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Monday,
February 3, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Kiwis may appeal to ICC Security concerns rob World Cup of its
charms Aussies will stay undefeated: McGrath England have tough opening match India fully geared up for challenge
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Srinath decision after Cup
Punjab bundled out for 233 Hyderabad’s
hopes recede JCT steamroll Mahindra Rare feats of skill at Kila Raipur
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Kiwis may appeal to ICC
Christchurch, February 2 New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Martin Snedden, who wants the February 21 match against Kenya moved for security reasons, said taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland could take too long. “Formal procedures in the Arbitration Court take longer and it could be too late for the match but we still have to find out the time frame involved,” Snedden said. The ICC has sent the NZC a list of options on taking its case forward but Snedden said he had not interpreted the message as an olive branch after the Kiwis’ shock announcement on Friday. “I read it and just thought it was really only functional. I did not read anything else into it,” said Snedden, who spent the weekend preparing appeal procedures before flying to South Africa tomorrow. New Zealand have pulled out of the game in Nairobi citing security fears after 11 people were killed in a bomb attack at a Mombasa hotel. In 1998, more than 200 people were killed when the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, in Tanzania, were bombed. The NZC believes the ICC is unreasonable in expecting the Black Caps to play in Kenya, where security issues are significant and the players’ safety is jeopardised. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed has said he recognised the serious security issues raised by New Zealand and would work to see if the match could proceed or be rescheduled. Speed said the ICC would make available its intelligence and security advisers to provide a detailed briefing on the advice it had received about a terrorist cell operating in Nairobi. Speed said he would talk to Snedden to confirm the ICC dispute resolution process to be used. The “NZC is entitled to seek this review in light of any concerns it may hold and it is appropriate the ICC’s decision’s are thoroughly scrutinised in this way,” he said. The possible options include an independent ICC committee of five members to hear the dispute, the ICC World Cup events technical committee or arbitration through the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. Snedden said it was likely the NZC would appeal to the technical committee for a review of the case. The World Cup’s technical committee which takes control of the tournament from today comprises tournament chief Ali Bacher (South Africa), Speed, Sunil Gavaskar (India), Michael Holding (West Indies), ICC commercial manager Campbell Jamieson and Brian Basson (South Africa). Bacher has already stated the Black Caps will forfeit their points from the Kenyan match, effectively placing Kenya at the top of Group B less than a week before the start of the tournament. AUCKLAND: New Zealand Cricket expressed “increasing optimism” today that an impasse over its refusal to play a World Cup match in Kenya will be resolved. “I have more optimism today than yesterday,” NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said. Snedden said he doubted New Zealand would be fined over its refusal because of security concerns to play its match against Kenya in Nairobi on February 21. Reports have suggested New Zealand could be fined as much as $ 1.35 million from its estimated $ 8 million share of tournament revenues for its defiance of an ICC directive that the Kenyan match should proceed. “A fine is total speculation,” Snedden said. “There is no provision in the World Cup agreement specifying levels of fines. AFP/AP
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Security
concerns rob World Cup of its charms NEW Zealand cricket’s attitude is pathetic. The board’s decision to skip the match in Kenya has straight away robbed World Cup 2003 of some of its charm. But, in these contentious times, anyone could have bet his bottom dollar that the World Cup would never have had a smooth run. Thank heavens then that the USA will not in the near future be host to the cricket World Cup. If it were to host the event, all nations would have pull out due to security concerns. After all, did we not, in the avowedly most powerful nation on earth, see aircraft being hijacked and driven into the symbolic towers of economic superiority in the heart of Manhattan? There has always been some reason to suspect an Anglo-Saxon conspiracy to disrupt World Cups that are not run in the nations they dominate in the economic and political sense like England, Australia and New Zealand. Every other World Cup, including two in the Subcontinent, and the one coming up in South Africa has been disrupted by boycotts, personal or by national teams. Stars like Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee did not come to the World Cup of 1987 which was the first held outside England after that nation had hosted the first three World Cups on the argument that the country, with a huge network of grounds in geographical proximity, was the ideal venue from the point of view of logistics. Hadlee did come to India later because he was on the threshold of the Test bowling record and his body clock was ticking just like everyone else’s. Botham’s career was over by the time the next World Cup was held in these parts. The same gentlemen keep returning to the Subcontinent when they are cocooned in comfort as analysts of the game on television. The security situation in Colombo was made out to be one of such horrendous implications in 1996 that Australia and the West Indies refused to travel to Sri Lanka. And we had a stripped down version of the event in one of two league groups. Yet, the four teams that qualified from that group made it to the semi-finals. The rules then were such they were blind to such boycotts. New Zealand is quite prepared to lose a point besides the ones it would have normally won in its match against Kenya. The Kiwis saw the worst of security nightmares when they were eye-witnesses to the bombing in a hotel car park in Karachi across the road from the luxury hostelry they were staying in. No human being can see such carnage and not be psychologically affected. Player security must be the highest concern of the cricket boards. It is a huge priority. It is, however, a mystery why they see security fears only in certain countries and not in others. There is a flaw in the logic somewhere if sportsmen begin to imagine that they are the biggest targets of terrorists wishing to make a point against society. Apart from the carnage in Munich in 1972 — again in a first world country — there has been no
large-scale disruption of sporting events. The nail bomb that went off in a park in Atlanta in 1996 during the Olympics did not disrupt the event. Security threats can be perceived in almost every cricket-playing nation. The pandemic violence of Johannesburg has had its cricketer-victims too. The view from a corner of the world like New Zealand must be different. The only threat to life there could be from a gas explosion in heated homes. The Kiwis may be happy playing only in England, Australia and the West Indies. If they need such comfort, they would have to look at a polarised cricket world. If you see cricket from a larger world perspective, the size of participation by nations is laughable what with 14 teams, five of them from a junior rung, making up a World Cup. Yet, cricketers and their boards tend to make an enormous fuss about everything. And it is not as if they have been asked to play in Baghdad or Kandahar or Belfast or, for that matter, Lebanon. The political fallout of Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe co-hosting the Cup is yet to be ascertained. If England decides to follow suit and keep off from Harare where the presence of their cricketers may be a rallying point for protestors, what we will have left is a lame-duck World Cup. The main losers from a cricketing point of view will be New Zealand and England. Hardly three years have rolled by since New Zealand was crowned champion in the ICC Trophy in Nairobi in Kenya. Terrorism and strife have probably become more intense with the passage of time. No one can argue against player safety being of paramount concern. The life of sportsmen should be secured. But, for the sake of accommodating Anglo-Saxon political and security sensitivities, the one solution would be that all World Cup matches be played at Lord’s and The Oval or the SCG and the MCG or even at Eden Park and WestPace Trust Stadium where the biggest security threat may come from juicy pitches prepared by New Zealand groundsmen. The rest of the cricket world will be prepared to send their sporting teams almost anywhere unless, of course, the reason is the kind of political chill that sweeps India and Pakistan. If wider social and political issues are to be considered each time cricket is to be played outside the safety of England, Australia and New Zealand, where then does one draw the line?
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Aussies will stay undefeated: McGrath
Sydney, February 2 “After having to win the hard way in 1999, our goal for the 2003 World Cup is to go through the tournament undefeated, something I believe this team can do,” McGrath wrote in a column for Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The 32-year-old paceman was part of the Australian lineup that lost group matches against New Zealand and Pakistan before recovering to remain unbeaten in its last seven matches to clinch the title at Lord’s four years ago. “While the goal for every team is to be world champions, it would give us even more satisfaction to hold up the trophy without having dropped a game all through the tournament,” McGrath said. “With such tremendous talent in the squad and great faith in each other’s ability, I am convinced that special things are in store for us in South Africa.” The Australians weren’t ‘preoccupied’ with the World Cup or retaining the title of being the best in the world, McGrath said. “Put simply, we are going over there to win and the boys have the mindset that it is another series, another tournament that we are aiming to win.” The Australians won a recent tri-series tournament against England and Sri Lanka, despite injuries to McGrath and other leading bowlers Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie. McGrath said he was over his back problem, Warne had recovered from a dislocated shoulder — which he sustained in a fielding accident against England on December 15 — and Gillespie was getting back to fitness. The major concern for the Aussies was Michael Bevan, who injured his groin in the final against England last month. Bevan “is our only genuine worry,” McGrath said. “When he went down last weekend, I thought he had done something major and that the Cup was over as far he was concerned. But the scans showed his groin injury was nowhere near as bad as first feared and he will not miss much.” Australia opens its campaign at Johannesburg on February 11 against Pakistan, the beaten finalist in ’99 and an unpredictable lineup. South Africa remained the biggest threat, McGrath said. “Remember, though, that last year we played well against them to record a convincing 5-1 scoreline in front of their home crowds. I’m confident we can beat them again when it matters,” he said. “The Proteas play with a lot of confidence against every other team but us. I feel as though they don’t believe they can beat us and that attitude has helped us score some big wins over them.” McGrath has 256 wickets from 168 limited-overs matches and is Australia’s leading Test paceman with 431 wickets in 91 Tests. No team has won back-to-back cricket World Cups since the West Indies won the inaugural event in 1975 and defended it in 1979. Australia has won the World Cup twice, in 1987 and ’99 and was runner-up to Sri Lanka in ’96. AP
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England
have tough opening match The previous World Cup campaign saw England being knocked out after the group games. The tough recent Ashes tour created many problems for Hussain and his team with injuries playing a major role. Trescothick and Knight have both been successful in their own right at times but Vaughn has been the star of the stage in Test cricket. Their dilemma will be who to select. In South Africa where the pitches are more bowler-friendly, Vaughn may have to be the man to anchor the innings. Hussain is talented but always gives the fielding side a chance early on. As a middle-order batsman, he has often got out prematurely thereby creating pressure on a brittle lower order. Flintoff and Irani are the two all-rounders and will play a vital role if England are to have a success World Cup 2003. Irani will rely on his length, variation in speed and some swing to curtail run scoring, while Flintoff should get bounce from his height. The evergreen Alec Stewart not only brings vast experience to the team but also a hardness that at times has been lacking in English cricket. The fact that he plays well off the back foot makes him tough to bowl at in South African conditions and he shown this on previous tours to this country. If England are to perform at their best, “Stewie” will need to guide the team through tough times. The fast bowlers certainly do not create any fear in the minds of the top batsmen that they will encounter. Caddick should get good bounce but has been erratic of late and Hoggard, who played provincial cricket in Bloemfontein for a period, will need to get the ball in the right areas from the outset. No excessive pace or bounce certainly makes him someone that would be targeted. The fact that coach Duncan Fletcher knows the conditions of South Africa well will go a long way to assisting England in the planning, however, good platforms to allow middle order batsmen to play with freedom are critical in South Africa and this will be the real test for England. The Pool that England are drawn in is by far the tougher of the two. Normally they battle to adjust to pitches that have extra pace and bounce but the fact that they have just spent the last few months playing in Australia will have prepared them better than India, Pakistan and the rest with the exception of the Aussies. Their opening game just cannot be taken for granted though. They come up against a Zimbabwe team that will be emotionally charged up and with a point to prove. A bad start in this match could very well end their campaign right there and then and this in itself means it will be like a final and not just game against one of the weaker teams. Somehow, England always seem to lack the ability to respond to the big time and many critics will be waiting to see if the team has in fact transformed since the last World Cup.
Team: Nasser Hussain (captain), Nick Knight, Marcus Trescothick Michael Vaughan, Ian Blackwell, Paul Collingwood, Andy Flintoff, Ronnie Irani, Craig White, James Anderson, Andrew Caddick, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Alec Stewart.
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India fully geared up for challenge
Durban, February 2 “It will be a gruelling tournament but we are all physically and mentally fit and looking forward to playing well,” Ganguly said at the team’s first press conference after reaching South Africa. Ganguly said despite being in a group that had all the top teams such as Australia, Pakistan and England, the Indian players were determined to do well. “Whatever happened in New Zealand recently is past and we are now concentrating on the World Cup. We have the players of high calibre to do very well,” he said. India, World Cup winners in 1983, start their campaign in the tournament with an easy encounter against minnows Holland on February 12. Asked about his team’s much-anticipated contest against Pakistan on March 1, Ganguly said, “The game against Pakistan will be well after the teams have already qualified for the next round. “Pakistan is a good side and we are a good side. Anything could happen on the day.” Coach John Wright was also confident that the team would do well in the tournament. “I am confident that the players will put on very good performances. We have a good mix of senior and junior players,” Wright said. “We also have a bunch of young players who will make their mark and they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future,” he said. Vice-captain Rahul Dravid said he was not burdened by the dual responsibilities of batting and wicketkeeping and was hoping for a good performance. PTI
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Srinath decision after Cup
Durban, February 2 “I have had a very high intensity career and there will be a time when I have to think about my cricketing future. I will have to give it a lot of thought and see what should be done,” Srinath said here. But he said he would not necessarily decide to end his career after the World Cup. “I am not saying I will retire. All I am saying is that I will speak about my future when the tournament ends,” Srinath told PTI. Srinath, who made his one-day debut against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1991-92, has played in three previous World Cups. He had announced his retirement from Test cricket last year to concentrate on this World Cup, but had to return to the Test side after persistent requests. After retiring from international cricket, Srinath said, he would devote more time to promoting the sport in his home state Karnataka. PTI
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Punjab bundled out for 233 Chandigarh, February 2 Given his performance this season, particularly after he was shown the door after playing a lone one-day international against the West Indies, spotlight was expected to be on Balaji. But Balaji simply failed to get into the groove and remained largely ineffective. He, however, got the consolation wicket of skipper Reetinder Sodhi. Hardworking Shrinivas added two more wickets to his tally of two, he got yesterday, to finish with a creditable four-wicket haul. Skipper S. Suresh scalped two wickets while left-arm spinner S. Sriram also claimed one wicket after bowling a miserly spell of 13 overs which cost him 14 runs. In fact, Punjab had lost the initiative yesterday only after they had lost three wickets. Today again they suffered an early jolt as night watchman Gagandeep fell at the same total without scoring. Wicketkeeper batsman Pankaj Dharmani, who had been in fine nick this season, was cruising along nicely when he edged a Gokulkrishan delivery to be caught behind the stumps by P. Raju. And when Balaji castled Sodhi, who looked well set at 37 which included seven hits to the fence, the hosts were in deep trouble at 126 for six. But Munish Sharma and Harminder Jugnu combined well at this stage to add 86 runs for the seventh-wicket stand which saw the hosts get past the 200-run mark. Wickets fell in a heap after that as Punjab were bundled out for 233. Tamil Nadu made a cautious but confident start and were able to see off the remaining day’s play without losing an wicket. Scoreboard Punjab (1st innings): Ricky b Balaji 0, Samrat c Badani b Shrinivas 33, Kakkar b Shrinivas 19, Dharmani c Raju b Gokulkrishan 22 , Gagandeep lbw Shrinivas 0, Sodhi b Balaji 37, Munish c Gokulkrishan b Sriram 45, Jugnu c Shrinivas b Suresh 48, Sawal b Suresh 1, Uniyal not out 12, Vineet b Shrinivas 5. Extras:
(lb 5 , nb 6): 11 Total: ( all out in 93.2 overs): 233 Fall of wickets:
1-10, 2-47, 3-58, 4-58, 5-96, 6-126, 7-212, 8-213, 9-216. Bowling:
L. Balaji 23-7-62-2, J. Gokulkrishan 19-6-48-1, S. Suresh 12-5-25-2, M.R. Shrinivas 22.2-4-71-4, V. Saravanan 4-1-8-0, S. Sriram 13-5-14-1. Tamil Nadu: S Suresh batting 11, S. Ramesh batting 7. Extras:
(lb 2): 2. Total: (without loss in 6.2 overs): 20. Bowling:
3-1-8-0, Vineet 3.2-0-10-0. |
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Hyderabad’s hopes recede New Delhi, February 2 Hyderabad: Nand Kishore c V Dahiya b K Rawat 17, Daniel Manohar c A Chopra b A Bhandari 00, Vinay Kumar not out 60, V V S Laxman c M Manhas b R Sanghvi 76, A T Ryadu c A Bhandari b R Sanghvi 11, Shivaji Yadav lbw 01, Arjun Yadav not out 06.
Extras: (lb-1, nb-3, penalty runs-5) 09 Total: (in 62 overs) 180
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-32, 3-150, 4-168, 5-173. Bowling:
Amit Bhandari 14-0-50-2 (nb-2), Kuldeep Rawat 14-5-30-1, Sarandeep Singh 15-2-36-0 (nb-1), Rahul Sanghvi 19-3-58-2.
UNI |
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Play abandoned New Delhi, February 2 |
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Haryana
eves win Sangrur, February 2 In the second match Haryana thrashed Chandigarh by 10 wickets in a one-sided match. Batting first, Chandigarh were bundled out for 69. Shashi took five wickets for Haryana. In reply Haryana scored the required runs without losing any wicket.
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JCT steamroll Mahindra Ludhiana, February 2 The heroes of JCT’s victory today were international Joe Paul Ancheri, striker Harvinder and dashing winger Jaswinder Singh. While Ancheri scored three goals, including one off a penalty, Harvinder scored two after Jaswinder opened the account in the very first minute. The victory boosted JCT’s tally to 14 points from four victories and two draws. The scoresheet, though heavily tilted in favour of the hosts, is not a true indicator of the contest, which was fiercely contested. But as JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh said, while his team capitalised on almost every chance, the opponents failed to click at crucial moments and thus paid a heavy price. Mahindra United coach Harish Rao and his team were livid over certain decisions of the referee, especially in respect of the penalty, but their charge had little substance. The penalty, awarded after Harvinder was brought down inside the box, drew vehement protests from the Mumbai team who felt that Harvinder was not inside the danger area. But it was not a unilateral decision by the referee as he was fully supported by the linesman. The match was off to an explosive start with international IM Vijayan sending a cross from the left to winger Jaswinder on the right flank in the opening minute. Jaswinder raced in like lightning and booted the ball past Naseem Akhtar to make it 1-0. In the 12th minute, an infringement by a Mahindra defender resulted in a free kick. The kick taken by Joe Paul Ancheri from inside the box, had enough power and his curling left footer found the far corner after beating the wall of defenders (2-0). Mahindra United hit back with counter attacks spearheaded mainly by Brazilian recruit Ednei Jose Damasio who managed to reduce the margin following a measured pass by international RC Prakash in the 19th minute (1-2). Samson could have restored parity soon after but JCT custodian Mansuru Mohammed, incidentally adjudged Man of the Match, displayed fine anticipation to thwart the move at the cost of a flag kick. After the breather, JCT were awarded a penalty when Harvinder was brought down inside the box, a decision which was hotly contested, but with the linesman upholding the referee’s stance, it was left to Joe Paul Ancheri to complete the formality as he bulged the net shooting to the left of Naseem Akhtar under the Mahindra United bar (3-1). Harvinder’s solo effort in the 56th minute took the score to an astonishing 4-1 before Mahindra United managed to pull one back through Samson in similar fashion (2-4). However, there was no stopping JCT thereafter as Harvinder volleyed home a cross by the onrushing Hardip Gill to make it 5-2. Joe Paul Ancheri drove the last nail into the Mahindra United coffin when he blasted the ball home off a rebound following Harvinder’s unsuccessful attempt in injury time (6-2). The Mumbai outfit, with Czech star Petr Strandel and dashing striker Abhishek Yadav tried hard to come back into reckoning but fate willed otherwise. JCT will now meet Vasco SC in their next home tie here on February 7 while Mahindra United will take on the ITI at Bangalore on February 8. |
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Yakubu
brace floors Vasco Margao, February 2 Churchill, who failed to impress in their previous match against Tollygunge played with more determination, dictated terms over their rivals throughout the match with their mid-field holding the reign.
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Rare feats of skill at Kila Raipur Parminder Singh, an eight-year old boy from Patiala, attired in the traditional Nihang costume surprised everyone present his skill in martial arts including sword display.
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Kila Raipur, February 2
