are now asking more from players than their primary skill and the upshot is that bowlers are being asked to risk injury by saving runs.

“Players such as Warne, Bichel, Harmison and Jones have all been injured in the field on this trip.”

The England team is currently in Australia for a tri-nation contest following the five-Test Ashes series. PTI

Limited overs cricket which began in England in 1963 soon spread to other countries and gained in popularity before the first World Cup was held in 1975.

With its birth, traditionalists were alarmed — many still are like celebrated cricket writer Sir Nevile Cardus who called it “snicket” or “slogget” — anything but cricket.

The adoption of limited-overs cricket by the English counties and then its quick appearance on the international scene brought about perhaps the most fundamental change in the game.

The first knock-out competition was held during the English cricket season of 1963 and it was known as the ‘Gillette Cup’. In fact, a year earlier, Leicestershire had mooted the idea of holding a four-county limited-overs tournament known as the ‘Midland’s knock-out cup’ between Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire besides Leicestershire.

Limited-overs cricket, however, would not have seen the light of day but for an alarming drop in the attendance at Test and county games.

In 1966, the Marylbourne Cricket Club (MCC) set up a special committee to look into the decline in gate collections and the general tempo of the game. The committee under the chairmanship of H.S. Altham, proposed a drastic solution — a knock-out competition.

The idea of knock-out competition pleased the sponsors who were ready to pour money into the game. The shorter version ensured instant results unlike the ong and boring Test and county matches that mostly ended in draws.

This pilot scheme worked well as a new set of rules was introduced — each innings was restricted to 65 overs and no bowler could deliver more than 15 of them.

The Gillette Cup later became the base for limited-overs competitions all over the world.

On May 1, 1963, the preliminary match between Lancashire and Leicestershire was played at Manchester, for the Gillette Cup. Though, the start was inauspicious, with rain holding up the start for three hours, the tournament was financially very successful. The final was held at Lord’s on Saturday, September 7, 1963, before a capacity crowd of 25,000, when Sussex became the first winners of the Gillette Cup, beating Worcestershire by 14 runs.

In subsequent years, apart from limiting a side’s innings to 60 overs, with 12 overs being the limit for each bowler, major changes were introduced including a restriction on field placements.

The second limited-overs competition was introduced in 1969 known as the John Player League or the Sunday League. This was followed by the Benson and Hedges League Cup in 1972.

With so many successful limited-overs matches and tournaments being played during the 60s, the first limited-overs international match was played on January 5, 1971 between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket ground before 46,000 spectators.

Ironically, this 40-over (eight balls) match was played due to the cancellation of the scheduled third Test match of the Ashes series. Since then, limited-overs one-day games between Test playing countries have become popular.

The success of the first-ever international match prompted the Test and County Cricket Board of England (TCCB) to arrange a series of three one-day matches between the home team and the touring Australians in 1972.

This 55-over a side international tournament known as the Prudential Trophy, provided lively, competitive cricket and was a financially rewarding diversion from the sterner stuff of five-day Test matches.

The tournament has become an integral part of the English season and continued to flourish.

Instant cricket did not flourish in England only. India, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand, the then permanent members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), started their own domestic competitions during the seventies.

The shorter version became so popular during the 70s that it was decided by the ICC to hold a major tournament involving the Test playing nations. Thus, World Cup was born and the first World Cup was held in England in June 1975 involving eight countries — England, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and East Africa.

However, the game changed dramatically in 1977 with the advent of the Australian media tycoon, Kerry Packer. With millions of dollars pumped in, cricket was never the same again. Limited-overs internationals were designed to attract big TV audiences, which meant that the game had to be more attractive and more viewer oriented.

Striker Abhishek Yadav struck the brilliant golden goal early in the extra time as the Indians avenged last week’s defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals with a 2-1 victory in a fast-paced and surcharged encounter at the Bangabandhu National stadium.

The depleted Indians, fighting for the third position after their quest for a hat trick of titles was brought to an end by Bangladesh in the semifinals on Saturday, appeared more determined to make amends for their hook defeat in the inaugural match.

Veteran striker I.M. Vijayan, who has been hardly impressive right through the championship, put the defending champions in the lead in the 66th minute of the contest, heading in a cross from Alvito D’Cunha.

But the euphoria was short-lived as the Pakistanis restored parity within four minutes with the hard-working Sarfaraz Rasool heading home a pass from Ayaz Mohammad.

It was Abhishek Yadav who came to the rescue of the Indians by producing a gem of a goal in the ninth minute of extra time after both the teams were locked 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

Anand, who lost his world champion crown to Ponomariov last year, registered the victory in 34 moves.

Dutch champion grandmaster Loek Van Wely defeated Jan Timman and continued to lead the tables along with Anand on 5 points.

However, the other overnight leader and world’s highest rated woman, Judit Polgar drew a tense game with top seed Braingames Champion Vladimir Kramnik and slipped to joint third spot on 4.5 points. Joining her on the third spot was Spaniard Alexei Shirov who humbled Evgeny Bareev of Russia. PTI

BUBKA’S SON                                                  
MELBOURNE: He lost his first match and did not even try to jump the net but there was no escaping the spotlight for the skinny teenager with the famous father at the Australian Open on Monday. While most first round losers in the junior boys competition normally just stroll out of the Melbourne Park gates unnoticed, things were a little more hectic for 15-year-old Sergey Bubka. As the son of one of the world’s greatest-ever athletes, the former Olympic and world champion pole vaulter who bears the same name, media interest in the 15-year-old’s first appearance at a grand slam event was guaranteed. Bubka lost the match 6-2 7-6, which was no real surprise as Florin is two years older and already one of the best junior players in the world, but nobody was interested in the winner. While Mergea packed up his rackets and wandered back to the locker room, Bubka began the first of a round of interviews that would fill up the rest of his day. Reuters