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Saturday,
February 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Kiwis not to play in Kenya
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Shane
Warne, McGrath can shape Australia’s destiny Determination in Indian
camp Nostalgic trip for
Indians
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Punjab meet TN in crucial tie today Damp start to Kila Raipur meet Olympians’ pension discontinued SAI to promote
coaches
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Kiwis not to play in Kenya
Auckland, January 31 The decision, announced today after a day-long meeting of the New Zealand Cricket board in the southern city of Christchurch, follows an ICC ruling yesterday that two Cup matches planned for Nairobi should proceed. “The New Zealand Cricket team will not be playing in Kenya,” chief executive Martin Snedden said in a statement. “This decision was made by the New Zealand Cricket board after reviewing all the evidence regarding safety and security of playing the World Cup match scheduled for February 21. “As part of that process the board has received additional safety and security reports which have come to hand since Tuesday and have taken further advice from (an) independent security consultant. “The board has concluded that on the basis of the information currently available the safety and security risk for our players is too high.” “The New Zealand Cricket board will give notice to the ICC that it does not believe that the decision taken by the ICC last night was reasonable. This is a matter which will now be resolved through legal processes.” New Zealand now faces censure and possible financial penalty for its rejection of the ICC directive. It has heeded, instead, advice from its own government and from private security advisers that the safety of its players in Kenya cannot be guaranteed. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed announced in London yesterday that his organisation was satisfied with security arrangements surrounding the New Zealand match in Nairobi and another between Kenya and Sri Lanka on February 24. New Zealand had made a lengthy submission to the ICC of security issues, including a report from its own security consultant, Reg Dickason, which cast doubt on the ability of Kenyan police to meet any terrorist threat. Earlier today, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff said his government had provided information to help the New Zealand Cricket board reach its decision. “The board itself has taken quite extraordinary measures to find out about the situation,” Goff said. “Naturally, its paramount consideration is the safety of its people.” In November, 14 people including three Israelis were killed in a car bombing at the Kenyan beach resort of Mombassa. Two surface to air missiles were also fired at an Israeli airliner. The New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association hailed today’s decision as courageous.
AP Johannesburg, January 31 Dr Bacher, executive director of cricket’s showpiece, was speaking after today’s decision by New Zealand Cricket
Board (NZCB) not to honour the World Cup fixture in Nairobi on February 21 because of security concerns.
Reuters |
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Shane
Warne, McGrath can shape Australia’s destiny Australia have a great chance of successfully defending their World Cup crown if Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are fully fit. However, if either or both these players are unable to perform at full throttle from the Super Six stage onwards then there’s a good chance the 1979 West Indies team will remain the only side to win back-to-back World Cups. Strengths: A strong aggressive batting line-up headed by Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden. A fast start allows the rest of the line-up to attack throughout the 50 overs and this aggressive approach is also a distinct advantage in a run chase. The experience and skill of McGrath and Warne means they can attack and take wickets in clusters or pin the batsmen down and choke off runs. They supply a solid foundation for Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee to mount a lethal attack giving Australia the potential to demolish even a strong batting line-up. An athletic and skilful fielding side that produces a high percentage of direct hits backs this well-balanced attack. Weaknesses: The main injury worries are two top-class bowlers. Shane Watson is still an unproven allrounder and this especially applies to his bowling. If the injured bowlers struggle to recover their best form then even more pressure will be applied to Watson’s bowling. The non-selection of Stuart MacGill and Ian Harvey as cover for Warne and Watson was a blunder. Men to watch: Can Ponting hold his nerve as captain in the tough section of the tournament? One side effect of Australia’s recent dominance is they have rarely been fully tested consequently Ponting could have the blowtorch applied to his belly in a death or glory struggle. The fitness of
Warne, McGrath and Gillespie is critical. The back-up players are useful cricketers but in a crucial match would the opposition prefer to face Andrew Bichel and Brad Hogg rather than McGrath and
Warne? The answer must be an emphatic, “Yes.” The tactic of scoring runs quickly in the first 15 overs may not be as critical in this World Cup as having wickets in hand for a final onslaught. Gilchrist may be pushed down the order to reflect this need. Opposition dangers: New Zealand’s supremacy over Australia in last season’s VB series was due in part to Stephen Fleming’s captaincy. He isn’t over-awed by the powerful Australian line-up and attacks them at every opportunity. Of the teams who might upset Australia I rate New Zealand the side most likely. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Brian Lara are all dangerous opponents because they attack bowlers of the calibre of McGrath and
Warne. A century at a high strike rate is difficult to combat in a limited overs contest because there’s so little time to recover once you’ve experienced a setback. Jacques Kallis, Chris Cairns and Shaun Pollock are top-class all-rounders and can beat you either with bat or ball or both. If the two South Africans fire together in a sudden-death contest they could reverse the recent trend of Australia winning the important contests between these teams. Intangibles: Should Australia play in Zimbabwe? Governments not cricket authorities or players should make this decision. A no-show wouldn’t hurt Australia’s prospects because of the ludicrous system where points from the preliminary round are only carried through to the Super Six stage when they are gained against teams that also progress. Australia will need more heroics from their two champion bowlers to successfully defend their World Cup crown so any debilitating injuries to Warne and McGrath would be devastating. 21st Century Media |
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Determination in Indian camp Durban, January 31 “There’s a bit of quiet determination in the squad, even the new players are talking of being successful, which is a very good sign,” he said here. Admitting that Tendulkar’s ankle injury in New Zealand was a “nasty blow” for the team, Wright said the master batsman was now fully fit and raring to go. “It was a nasty blow for us, but we’ve had to manage Sachin during the time of his injury and he has fully recovered to make his place in the team,” he said. “It’s exciting and we’ve been working towards this tournament for over a year and things seem to be coming together,” the former New Zealand opener said. “We are in a difficult group, and if we come through that, then we could be a dangerous proposition for the remainder of the tournament,” he added. “I’m looking forward to this tournament as are the players - they have done well over the year especially in the Caribbean, England and Sri Lanka. Now the time has come to do well in South Africa,” he said.
PTI |
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Nostalgic trip for Indians Durban, January 31 India, who have a warm-up game against Kwa-Zulu Natal and a league match against Namibia scheduled in Pietermaritzburg — where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train on a cold night in June 1893 — will travel to their venue along the Gandhi route and disembark at the historic station amid fanfare and international media coverage. A new brochure entitled ‘Gandhi in Pietermaritzburg’ is being published for the event to highlight the city’s relationship with the Mahatma, the Daily News reported. India’s warm-up game against Kwa-Zulu Natal is scheduled for February 4 while the league match against Namibia will be played on February 23. The Indians will have a development clinic at Protea Park on February 21 and will attend a music festival at the Golden Horse Casino the next day before playing against Namibia. Bangladesh play their league match against Sri Lanka on February 14 at Pietermaritzburg. During their visit, the Bangladesh cricket team will also conduct a clinic for young players at Imbali.
PTI |
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Punjab meet TN in crucial tie today Chandigarh, January 31 Showers, which started a couple of days earlier, continued throughout the day which must have caused anxiety to the hosts as they along with Tamil Nadu and Baroda head the table jointly, having identical seven points at this stage. While Baroda have completed their engagements, for Punjab and Tamil Nadu this is their last match of the group. So, Punjab will only be keen to see the match get under way as early as possible so that they can go all out to take at least the first innings lead and the resultant one point, enough for them to see through to the semifinal. Punjab will rely heavily on the in-form wicketkeeper batsman Pankaj Dharmani, skipper Reetinder Sodhi and opener Ravneet Ricky in batting and fast-improving Amit Uniyal and Gagandeep Singh in bowling to fire on all cylinders so that the hosts achieve their target with minimum of fuss. Dharmani is in fine nick having scored a brilliant double century in the last match against Gujarat at Ahmedabad. The visitors have the likes of former India opener Sadagopan Ramesh, skipper S Sarath and S Sriram, the latter two heavy scorers in domestic cricket, to do the bulk of scoring while depending upon Balaji Rao, J Gokulkrishan and M R Srinivas to achieve vital breakthroughs at the right time so essential if they have to book their berth in last four. Seamer Balaji Rao got to play a lone one-day match against the West Indies before being dumped unceremoniously without a fair trial. The teams (from): Punjab: Reetinder Sodhi (captain), Gagandeep Singh, Ankur Kakkar, Munish Sharma, Sandeep Sawal, Ravneet Ricky, S P Singh, Sanjay Mahajan, Pankaj Dharmani, Samrat Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Vineet Sharma, Harminder Jugnu, Harish Puri, Navdeep Singh and Amit Uniyal. Tamil Nadu: S Sharath (captain), S Suresh, S Ramesh, S Sriram, Hemang Badani, S V Sarvanan, S Vidyuth, K K D Kartik, D Dandapani, Balaji Rao, G Vignesh, M R Srinivash, J Madangopal, J Gokulkrishan, S Badrinath. Umpires:
S.G. Gupta and Narendra Menon. |
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Damp start to Kila Raipur meet Kila Raipur, January 31 However, later it was decided that the games should be declared open and only the events were postponed by another day. Former minister and MLA from Ludhiana Rural, Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi declared the games open by unfurling the flag in presence of hundreds of people, sportpersons and others who had descended on the Grewal Sports Stadium here to watch various events. Prominent among those present included the Inspector General of Police, (Intelligence), Mr Sumedh Singh Saini, besides other senior police officers. Mr Sukhbir Grewal, one of the organisers said, in case the weather improved tomorrow, the events scheduled for today will also be organised tomorrow. He disclosed that earlier it was thought that the games would be postponed, but the organising committee decided against it. The main attractions for today included the bullock cart races and the tent pegging. Both of these were postponed since the ground was too wet. However, the organisers presented some special events in which various individuals displayed their extra ordinary talent and skill. Like that of Gurmeet Singh of Ludhiana, who lifted a 20 feet long and 85 kgs heavy ladder on his teeth. Similarly Balbir Singh of Hoshiarpur sneaked his cycle through a burning tyre. Seven-year-old Jasmail Singh did 100 push ups in four minutes along with 55-year-old Hardham Singh Gill, who appeared Jasmail’s only rival. This 70-year-old Gurnam Singh lifted a bicycle with his teeth. The crowd which included a number of NRIs and some foreigners cheered all through these events. The mild but continuous shower did not dampen their enthusiasm. The main attraction of the event was Krishna, who kept on “standing in the air” for a couple of hours. He had been framed in an iron jacket that was held by an iron rod which was concealed inside earthen pitchers. One of Krishna’s brothers kept on taking rounds of the stadium on over 10 feet iron rods, making him look extraordinarily taller. |
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Olympians’ pension discontinued Chandigarh, January 31 “Many of them are living in penury,” reveals the former BSF full back maintaining that after suspension of the pension disbursement scheme ,” many of sports stars of yesteryears are virtually struggling to get two square meals a day.” The Director of Sports, Mr Kartar Singh, admits that the pension scheme has been discontinued because of “financial crunch” but hopes that “it would be revived as soon as the file pending before the Finance Department revives clearance.” Olympians get a pension of Rs 1,000 a month while medallists of Asian Games or Commonwealth Games get Rs 600 a month as sports pension. “It has been more than a year now that any sportsman or woman got pension,” claims Baldev Singh. “When the present Congress Government headed by Capt Amarinder Singh assumed office, the sports fraternity felt greatly elevated as the Chief Minister came from a family which pioneered the Olympic movement in India. Not only that, even the present Patiala family has deep and strong connections with the sports and sports
administration. We expected enhancement in sports budget and more benefits to sportsmen and women. “But the reality is that the government has turned a deaf ear to sports and sportsmen. For retired people like me, a fixed source of income for sustenance has been arbitrarily withdrawn,” said Baldev Singh. He said in December when Punjab police organised a function at PAP Jalandhar to felicitate sports heroes of yesteryears, a number of participants were critical of the government for withdrawing the pension. Many of them had retired from police as constables and head constables and were really hard pressed to make both ends meet. “They gave their youth to the country and brought laurels with their excellent performances on playfields. But now, the government has money for inserting full page advertisements in self praise but no money to look after national heroes of yesteryears. It is really shameful,” concluded Baldev Singh. |
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SAI to promote
coaches
Patiala, January 31
This decision will affect the careers of 493 coaches who have already put in more than 12 years of service without getting the benefits of promotion under the assured career progression (ACP) scheme. Although nearly one third of SAI’s total number of coaches will benefit by this order, at least 16 coaches, who had moved CAT, will be the immediate beneficiaries. |
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