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Thursday,
February 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Sri Lanka win by nine
wickets
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Nehra gave a good
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From the Dressing Room ‘Bat’ trouble for
Ganguly, Sehwag
Improved show by B’desh Rain gods lift Pollock’s spirits Of rain, sledging and skewed fines ‘Washout blessing in disguise’
OCA plea to India on SAF Games
Top cricketers for
Patiala tie Prithipal academy in semifinals KU boxers win Bhupathi-Eagle duo
in second round
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Sri Lanka win by nine wickets
Paarl, February 19 Opening bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Prabath Nissanka, who was named man of the match, were mainly responsible for the Canadian collapse, reducing the World Cup minnows to 21 for seven at one stage. “It’s very disappointing to lose like that,” said Canada skipper Joe Harris who was joint top scorer with nine in his team’s innings. “We were playing one of the best sides in the world but the wicket was a decent track on which to bat. We just let the pressure get to us.” Vaas took three for 15 and Nissanka four for 12 before Sri Lanka knocked off the winning runs in just 4.4 overs to end the match in two hours although in-form captain Sanath Jayasuriya failed for the first time in the World Cup, when he was leg before wicket to Sanjay Thuraisingam for nine. “We bowled really well today and the ball was seaming,” said Vaas. “We wanted them out as soon as possible and to do it so quickly will be a great boost for our run-rate.” Sri Lanka, who now have three wins in three games at the World Cup, were responsible for the previous lowest total in one-day internationals when they bowled out Zimbabwe for 38 in Colombo in 2001. In that match, Vaas took eight for 19, the best figure ever in one-day international history. That game was the shortest of all time, lasting only 20 overs in total but today’s mismatch was easily the shortest World Cup match. To add to Canada’s embarrassment, they had already made the previous lowest World Cup total when they were dismissed for 45 by England in Manchester in 1979. In that game, they batted for 40.3 overs with England fast bowler Bob Willis, who was one of the television commentators here today, taking four for 11. Canada made a bad start when John Davison was caught behind off an inside edge against Nissanka in the second over before a run was scored. Vaas, who took a hat-trick on way to six for 25 when Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets in their previous World Cup match in Pietermaritzburg on Friday, again had a chance to take three wickets in three balls when he dismissed Desmond Chumney and Ian Billcliff off successive deliveries. Nissanka also took two wickets in two balls, trapping Nic de Groot and left-hander Ishwar Maraj leg-before Ashish Bagai blocked the next delivery. Canada had shown promising form in their first two games beating Bangladesh by 60 runs in Durban before losing by four wickets against Kenya in Cape Town making totals of 180 and 197 respectively. Scoreboard Canada: Chumney c Sangakkara Davison c Sangakkara Samad lbw b Vaas 0 Billcliff lbw b Vaas 1 Groot lbw b Nissanka 0 Harris hit wicket b Nissanka 9 Maraj lbw b Nissanka 0 Bagai c Jayawardene Thuraisingam lbw Codrington b Muralitharan 0 Seebaran not out 0 Extras: (lb-2 w-2 nb-1) 5 Total: (all out, 18.4 overs) 36 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-6, 3-11, 4-12, 5-12, 6-12, 7-21, 8-31, 9-36. Bowling: Vaas 7-4-15-3, Nissanka 7-1-12-4, Muralitharan 2.4-0-3-1, Fernando 2-0-4-2. Sri Lanka: Atapattu not out 24 Jayasuriya lbw Sangakkara not out 4 Extras: 0 Total: (1 wicket, 4.4 overs) 37 Fall of
wicket:1-23. Bowling: Thuraisingam 2.4-0-22-1, Davison 2-0-15-0.
AFP |
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Burger gives England a scare
Port Elizabeth, February 19 Chasing England’s 272 all out from 50
overs, Namibia creditably batted the full distance before finishing on 217 for nine. Nevertheless it was a moral victory for the World Cup new boys and a huge embarrassment for England. Medium-pacer Rudi van
Vuuren, who earlier took five wickets, symbolised Namibia’s spirit by hitting the last ball of the innings from paceman James Anderson for six. However, it was Burger who was the star of Namibia’s innings. The 21-year-old took the attack to the English bowlers after watching fellow opener Stephan Swanepoel fall in the fourth over with Namibia’s score reading 12 for 1. England: Trescothick c L. Burger b
A. Burger 58 Knight c L.Burger b Van Vuuren 6 Vaughan c L. Burger b
Van Vuuren 14 Stewart c B. Kotze b D. Kotze 60 Collingwood c Keulder b
Snyman 38 Flintoff c Keulder b Snyman 21 Blackwell c Van Schoor b
Snyman 16 White c S. Burger b Van Vuuren 35 Irani c D. Kotze b
Van Vuuren 12 Caddick b Van Vuuren 4 Anderson not out 0 Extras: (lb-1, w-4, nb-3) 8 Total: (all out, 50 overs) 272 Fall of wickets: 1/26, 2/43, 3/121, 4/159, 5/202, 6/205, 7/242, 8/264, 9/268. Bowling: Snyman 10-0-69-3, Van Vuuren 10-2-43-5, L. Burger 9-0-45-0, B. Kotze 3-0-24-0, D. Kotze 10-0-35-1, A. Burger 2-0-23-1, S. Burger 6-0-32-0. Namibia: Swanepoel c Vaughan b Jan-Berry Burger c L. Burger c and b Flintoff 5 D. Keulder run out 46 G. Murgatroyd b Irani 24 G. Snyman b White 0 D. Kotze b Flintoff 7 S. Burger c C’wood b Irani 5 M. Van Schoor not out 11 L. Kotze b Irani 0 Van Vuuren not out 12 Extras: (lb-5 w-6 nb-3) 14 Total: (9 wickets, 50 overs)217 FoW: 1/12, 2/42, 3/139, 4/174, 5/174, 6/188, 7/190, 8/200, 9/200 Bowling: Caddick 8-2-28-0, Anderson 8-0-44-1, Flintoff 10-2-33-2, White 10-0-46-2, Vaughan 6-0-31-0, Irani 8-0-30-3.
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Pleasure to watch Sehwag: Tendulkar Harare, February 19 Sachin Tendulkar, on whom the batsman from Najafgarh has modelled himself, today said it was a pleasure to watch Sehwag from the other end. “Veeru is an exciting batsman. It’s a treat to watch him. He likes to play his shots. It’s best to take a single and enjoy his batting (from the other end of the crease),” Tendulkar, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his match winning 81 against Zimbabwe here, said. Sehwag scored 36 runs, including six hits to the boundary. India won the match by 83 runs and kept alive their chances of qualifying for the Super Sixes of the World Cup. Tendulkar, who came in at number three in the batting order for last few seasons, said he was “happy” at opening the innings again. “I batted in the opening slot for eight to nine years and kind of got used to it.”
PTI |
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Nehra
gave a good account of himself
HOMEWORK
can wait, office work can wait. In fact everything can wait but
cricket. When Sourav’s boys took on the Zimbabweans in their own
turf, cricket was the buzz word. It had to, especially after the
Indian cricket team caught the fancy of the fans for the wrong
reasons. People were watching with bated breath, because a loss here
and it’s difficult to think the consequences thereafter. The Men in
Blue would be mighty relieved to have shed their initial sluggishness
and record a comprehensive win in the tournament. As Zaheer
unsettled Douglas Hondo’s timber, it only completed a perfect
Wednesday for Indians world over. The much-vaunted Indian batting
line-up gave a much improved performance but goes without saying that
the same is capable of much more. It’s was good to see Sachin and
Sehwag coming out to open the innings and play their natural stokes
without giving an inkling of the pressure they were in. Lack of
confidence, runs and some irate fans, whatever, it certainly did not
show up yesterday and the master blaster duo took complete control of
the proceedings right from the word go. As a comforting touch, the
Indian openers were treated to some ordinary stuff from the home side. But
just as India looked set for a huge total, Sehwag perished. I get the
feeling that Sehwag became too impatient after he was kept away from
strike for long and it’s time he get over that habit of throwing his
wicket. The presence of Dinesh Mongia at number three was a good move,
considering that he was the in-form batsman but the left-hander’s
inability of rotating the strike and pay with the turn took me by
surprise. To cap it all, Sachin got a beauty and India were once again
in similar position of despair. Sourav, looked content in his brief
but eventful stint, down the order but a one-too-many extravagant shot
saw him extend his lean patch with the willow. In the end it was left
to Mr Reliable to save India the blushes and he did not disappoint. However, thanks to some thoughtless batting in the middle order, India were guilty of getting 30 runs short and a total of 255 was always a dicey one to defend. Fortunately, the positive energy rubbed on to the bowlers and they delivered what was exactly needed of them, keep it tight and pick wickets. Srinath, Zaheer, Nehra and Harbhajan did the primary job of containing while Sourav decided to complete the latter part himself and in no time, Zimbabwe added three more to the total of two dismissed batsmen. I thought it was a mistake to drop Kumble but Nehra gave a good account of himself in his debut venture at the World Cup. Andy’s
extended luck was a bit worrying but frankly he never looked like
taking away the match from the Indians. Zimbabwean batsmen also did
not help their cause with some sloppy batting display. Despite a
none-too-demanding total, their batsmen made sure to make it look one.
The Indians deserve all credit for their victory and looked like
hungry lions in the field, excluding those two runout chances. That’s
the spirit they need to show from now on, every single match. As far
the fans are concerned, well it’s party time for them! |
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From the Dressing Room HARARE:
No sooner had the Indians arrived in Harare, media manager Amrit Mathur sought media out for a Rahul Dravid chat to let everyone know how the team felt about the fiasco against Australia. On Tuesday, it was Sachin Tendulkar’s turn to woo the media. The cricketers are deeply concerned about the safety of their homes and families back home. Cricketers are seeking media out, it is learnt, because of a directive from the board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya. The matter is serious enough. Rahul Dravid, a local hero in Bangalore, is deeply dismayed to learn his new Honda Accord has come in for some rough treatment from cricket fans. “I believe the windscreen has been smashed,” said Dravid. Saurav Ganguly, the biggest Bengal icon, had stones thrown at his home in
Behala, Kolkata. Mohammad Kaif has his home blackened and home members abused. That Kaif is from a minority community, only heightens the anxiety among cricketers. Be that as it may, Indians are not earning any points for their manners as well. Terry Nicholls, a Zimbabwean
national selector, is aghast at the treatment his son received from the Indians in the nets prior to the match. Nicholls son, a promising fast bowler, bowled for two hours to Indian batsmen and didn’t get as much as a ‘thank you’ from the visitors. “Only Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar offered thanks,” commented Nicholls. Sourav Ganguly walked away haughtily. Indians, on their part, could point out to poor hospitality on the part of the local cricket association. “When they arrive in India, the dressing room is full of fruit and sandwiches at the end of the practice sessions,” said a cricketer. “Here, you find little laid on the table except for mineral water bottles. “Even the daily allowance to cricketers is less than the 50 US dollars stipulated by the International Cricket Council (ICC). One catches up with Mr Max Ebrahim, a Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) director, over dinner on the eve of the match. Max is better known as Justice Ahmed Ebrahim’s son but he is quick to take offence. He is known as Max’s father. Justice Ebrahim is a heavyweight in local cricket circles and is known to Indian cricket fans as the match referee who abandoned the India-Sri Lanka match in Indore in 1997 terming the pitch as unsuited and dangerous for batsmen. Ashok Kumat, Editor of an Indore daily who is here to cover World Cup remarks drily, “One wonders what Justice Ebrahim must have noticed in a mere 18 balls. The locals still believe only because he wasn’t given a hand with his luggage on arrival which irked Justice Ebrahim. He took it out on entire Indore! Dinesh Mongia, one of the more affable men in Indian team, and a highly talented cricketer too, is aghast at missing out on good opportunities in the first two games. He was run out for 42 against Holland and then wasted his hard work against Australia by tamely offering a catch in covers. “I don’t know what’s happening. I feel comfortable, my feet move well but I am not able to build on.” Upon his dismissal against Australia, Mongia remarks “There was nothing wrong with my shot. I feel the ball came slower than Lee had bowled all along. I might have been into my shot a bit early.” Not a bad thing for a batsman to have spare time against a quick like Lee! |
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‘Bat’ trouble for Ganguly, Sehwag Harare, February 19 As the Indians were preparing to take on the hosts in a crucial World Cup tie, match referee Clive Lloyd is believed to have checked out the bats of players of both the teams and found at least seven of them using willows that exceeded the International Cricket Council’s specifications by 5 mm. Among the seven was Zimbabwe’s Craig Wishart but details about the identity of the other four batsmen was not available. According to the ICC rules, if a cricketer is found guilty of using non-standardised equipment, he could be deemed to have sought an unfair advantage and action, and could even be banned. The surprise check sent the Indians scurrying for remedial action and Terry Nicholls, a Zimbabwean national selector, agreed to help them out by getting their bats shaved to the allowed specifications. Nicholls, it is learnt, asked Ganguly to leave the over-sized bats at the conference room of the hotel for him to pick up and carry out the necessary trimming. But once Stevens arrived at the hotel, he searched in vain for the bats and his attempts to get in touch with Ganguly also did not materialise. “I am terribly disappointed with the Indian captain. Apparently he left the bats at the conference room and then took them all away. My attempts to get in touch with Ganguly didn’t bear fruit either,” Stevens said. Team sources said they were aware of the issue but the players were taking necessary precaution. They said the over-size was only marginal and the boys were using sand papers to rectify the bats.
PTI |
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Aussies on course to match Windies of ’75 Johannesburg, February 19 Ricky Ponting’s Australian team overpowered their biggest group A rivals, Pakistan and India, in their first two matches and most neutral fans are backing them to maintain that winning run all the way to the March 23 final in Johannesburg. Should the Australians complete nine further victories, they would emulate Clive Lloyd’s West Indies side of 28 years ago as the only World Cup winners to win every match. Australia’s performance of 11 consecutive wins would be the more impressive achievement, though, as the West Indies team of 1975 only had to win five games, clinching the trophy with a 17-run victory over Australia in the final at the Lord’s. The West Indies, in 1979, and Sri Lanka, in 1996, also won the World Cup without losing a game, but neither team won every match. In 1979, the West Indies’ scheduled clash with Sri Lanka was abandoned because of bad weather, while the 1996 Sri Lankans benefited from two forfeited games, with Australia and the West Indies refusing to travel to troubled Colombo. If Australia triumph in the 2003 final, they would become the first team to win the World Cup for a third time and would extend their winning streak in one-day internationals to 17 matches, stretching back to mid-January. However, Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has played down talk of 11 straight wins. “Of course it is possible and I know (Australia fast bowler) Glenn McGrath has made the comment but it is not something we have focused on and put down as a goal,’’ he said. “For now, we just want to make sure we get into the super sixes in the strongest possible position with the most points possible. “From then on, it is almost sudden death, that is our thinking going into those games. You can afford to maybe drop a game here or there but it is not a mindset you want to get into. “At the moment, we just want to make sure we are in the competition for as long as possible.’’ Whatever Gilchrist says, this Australia one-day team is almost universally regarded as the best in the world. Despite the early World Cup exit of leg spinner Shane Warne after failing a drugs test, they have barely missed a beat and enjoy enviable strength in all departments. A brilliant 143 not out by middle order batsmen Andrew Symonds set up a crushing 82-run victory over Pakistan in their tournament opener at the Wanderers, while superb fast bowling by Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie lifted them to a nine-wicket win over India at Centurion.
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Aussies to rest star players today Potchefstroom, February 19 Thrash the European minnows and no-one will blink an eye. But if the Dutch somehow manage to make even a modest game of it then the previously all-conquering group A pacesetters will not seem quite so impregnable. For Australia coach John Buchanan, however, the game is an ideal opportunity to rest star players on the way to what looks like, after crushing victories against Pakistan and India, another march to the final. Pacemen Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie as well as wicket-keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist are the three players Buchanan identified as those due a break. Andy Bichel and Ian Harvey would replace the two quicks with part-time keeper Jimmy Maher taking over Gilchrist’s gloves. Australia’s next game is against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on February 27 and Buchanan said: “In our thinking I would like to go to Zimbabwe with 14 players all of whom have had some cricket under their belts.” More of a worry for Australia than their unheralded opponents is the Potchefstroom weather, with the North West Stadium subjected to torrential downpours in recent days. The Australian nightmare scenario is that the game starts on a wet outfield, one of their players then injures himself on a slippery surface, before rain ensures the match is a no-result. AFP An injury would be a real problem for Australia as they are already down to 14 players following Shane Warne’s return home following a positive drugs test last week and remain uncertain if they will be allowed to replace the leg-spinner. But negative thinking does not a world-beating team make. Buchanan can even see some positives emerging from a match against the Netherlands, who qualified for their second World Cup through the International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy, a tournament contested by cricket’s leading lesser nations, in Toronto in 2001. “Hopefully, Holland will play out of their skins and really test us in batting, bowling and fielding,” he said. The Netherlands, well-led by former Somerset fast bowler Roland Lefebvre, have performed well in the field during their opening two defeats by India and England. But despite the international experience they gained against the big boys during September’s Champions Trophy event in Sri Lanka, their batting has continued to let them down. Totals of 136 and 142, against India and England respectively, are not enough at this level. But just being here, after a previous World Cup appearance in 1999 where they failed to win a game, is enough for Lefebvre’s enthusiatic amateurs. “We will enjoy every game whatever the outcome,” he said. However, at least against England, the Netherlands’ innings lasted the distance, much to Lefebvre’s delight. “We managed to bat out 50 overs and with the amount of proper one-day internationals we play that is quite something.” If they do the same against Australia it will be quite miraculous. Teams (from): Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andy Symonds. The Netherlands: Roland Lefebvre (capt), Luuk van Troost, Daan van Bunge, Jacob Esmeijer, Victor Grandia, Feiko Kloppenburg, Tim de Leede, Henk Mol, Klaus van Noortwijk, Adeel Raja, Edgar Schiferli, Reinhout Scholte, Jeroen Smits, Nick Statham, Bas Zuiderent. Umpires: David Orchard (Rsa) and Peter Willey (Eng).
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Improved show by B’desh THE weather in Benoni was threatening long before the game between Bangladesh and the West Indies got on the way at 10 am South African time. When the Bangladesh captain won the toss and fielded, most thought that he was just trying his best to prolong the game as long as possible as they hadn’t been batting very well in the World Cup so far. Maybe that was the case but perhaps he was also thinking about the fact that the longer the game lasted, the more likely there was that rain would intervene at some stage and perhaps the Duckworth Lewis system would come into play and help them in some way. The Duckworth Lewis system was not needed as the skies opened up to bring the game to a halt after just 8 overs and 1 ball had been bowled in their innings in reply to the West Indies’ 244 for nine in their 50 overs. It was the worst possible result for the West Indies, barring of course another debacle like the loss to Kenya in the World Cup in Asia, they needed to get maximum points from these games against the lesser teams with the top teams in Group B beating each other and making things very interesting. For Bangladesh, it was a heaven send, they now have two points derived from a game where they were expected to get another thrashing. This performance from Bangladesh though has to be considered as an improvement on previous matches. The pitch was very helpful to the seam bowlers but we have seen helpful pitches in the past not fully exploited by bowling attacks. The Bangladesh bowlers, to the most part did well. True, they bowled quite a few wides and they threw in a few no-balls as well into the mix but that could have been down to the inability of the seamers to control the white ball under these overcast skies and a seaming pitch. Manjural Islam and Jubair opened the bowling and they seem to have a bit of promise. If you look only at the bowling figures, there is nothing there for them to be proud of but I was impressed by the action and general smoothness of young 17-year-old Jubair. If he is monitored and nurtured properly, he could take a lot of wickets for Bangladesh at the highest level, not to mention, frighten a few batsmen in the process as he certainly has the scope to get a lot quicker as he matures and gets stronger with age. The surprise package in the bowling attack for Bangladesh was the batsman Ehsanul Haque who had bowled only 13 overs previously in one day internationals. He showed good control in taking two for 34 in his 10 overs with the big scalp of Lara, who seemed to be just getting ready to blossom and produce another big innings for the West Indies.
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Rain gods lift Pollock’s spirits Johannesburg, February 19 The Windies were denied the full points after their Group B match at Benoni was abandoned resulting in two points. South Africa not only had to win all three of their remaining games to qualify for the super sixes, but hope that the West Indies beat Sri Lanka in Cape Town next Friday. However, with the Windies dropping those two points, the result at Newlands is no longer of the same significance as long as South Africa win and win well to boost their net run rate. “It’s a much nicer situation to be in now than it was 24 hours ago,” Pollock told the SAPA news agency. “It certainly lifts our spirits and puts a new perspective on the next three games. “Ultimately we have to keep on winning but it is great to have our World Cup destiny in our own hands and not have to depend on other results.”
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Of rain, sledging and skewed fines THE
World Cup has been full of surprises. Just as the cricket began yielding results more in keeping with the form-book came the rain in Benoni, which has sent group B into a tailspin once again. The Bangladeshis must be chuckling. The two occasions on which they were not beaten in their last 29 games or so have come about due to rain. The sharing of points means the South Africans have a lifeline. If not for the rain, the World Cup could have become the focus of another great investigation. Had the big teams beaten the minnows and won all points available, then all the West Indies had to do to qualify for the super six was to throw the match to Sri Lanka. By losing that match, the West Indies would have been guaranteed a two-way tie with South Africa on points and would have qualified based on having won their match against the hosts. What a kerfuffle such a potentially explosive situation would have caused in the game. Maybe, Hansie Cronje had a quiet word with the rain gods and the Bangladeshis, who on current form cannot be expected to beat the Benoni Blind School XI, were the proud winners of two World Cup points. And, suddenly, the West Indies has to beat Sri Lanka and the South Africans have to do the same to keep their hopes of the super six alive. The ghost of Cronje is still haunting the South Africans. The late, lamented and disgraced skipper is still held in such high esteem by the Proteas that his memory has been sufficient to split the ranks in the host team. A sports psychologist has opined that the homage paid by some is bad for team spirit. While Herschelle Gibbs and Allan Donald have gone on about how it would have been different under Cronje, Gary Kirsten has hit out hard at those who are thus knocking Pollock’s captaincy. The opener does not believe such Cronje homage is well timed. That the team has been losing has not helped either. However, it comes as no surprise when Arjuna Ranatunga hit out at Shane Warne virtually calling him a cheat. “Whenever an Australian or a white guy does a crime, he is found to be innocent... imagine what would have happened to an Asian boy?” the former Lankan skipper asks of the drug scandal surrounding the leggie. What did come as a surprise was when an Australian complained about the bad language of an Asian batsman on the field. Adam Gilchrist, who is different from his colleagues in that he is not a known sledger, took exception when Rashid Latif said something with the word ‘white’ as an adjective. Luckily for the Pakistani ‘keeper, the vital word in his two-word sentence was not distinct from the stump microphone, or maybe it was his Asian accent that made half, of his little speech indistinct. The ICC had no case against Latif who too came to the conclusion that he had no case either against Gilchrist. Racially, these are sensitive times, as Darren Lehmann would have concluded. His outburst against Asians landed him in the soup. That was about the first occasion on which not only the ACB but also the ICC acted against an Australian cricketer. The Australians have made sledging a fine art. In fact, it was an Aussie who gave the word to the cricket world as former Ian Chappell used ‘sledge’ as a short form for ‘sledgehammer.’ And he is not the only Australian captain known for his articulate ways on the field. Steve Waugh, more prone to philosophical nods of the head from his usual position at gully, may be much revered now. There was a time in his career when he used to be known as ‘Motor Mouth Steve.’ He was guilty of not controlling sledging towards which in his exalted position as skipper he could have done more. Cricket is not a game for those who wear the figurative bangles. It can be tough out there; the atmosphere can be very mean when everyone wants desperately to win. In a non-contact sport, sledging was considered a form of gamesmanship. Not everyone saw it that way. The Pakistanis used to pick a player only because his name sounded like a curse in English and they would position him near the bat and keep on calling out his name to distract the batsman. They believed they could get back this way at the Aussies who made no bones about their gamesmanship in the days before the era of the ubiquitous match referees. As a representative sample, the crime and punishment register of 2000-01 gave out the following figures: f 26 offences, 11 were ones in which Asian cricketers were fined or suspended. Three others on that list are of Asian extraction while three others are of mixed blood while two are blacks. Of three Aussies on the list, the name of Adam Gilchrist, for dissent at an umpiring decision, appears which is ironic. Glenn McGrath, seen as a long-term offender by his rivals who believe he has been getting away with foul language at batsmen, was also fined once but only for showing dissent at a decision when he was at the batting crease. Michael Slater, who seemed to believe Asian batsmen should walk when a catch is claimed as opposed to Australian batsman staying their ground in similar situations, was fined for speaking on radio of an incident involving Rahul Dravid. What is sauce for the goose has not exactly been sauce for the gander. The cases of Lehmann and Warne may throw a different perspective on the issue now. However, they are very visible offenders of the code.
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‘Washout blessing in disguise’ Benoni, February 19 West Indies seemed to be coasting to victory after piling up 244 for 9, then reducing Bangladesh to 32 for 2 when rain forced the match to be abandoned, leaving the situation in Group B finely balanced. Assuming no further wash-outs or huge upsets by minnow sides, South Africa will be eliminated unless they win their last three games. If the hosts achieve that feat, West Indies will need to win their next three matches against Canada, Sri Lanka and Kenya to make the Super Sixes. “While we’re disappointed we didn’t get the four points, maybe it’s not a bad thing,” Hooper told a news conference. “It’s no more difficult for us than before, the important game for us is the game against Sri Lanka and may be this is a blessing in disguise.
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OCA plea to India on SAF Games New Delhi, February 19 In an urgent communication to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, has stated that “due to the non-operation of flights as well as travel and any other form of travel arrangements between India and Pakistan, several of the SAF national Olympic committees are finding it extremely difficult to travel to Islamabad and instead, they will have to reach Islamabad via Bangkok or Dubai, which will increase the cost of tickets drastically”. The OCA president has requested Mr Kalmadi to use his “good office to convince the authorities to reach some kind of truce and allow the other NOCs of SAF to travel to Pakistan via India.” Sheikh Al-Sabah said such a gesture by India would “greatly help in the organisation of the Games”. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has also extended the date of entry by name for the Indian contingent in view of the fact that the IOA was still trying to convince the Government to allow the Indian contingent to participate in the SAF Games. In a communication to the IOA, Mr Muhammad Latif Butt, who is the secretary-general of the South Asian Sports Federation (SASF) as well as the POA, has informed that the president of SASF Syed Wajid Ali, as a “very special case”, has relaxed the closing date for entry by number for the Indian contingent. He hoped that the IOA would “exert all its influence to participate in the 9th SAF Games, in keeping with true sporting traditions and in the best spirit of Olympism”. |
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Top cricketers for
Patiala tie Chandigarh, February 19 The match will be played between Patiala XI and Rest of India XI teams. Top cricketers, including members of the Indian team which won the World Cup in 1983, will be seen in action in the match , including Mohinder Amarnath, Chetan Sharma, Vikram Rathore, Narinder Hirwani, S.S.Dass, Vijay Dhaiya, Nikhil Chopra, Debashish Mohanti, H. Kanitker, Doda Ganesh, Sunil Joshi, Sri Ram, Pankaj Dharmani, Reetinder Sodhi along with other star cricketers. Keeping in view the old traditions of the royal City of Patiala, it has been decided to keep the entry free, Mr Pandove said. The former Maharaja of Patiala, Maharaja Rajindra Singh, laid the foundation of the spacious cricket ground in 1890 and established a regular Patiala Cricket Club. During Maharaja Bhupindra Singh’s time many foreign teams, including MCC, played matches at the Baradari cricket ground. The Patiala Cricket Association under the stewardship of Mr S.K. Sinha, Mr M.P. Pandove and the late M.L. Marken built a new pavilion and stadium with a capacity of about 20,000 without damaging the picturesque surroundings of the stadium which has hosted international matches in recent years. |
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Prithipal academy in semifinals Ludhiana, February 19 Defending champions Surjit Academy lads managed to scrape past a spirited SAI, Kurukeshtra, 1-0 to book their place in the semifinal. The all-important goal was scored by Harjit off a penalty stroke. They got five penalty corners but failed to utilise any of them. Despite their second defeat, SAI also qualified for the semifinals, on the basis of a better goal average than the Kila Raipur boys, who suffered two defeats and exited from the tournament. Faridkot XI demolished Sports School, Jalandhar, 4-0. All the goals were scored in the first half. Pushpinder Singh put his side ahead in the sixth minute and three minutes later, Manvir Singh consolidated the lead. In the 24th minute, Paramjit Singh found the target to make it 3-0 while just few seconds before the breather, Mandeep Singh sounded the board (4-0). The match between PAP, Jalandhar, and Ropar Hawks was of mere academic interest as both these teams were already out of contention. PAP lads prevailed over Ropar boys 2-1. For Jalandhar, Sukhjinder Singh and Sukhdeep scored while Sukhvinder reduced the margin for Ropar Hawks. Kila Raipur Academy went down fighting against Faridkot XI 1-2. Faridkot boys went into the lead as early as the sixth minute through Manvir Singh. Kila Raipur boys levelled the score two minutes later through Gurmit. Prem Kumar of Faridkot converted a penalty corner midway through the second half to seal Kila Raipur’s fate. In the last match, Prithipal Singh Academy defeated Kila Raipur 4-2. The winners led 3-0 at half time. |
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KU boxers win Hisar, February 19 The results:
light flyweight: Satyawan Singh (KUK) b A. Malviya (Allahabad University);
lightweight: Jaspinder Singh (KUK) b Sudhir Kumar (MDU, Rohtak);
middleweight: Vikarm Dhull b Prem Sharma (GND University, Amritsar); light
heavyweight: Savinder Singh (KUK) b Ajit Pal singh (PU, Chandigarh);
super heavyweight: Vinod Kumar b Rohit Kamta (HPU, Shimla); flyweight: Vikas (MDU, Rohtak) b Pawan Kumar Sinha (Ranchi University);
featherweight: Sunil Kumar (MDU) b M. Habib of Punjabi University, Patiala);
light middleweight: Surender Singh b Aman Kumar (PU, Chandigarh);
bantamweight: Beer Devinder Singh (Punjabi University, Patiala) b M. Aiteshamuddin (Osmania University);
welterweight: Barinder Singh b Pundol Phirole (Pune University). |
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Bhupathi-Eagle duo
in second round New Delhi, February 19 Bhupathi, the reigning US Open doubles champion, and Eagle defeated John-Laffnie De Jager of South Africa and Hyung-Taik Lee of South Korea 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.
PTI |
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Wrestling meet Yamunanagar, February 19 |
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