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Thursday,
March 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Master’s bait that Pak quickies fell
for We have to be careful, says Wright Sehwag expected
to be fit
FROM THE NON-STRIKER’S END |
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Oh! the diversity in our sport Even a winless Kenya can scrape through
Time for major overhaul: Miandad Pak cricketers “ashamed, heart-broken” Three scuffles in Indo-Pak match Latif blames format for Pak debacle
Funny game leaves favourites high and dry!
Why Lawson was not selected earlier Allan Donald, Kallis ‘played below par’ Doping common: anti-doping chief
JCT stun East Bengal PSEB swamp Rewari Club
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Master’s bait that Pak quickies fell for Cape Town, March 5 The Indian genius used his “floating” technique to almost perfection against the arch-rivals as he put to sword the trio of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar and conjured one of the finest innings ever seen in one-day cricket. Tendulkar deliberately took a guard to expose his three stumps and offer it as a bait to the Pakistan pacers who fell for it despite their vast experience. Tendulkar exposed his stumps in the hope that the rival fast bowlers would salivate at the sight of open three stumps and would try to york him and in turn present him with overpitched deliveries which he could flick behind square leg with disdain or swing his arms freely to thump it on the offside. “Yes, I took the guard which was not what I normally prefer in international matches,” admits Tendulkar. “I could then come inside the line to flick it or swing my arms freely for off-side strokes,” he said. Tendulkar had been troubled by the tactics adopted by Australia in their league game at Centurion Park on February 15 when Glenn McGrath and company started bowling wider to him on the off-stump in an attempt to force him to reach out rather than execute his array of shots. Australians were quick to change their tactics once Tendulkar had smashed Glenn McGrath for 14 runs in one over with flicks and off-drives for boundaries. McGrath later said Tendulkar had dared him to bowl to his stumps but he did not fall for it. “Why should I bowl to your strength and get punished,” McGrath had then remarked. Tendulkar, unable to feed off deliveries, finally fell leg before to Jason Gillespie for 36 when he came too much inside the line of a slower delivery. Tendulkar mulled over this failure and worked out a method through which the bowlers would try to bowl him on the stumps rather than bowl way outside and frustrate his stroke-making. It worked to perfection against Pakistan and before the fearsome fast bowlers could realise, 50 was up only in the fifth over and 100 well within 12 overs and Tendulkar himself had raced to 73 from a mere 47 deliveries at one stage. Tendulkar also used his tremendous adrenalin control to his advantage, an area in which Pakistan fast bowlers failed miserably. Tendulkar was not pumped up by his hectic shot-making and calmly went for judicious play. In contrast, Pakistan pacers attempted to bowl still faster and shorter and played into the hands of the little genius. Tendulkar’s career is littered with innings where he has used his head more than his bat to overcome odds. When Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka had bowled his left-arm spinners beyond the leg-stump and curled it on his pads in one of the series in mid-90s, Tendulkar had invented his paddle shot to overcome the tactics. Similarly, Tendulkar had practised to hit leg-spinners against the spin in a bid to counter Shane Warne when the Australians visited India for a tour in 1998. South Africa’s Shaun Pollock and company were at the receiving end when they packed the off-side field and bowled to Tendulkar short and wide on the off-stump during the Bloemfontein Test of 2001. Tendulkar replied with cuts over slips and before the opposition had realised, he had 155 on the board for himself. Tendulkar, with loads of talent, also has the intelligence to shift his batting gears once he sizes up the bowlers and conditions as he showed in his innings against Holland and Namibia in this competition. Confronted with the slow medium pacers of the opposition bowlers of these two teams on slow wickets, Tendulkar completely eschewed extravagant shots and almost entirely depended on nudges and steers to rattle up scores of 52 and 152. In 2001-2002 season, Ashley Giles of England and Raymond Price of Zimbabwe tried to muzzle Tendulkar with their left-arm spinners which were pitched in full beyond the leg-stump and were neither full-tosses or short enough for Tendulkar to employ paddle sweep. It did restrict Tendulkar from being his usual fluent self but he still managed 307 at 76.75 against England and 254 at 86.87 in the series against Zimbabwe. Last summer, England captain Nasser Hussain asked his fast bowlers to go round the wicket and bowl short-pitched deliveries at Tendulkar’s rib-cage in an
effort to cramp him up. Tendulkar did fall for the tactics in the first Test at the Lord’s but then worked out an answer which fetched him 401 runs at 66.93 by the end of the Test series. PTI |
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We have to be careful, says Wright
Cape Town, March 5 “We must keep our feet on the ground and prepare as well as we can,” said Wright as India came for their first practice session since beating Pakistan in their last league encounter on Saturday. “We are still half-way along the road. We have still got steeper pitch to come. We have to realise we are just one of the six teams (competing for the title),” Wright said. “We respect them (Kenya) as an opposition and must guard against complacency.” After faltering against Australia, India have steadily improved their performance and scored convincing victories against Zimbabwe, Namibia, England and Pakistan to reach the Super Sixes as the second-placed team in Group A. Wright said it was important that India performed with the same intensity against Kenya too on Friday. “We have been out of a fairly tough group and each game after Australia has been pressure-type game for us. But I would not encourage any difference only because it is Kenya. We must take one game at a time,” he said. Wright also recalled that Kenya had beaten India in Port Elizabeth in 2001. “When we last played them we beat them in two games but then they got the better of us in Port Elizabeth, so we have to be careful,” he said. Talking about Sachin Tendulkar’s phenomenal innings against Pakistan, Wright said his ominous form was a good sign for the team. “The quality of Sachin’s innings (against Pakistan), I think, even for him, was higher than normal. It was a tremendous piece of batting and from my point of view it was just a privilege to watch it. “He has taken advantage of the opening position he likes and he is showing the cricketing public all the nice things you write about him from time to time is true,” he said. “It is good for us he is playing in this manner and long may he continue.” Wright said Tendulkar would be the key in the game against Kenya also as the team would be looking for him to provide a good start. “We would like a good solid start with wickets in hand for the last 15-18
overs. You can accelerate from there but we have to remember Kenya have bowled and fielded very efficiently. “Having said that, we have the batters, whether batting first or in the second half, to get the job done. The batsmen must get good starts and then build on it to get big scores,” he said. Wright did not think the slow medium pace of Kenyan bowlers would create problems for the free-scoring Indians. “I think we are getting better at rotating the strike. You saw evidence of that against Pakistan with Rahul
Dravid, Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif doing a good job. We are not perfect by any means but we are improving.” Wright also drew comfort from the fact that the fifth bowler’s quota was handled well in the game against Pakistan. “Ashish Nehra didn’t have a great game so from that point of view it was good for our fifth bowlers’ quota to go for less than 50 runs,” he said. Wright also felt that the disastrous tour of New Zealand proved to be a blessing in disguise for the players who were binding together much better in the World Cup. “We had a problem adjusting to conditions in New Zealand. We had a lot of criticism, some justified and some not, but it brought us together,” he said.
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Sehwag expected
to be fit Cape Town, March 5 Sehwag was hit in his right index finger during a catching session this afternoon and rushed to hospital for an x-ray which revealed no fracture, media manager Amrit Mathur said. "He should be fit for Friday's game," Mathur
said. Sehwag has failed to build on his fluent starts in this tournament but still is key to India's fortunes in the World Cup.
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FROM THE NON-STRIKER’S END CAPE TOWN: A strange request, but one which for professional reasons one must concede. Asked to comment on smashing Sachin and his hurricane ‘98 against Pakistan, one of the batsmen who batted with him at the opposite end went lyrical. Only, he didn’t want his name to be mentioned. The quotes are interesting enough to see the light. “It is difficult to put him in words. He is a batsman from another planet. He has so much of time to spare and possesses almost three or fours strokes off every delivery. “Take for instance his six against Shoaib Akhtar at Centurion the other day. He had so much time to spare that he actually hit it square of the wicket. A little later Virender Sehwag also went for a similar stroke against Waqar Younis. Only this time the ball was sliding off the face of his bat for a six to third man! Tendulkar had seen a faster delivery from a faster bowler much before than Veeru could spot his stroke against a slower bowler. “Nobody in the team, or for that matter around the world, can compare with the strokes Sachin has in his command. We mortals struggle in comparison. Sehwag, for instance, has only three or four strokes. He can hit it square of the wicket, can flick it to midwicket and even thump it into covers but he doesn’t have a pull or a hook. Similarly Saurav Ganguly is frustrated if his off-side strokes are blocked. He then tries to lift a ball which comes off at times but is a risk-stroke. “Tendulkar, in contrast, doesn’t have to take risks and his score would again go in spurts. He has offside strokes, glide through the slips, lofted hits, pulls, hooks, thrust off the pads,
on drives and then the peerless straight drive-it is difficult to comment if his command on one stroke is better than other options. “His presence at the other end alone makes you give your best. He also shields you from sledging by the opposition. Pakistanis in particular were difficult to get off your back. They were abusive and mouthful and were constantly chattering in the field. Tendulkar would time and again come down the track and caution me not to lose my cool. He knew their attempt was aimed to fluster me.” “He also wasn’t worked up after hitting those shots. Usually when you are in such mood and form, you want to take the leather off every delivery. But this man wasn’t taking on the bowlers. He was only concentrating on the next ball and trying to play it on merit. It was an attacking innings but not a desperate one. “There was a cool calculation about the way Tendulkar went about his innings. I can’t count my luck to have seen him in such brilliant nick against bowlers of world stature. I will always be proud to have batted with him against Pakistan in a World Cup game. I will cherish this innings for the rest of my life.” |
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Gillespie out of World Cup Centurion, March 5 Described as Australia’s unluckiest cricketer, Gillespie announced he would miss the rest of the World Cup, the injury threatening to derail his career. Gillespie had scans yesterday on a right Achilles ailment after missing the defending world champions’ last two league games. The player strained a tendon running alongside the Achilles tendon. “I am shattered and disappointed but these things happen... however I am lucky that it is nothing serious. I am relieved its not my Achilles as it could have been more dangerous,’’ he told newspersons here. Left-armer Nathan Bracken would replace Gillespie. Australian coach John Buchanan had earlier said the fast bowler’s chances of playing in Friday’s Super Six match against Sri Lanka were “extremely doubtful’’. Before the injury, Gillespie had claimed eight wickets at 12.25 against Pakistan, India, Holland and Zimbabwe. “It’s a concern, that’s for sure, because it hasn’t gone away,’’ Buchanan had said. Team physiotherapist Errol Alcott said the bowler’s injury had not improved “since the problem initially occurred and that is not ideal.’’
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Oh! the diversity in our sport This World Cup has surprised a lot of people and may continue to do so. There has been so much; the exit of Shane Warne and the absence of a fast second spell from Shoaib Akhtar; the inability of favourites South Africa to withstand the expectations of their fervent countrymen; the nature of pitches late in the South African summer and the presence of regimes unpalatable to other countries. Who says we don’t have diversity in our sport! And so, Zimbabwe and Kenya find themselves in the Super Six, indeed Kenya may well find themselves in the semifinal without scoring 100 runs again. It is not their fault, or Zimbabwe’s that they are there Sometimes you must have the right all-rounder, sometimes the right President. We must wish them luck. One of the other three teams though need to stop Australia. New Zealand’s last serious game seems an eternity away and that cannot help them. They would have liked to have a little nip in the air, a little dew and some heaviness for their seamers who must think South Africa is like the Sahara further north. They play at Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth which, on the evidence so far, are slow pitches with runs in them. It isn’t till March 14 that they arrive at Centurion to play India and even that seems a tired pitch. That game could well determine their existence in the tournament. They don’t have big batting guns and the pistols aren’t firing too well either and so they need everyone to contribute. Sri Lanka are better placed. They have 3.5 points more (with the halves, the points table looks like a fastidious school teacher made it up) but critically seem to have run into the right weather and the right pitches. Unlike the Kiwis, the Sri Lankans like it hot and humid in the air, dry and crumbly on the surface. In November, on fresher pitches and against the less burdened South Africans, they were outclassed. In March, they can take their shirts off in the dressing room and they are happier. Their big game will be against India at Johannesburg but they must find someone to partner Chaminda Vaas with the new ball before that. If the pitches freshen up and render Jayasuriya, Aravinda and Arnold ineffective, they will struggle. Australia seem to have no such problems with their awesome ability to find a Bichel whenever the situation demands. Their opponents, though, will be aware of the fact that such a situation has presented itself twice in the three group games that really mattered. They have had the perfect league stage, having got full points but being stretched twice. Sampras would have liked this kind of build-up to the second week at Wimbledon. Without the Waughs, Warne and Gillespie they aren’t looking too depleted. On current form only the Sri Lankans on a dodgy turner or the broadened blade of Sachin Tendulkar or their own arrogance can stop them. They will have enjoyed the exit of South Africa and Pakistan more than the others.
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Even a winless Kenya can scrape through World Cup — the cricket’s ultimate showpiece is a place of extremes, where kudos and brickbats are like two faces of a coin, either you win or you lose. After a hectic and eventful first phase of the tournament, we have time to assess the effects and after-effects of the matches ‘played/ not played’ so far in this tournament. So we have Hussain, Waqar, Wasim, Caddick, Stewart, Donald and Carl Hooper, all great stalwarts of the game, greatly admired and respected for their cricketing abilities. Throughout their careers they have given their sweat and blood for their country and everybody acknowledged their commitment. How come suddenly they became old and spent forces, not fit enough to motivate youngsters, lacking in firepower and their averages gets scrutinized? Simply because they have failed miserably in this jackpot contest. Yes, that’s the worst part of this competition, only one can win the rest have to wait. The news of Wasim Akram announcing his retirement comes just hours later the shrewd Hussain unfolding his decision to quit. Waqar, Donald and the rest of the ‘veterans’ will also be soon arbitrarily put across the altar and although they were not getting any younger I assume that an expected backlash must have hastened Hussain’s and Wasim’s decision. Not long ago, our very own Sourav Ganguly was also an esteemed member of this group but after the Zimbabwe and Pakistan matches, he is the apple of our eyes. The belief that our team can get back the Cup is becoming more and more confirmed and Ganguly is the one leading this unit. So nothing at present can be spoken about Ganguly. Strange, yes I agree, but that’s cricket for the fans. No one likes to lose but when you lose, that too in a World Cup, you have to stand trial in the people’s court. This is what I called the effects and after-effects of ‘playing’ a World Cup. This tournament, like the one hosted in 96, saw two matches awarded by default when England and New Zealand refused to go to Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively. Not many would have thought about the consequences it might rake in for these teams apart from the four conceded points. That England did not make it into the Super Six is a direct consequence to this action. That Zimbabwe scraped through ahead of England, is rather ironical. On the other hand, New Zealand might consider themselves a bit lucky to have made the grade but there’s a possibility that we might see Kenya taking a similar revenge on the Kiwis and enter the semi-finals. That Kenya, even without winning any game might just enter the semis ahead of New Zealand, if the latter fails to win at least two of the three matches, is an indication towards that and ultimately, it may boil down to that forfeited match at Nairobi. Not only for the Kiwis, this forfeited match had tremors felt into the South African and West Indies camp also. The fight for the title is now narrowed down to just four nations, effectively three, and although Zimbabwe and Kenya would take my words kindly enough, this is not an underrated statement. Howzzat for not playing!
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Waqar hints at retirement Bulawayo, March 5 “Yes, we will sit down and discuss things. I also have to think about where I stand because this is one of the biggest disappointments of my life, the way we have performed in this World Cup,” Waqar told reporters after Pakistan’s match against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo yesterday was abandoned bringing an end to the visitors’ campaign in the World Cup. But Waqar was unsure whether the other seniors in the team — Wasim Akram and Rashid Latif — were also thinking about their future. “We have not discussed this as yet. But yes, I think we seniors will sit down together soon and decide on our futures and what role we have to play in Pakistan cricket.” Waqar said he had no excuses for his team’s poor show and it did not deserve to be in the Super Sixes. “The board gave us the best possible facilities and support team. We just didn’t perform to our potential. We played bad cricket.” Both Waqar and coach Richard Pybus are not expected to retain their positions for Pakistan’s next international assignment as their contracts were until the World Cup. “I don’t want to blame any one player for letting the team and country down. I think we all must share the blame and responsibility. Yes, as captain I take the main responsibility but apart from Wasim, Saeed or Rashid, I don’t think we performed to our optimum level,” Waqar was quoted as saying on a website. Akram may follow suit One of the world’s greatest fast bowlers Wasim Akram will hang his boots once he returns home, saying the time had come for him to “take a bow” following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the World Cup. “The time has come to take a bow. I’ve made up my mind, but would make a final announcement after reaching home,” said Akram, the only bowler to have taken 500 plus wickets in one-day internationals. Akram also said he will not make himself available for selection for the triangular one-day series in
Sharjah, starting on April 1 and also featuring South Africa and Sri Lanka. “I want to go out with respect and grace. That’s why I’ve decided not to make myself available for the Sharjah tournament.” The 36-year-old left-arm speedster admitted that though he had enjoyed every match of the World Cup, he was very disappointed with the team’s performance.
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Time for major overhaul: Miandad Islamabad, March 5 Licking the wounds of an early exit from the World Cup, Miandad set about the task of carrying out a post-mortem of country’s “most disappointing” show in the premier event and tried to list the what-went-wrongs. “The faster Shoaib Akhtar bowled at him, the more powerful his (Tendulkar’s) shots were. Wouldn’t Pakistan have loved to have someone who could play with half the passion that Sachin played with at Centurion,” Miandad said reflecting on Pakistan’s six-wicket surrender to India at Centurion on March 1. Miandad was quick to press for an overhaul in the cricket establishment too. “Pakistan’s performance has been most disappointing in this World Cup. And let me say that even with a professional coach and the numerous experienced stars in the side, if the team can’t get the basic things right, then it is time for major changes in the set-up. “Pakistan’s performance must rank as the most disappointing in their World Cup history. They have been beaten by Australia, England, and now India this time around,” Miandad was quoted as saying in “The News”. But he wondered if the administrators could do much “if the players lack the passion for the game and the hunger to go for a win”. The 44-year-old Miandad, rated as Pakistan’s best batsman in its cricket history, knows the pitfalls of apportioning blame as he himself has been victim of the system, being sacked twice before as coach of the Pakistan team due to disputes with the players and the powers that be. But Miandad could not help but criticise the way the Pakistanis went about their task against India. “It was unfortunate to note that in the crunch game against India there seemed to be no game plan, no thinking in the middle. “Once Tendulkar smashed 18 runs off the second over, I saw a few heads drop. No, this is not the Pakistan team I have known. At that stage, Pakistan sorely missed Rashid Latif, who was injured while batting,” Miandad said. “In the afternoon, it was Latif’s late charge that helped Pakistan go past the 250-run mark. When the bowlers were getting clattered around, he would have been one man who would have been capable of lifting the morale of the side with his enthusiastic presence,” said the former skipper who appeared in record six World Cups for Pakistan. Miandad said it hurt him to see that “while all the other teams improved as the tournament progressed, Pakistan is one team that has refused to do so”. But he did give some credit to India for the victory saying he had no doubt that Pakistan had lost to a better team at Centurion. “It didn’t really matter who the opponent was, all the media-hype about playing India in a crucial game should not have had any influence on both the teams. Remember, these guys are professionals.”
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Pak cricketers “ashamed, heart-broken” Cape Town, March 5 "We express our apologies and would like to share the grief with every single follower of the game," said the Pakistani cricketers in an extra-ordinary statement. "We are ashamed, disappointed, sad and heart-broken after letting the nation down," the statement said. Pakistan, who have reached the semi-finals of all but two World Cups, failed to qualify for the Super Six stage in the current World Cup. They suffered humiliating losses to Australia and England before an emphatic defeat against India rubbed the salt into their wounds. The high-profile team, which went into the tournament as one of the favourites, faced a potential backlash from the cricket-mad public back home. The statement, which was similar to the appeal made by some Indian cricketers following the angry protests by their fans after the defeat to Australia, tried to assuage the hurt feelings of the followers, admitting that the players had failed to perform to their abilities. "We knew that we were carrying the hopes of millions of our fans and have failed to live up to expectations. We tried our level best, we trained extremely hard and did everything within our reach. But things didn't work the way we would have liked to and we have no excuses to offer," the statement said. "The expectations were there because we had world class cricketers. But unfortunately, none of us displayed the talent God has blessed us with. "We know that tempers are high back home and rightly so because we have not played the cricket we were capable of. The anger of the fans is justified because they are the ones who made us the heroes and have every right to criticise us for our failures," it said. "The sun will rise again tomorrow and inshallah Pakistan will bounce back and cricket would continue to flourish."
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Three scuffles in Indo-Pak match Johannesburg, March 5 "Three minor scuffles, each lasting about 30 seconds, were reported during the India-Pakistan match at Supersport Park, Centurion. They were quickly stifled and six people ejected from the ground," World Cup executive director Ali Bacher told a press conference here today. Both Indians and Pakistanis had turned up in large numbers for the high-voltage match between the traditional rivals. India had won by six wickets. Bacher said these were the "worst crowd incidents" in the World Cup till now. The CEO commended the South African police for not allowing matters to go out of hand in any
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Latif blames format for Pak debacle Islamabad, March 5 “Pakistan and England did not play well in the crunch matches. But still the format did not help us at all,” Latif told a Pakistani daily. He said due to absence of reserve days for rains, many teams had got the “short end of the stick”. “Tell me, does Kenya deserve to be in the Super Sixes at the cost of South Africa,” Latif asked. Pakistan’s slender hope of making it to the Super Sixes was washed out yesterday when rains forced abandonment of their last group A league match against Zimbabwe. The two teams split points but Zimbabwe went through to the next stage. “The match was so crucial but because of bad weather, we did not get a chance to redeem ourselves and come back in the tournament. “I think the format applied in the 1992 World Cup was best. You got a chance to play against all other teams. “And the best team always had the chance to come back even if its form was not good in the early stages,” Latif told ‘The News’.
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Forgettable swansong for the greats Johannesburg, March 5 Three of the greatest bowlers in the history of one-day international cricket, with 1,065 wickets between them, had World Cups to forget, their thunder stolen by unheralded names such as Andy Bichel, Ashish Nehra and James Anderson. Bichel, the perennial reserve of Australian cricket, grabbed his limited chances with both hands. He claimed 12 wickets in three matches at an average of 2.75, completing figures of seven for 20 in two inspired spells against England, the second best figures in World Cup history. India’s Nehra shook off the effects of a badly swollen ankle to rout England’s middle order in a match-winning spell of six for 23. Anderson’s impact was even more unexpected. The 20-year-old Englishman, playing club cricket last year, ripped out four prime Pakistan wickets, including Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana with successive balls, to set up an upset victory for his side. Pace bowlers Glenn McGrath and Chaminda Vaas did produce performances to justify their lofty status in the world game, while Sachin Tendulkar, one-day cricket’s leading run-scorer has been a model of consistency in India’s campaign. Australian McGrath completed World Cup best figures of seven for 15 against Namibia, and Vaas took a hat-trick with the first three balls of Sri Lanka’s game against Bangladesh on the way to a tournament-high of 16 first-round wickets. Wasim became the first bowler in history to reach the milestone of 500 one-day international victims when he bowled Dutchman Nick Statham, but the 36-year-old did not enjoy the swansong he wanted as Pakistan’s talented but inconsistent side failed to make the second round. The same could certainly be said for Warne and Donald. Warne was sent home before Australia’s first match after failing a drugs test, and Donald was forced to watch from the stands as his team suffered another cruel twist of fate to be eliminated after a tied game. The 36-year-old, who played in three of his side’s six games, took one wicket in 24.5 overs for 133 runs. His selection became a national debate and when he was omitted from the side for South Africa’s must-win group B match against Sri Lanka he must have feared that the writing was on the wall. Still Donald would have hoped for the chance to redeem himself in the tournament’s latter stages, but when the rain came down and the Duckworth/Lewis score sheets condemned South Africa to an early exit the man known in his prime as ‘’white lighting’’ was heading for the most ignominious of farewells. Other leading players were also heading home early. World record-breaking batsman Brian Lara, Inzamam, the fourth highest one-day international run scorer in history, Pakistan captain Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, the world’s fastest bowler, will play no part in the business end of the sport’s showpiece event.
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Funny game leaves favourites high and dry! Cricket is a funny game. But one of its logical rules is generally you have to score one run more than the opposition total to win. Of course, in modern cricket there are times when Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis demand that you have to score many more runs than the opposition to win, or sometimes many less. The truth of cricket's intrinsic black humour and its hard to divine arithmetic must be striking the South Africans in the guts. Shaun Pollock must be considering his future options just as the World Cup moves on, without him, to more serious business with reserve days and what not to battle the elements. The politics and the rain had a readymade victim in England that has now lost one of its more imaginative captains. Nasser Hussain hopes to continue as captain in Test cricket where at least politics does not intervene so directly and the prosperous firm of Duckworth-Lewis is not even given complimentary tickets. So taken up with his number in the batting order was the England captain that he made an unseemly gesture with his fingers at the media box after a century in the tri-series last summer. Hussain may not have believed he is capable of handling the bigger set of numbers they hand out in case it rains in one-day cricket. He would certainly have known the difference between an equalisation run chart and a readjusted target score. Carl Hooper repeated a famous quote when he said cricket is a funny game before leaving the circus. As a player who had been away from the action in self-imposed exile in Australia before the captaincy beckoned him to the Caribbean will carry on as captain since the chairman of selectors Richards thinks so. In the West Indies, they tend to take a long term view of the captaincy. Hooper will lead the islands on against the world champion Test side that may or may not be led by Steve Waugh. Indeed, it must be a funny game in which the cricketer most qualified to lead other cricketers is not in the game's showpiece event. The most successful of modern captains has been left behind in New South Wales while fellow Australians defend the cup he won for them famously with his century in the league against South Africa that sparked a revival in time in the last World Cup. He also displayed the fruits of distilled wisdom as captain that helped him be the author of such success. They don't burn captains at the stake even in Pakistan but they must be close enough to thinking about it when Waqar Younis comes home. Internal divisions are such in Pakistan cricket that the Damocles sword hanging over the head represents the least danger to a captain. The golden rule is if the establishment doesn't get you, team politics will. Across to the east, they tend to fire the coaches first. Dhaka has had more coaches than Pakistan has had military dictators. But who can blame Khaled Mashud who as a batsman and wicketkeeper has led by example one of the weakest sides in international cricket? Namibia's part-time cricketers will return to their jobs satisfied that they had enjoyed the World Cup although they were the only team who managed to lose all the games. Deon Kotze and his band of general practitioners, electricians and farmers would like to return to the big stage if only they can. At 30, the elder of the Koetze brothers might believe he has it in him to lead another ICC Trophy campaign. Joseph Harris did not leave a great mark in the World Cup. At 37, the former Barbados spinner was the most senior of the World Cup skippers in terms of age. His 32-year-old all-rounder John Davison cornered all the glory with his amazing hitting of the new ball in a World Cup that has not been known for great success in the field-restricted 15 overs. They may not name a street in Amsterdam in his name. But Tim de Leede who led his Orange men to do enough to suggest Holland may have to be taken seriously in the future may not himself have a rosy future in the game. The poor guy did not score a run in Holland's first ever win in a one-day international beating Namibia in the losers' Derby. Owing to injury, he could not be present on the field when victory came. The tale of eight captains does much to add to theory that cricket is a funny game. None of them will be leading their sides when the competition goes to the Caribbean in 2007. The six skippers surviving in the Super Six will have a lot more on their hands than thoughts on their future as World Cup action switches up a gear or two. Many of them would already know cricket is a funny game. Those who have experienced the game's vicissitudes and its ironies can have a quiet laugh over it. But at least they may not have Duckworth-Lewis dictating terms though the work of the two characters will be ever present in case it rains during the Super Sixes too.
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Quit Test captaincy, Botham to Hussain London, March 5 The 34-year-old resigned his limited-overs captaincy after England were knocked out of the World Cup in South Africa. "Nasser's done a great job, but England now have an opportunity to rebuild," Botham told Sky TV today. "When he took over with Duncan Fletcher they brought England up to the right level. It doesn't mean Nasser can't play in the side, we just need a different attitude." Hussain's decision to employ the inexperienced James Anderson instead of the veteran Andrew Caddick in the penultimate over of Sunday's clash with Australia was identified by Botham as the moment England's World Cup challenge faltered. "We should have won that game and you only have to look at the expressions on the Australian faces and the English faces," he said. "They couldn't believe it." Another of Hussain's predecessors, Mike Gatting, reckons having two captains is not a practical solution. "It has happened in Australia where Steve Waugh is Test captain and Ricky Ponting is in charge of the one-day side," said Gatting. "But the coach will have to deal with two captains instead of one, the players will have to deal with two captains instead of one." David Gower believes indecision over the England line-up meant the team did not make the progress it should have under Hussain. "What disappoints me was the build-up over the last couple of years when they went round and round in circles deciding who was the best man for each position and Nasser was part of that," said Gower. "The settling of the side was not made until the last two games in Australia when they realised Ronnie Irani was not an international No 3."
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Why Lawson was not selected earlier It took the West Indies until the last game of the preliminary rounds when they had already been knocked out of the World Cup to unleash their quickest bowler in the squad, Jermaine Lawson, on the opposition. Almost everyone that had heard about the young fast bowler and everyone who had seen him in action in the one and only one day game that he played in India when the West Indies last toured, were wondering why he hadn’t been selected in any of the games previously. It didn’t take long for those who had never heard of him to ask similar questions. He was “only” bowling against the Kenyan batsmen and I say “only” advisedly, as Kenya have qualified for the Super Six stages of the World Cup, so his figures of two for 16 off eight overs may not be something to get too excited about but he bowled at great pace. Accompanying that pace was pretty good control so it’s hard to understand why he wasn’t selected before in the tournament. There had been rumours going the rounds that he was not 100 per cent fit but that was not put forward as the reason why he wasn’t selected, apparently he was considered too inexperienced to be thrust into the tournament earlier, as every game was considered a do-or-die situation. After winning the first game of the tournament against South Africa, if every game was a do-or-die situation after that and that is why he couldn’t have been selected, why was he brought on the tour? Did the West Indies expect to lose that first game, make an early exit and then play him in the non-consequential games to follow? What a way to select a squad, what a philosophy to adopt. The West Indies campaign in this 2003 World Cup is now over and with some disappointment but although they may consider themselves unlucky with a certain four points against Bangladesh being reduced to two through bad weather, they have themselves to blame. There were games to be won that just were not won and could be described as gifted to the opposition. When they look back at the New Zealand game and the game against Sri Lanka, if they are truthful to themselves, they will concede that neither team beat the West Indies in those games, the West Indies found ways to lose them. There is a big series coming up back home against Australia, so I suppose that is where the focus has to be now but between now and April 10 the start of that series, a lot of soul searching and hard work has to be done by this West Indies squad if they are going to redeem themselves in the eyes of their ever devoted fans.
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Allan Donald, Kallis ‘played below par’ Durban, March 5 "Alan and Jacques did not perform to the high standards they produced prior to the start of the World Cup when South Africa played against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Tests and one- dayers," Henry said in an interview on the country's national SAFM radio. Henry said one of the major problems with the selectors was inadequate bench strength. "We did not have the necessary capacity to replace these players at crucial stages of the tournament," he said. "These factors will lead us to start a new era in our cricket and all our focus will be to start building for the 2007 tournament in the West Indies," Henry, a former cricketer, said. According to Henry the other thing to be blamed was the mindset of South African cricket that spinners have no worth. Meanwhile, speculation here was rife that coach Eric Simons, captain Shaun Pollock and members of the selection committee may face the chop because of South Africa's failure to proceed to the Super Six stage of the tournament.
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Doping common: anti-doping chief Sydney, March 5 Warne’s recourse to banned diuretics to speed up his recovery from a shoulder injury before the World Cup indicated that several others playing non-stop cricket could be under dope, according to Shoaib Manjra, head of the World Cup Anti-Doping Agency. “I think there is doping in cricket. We can’t say it’s not a problem in the game,” Manjra was quoted as saying by ‘The Herald’ on the sidelines of a three-day conference in Copenhagen, where the international sports federations are trying to thrash out a global anti-doping policy. The WADA had come down heavily on the Australian Cricket Board for not imposing a two-year ban on Warne which is mandatory for testing positive for diuretics under its policy. Manjra said Warne’s case highlighted the problem which was common in cricket. “I think Shane Warne has probably epitomised the problem. I think quite perversely he has been a good advert for anti-doping at the World Cup,” he said. Manjra, who is also the chairman of the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport and the World Cup’s chief doping control officer, said suspicions had been raised about drug use in cricket after several players had made rapid recoveries from seemingly serious injuries. He, however, declined to name individuals.
PTI
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JCT stun East Bengal Ludhiana, March 5 JCT, powered by their star striker, I.M. Vijayan played like a well-knit unit and gave many anxious moments to the visitors, while their goalkeeper Mansuru Mohammed stood tall among others to
thwart East Bengal’s many scoring chances. East Bengal looked comfortably in charge early and dominated the exchanges but their forwards found in Mansuru a hard nut to crack. In the 20th minute of the game, Mike Okoro made a fine attempt from top of the striking box but his powerful lob was warded off by the JCT custodian. Five minutes later, hosts could not avail the golden opportunity to go into the lead when Joe Paul Anchery failed to give direction to the ball as East Bengal’s goalkeeper Sandip Nandy was out of position. Finally, JCT players got into the act, as just one minute before the lemon break, Vijayan gave a long pass to Joe Paul, who blasted the home to put his team ahead. East Bengal missed a chance to equalise the score when in the 60th minute S Ventatesh collected the ball at the goalmouth but his powerful grounder went over the crosspiece. In a counter-attack they forced a penalty kick but the shot taken by K Kulothungan went straight into Mansuru’s hands. On the other hand, spurred up by the lead and cheered up by the home crowd, JCT went
all-out in the second session. They consolidated the lead midway through the second half. They got a flag kick, Vijayan’s angular shot flew towards the goalkeeper, who while attempting to grab it lost his balance and crossed the goal-line. V.K. Dahiya, assistant referee awarded it a goal (2-0). East Bengal players protested at his decision and the play was suspended for some time but the referee stuck to his verdict. Bagan lose KOLKATA: Vasco Sports Club, Goa, kept their title hopes alive exploiting a sloppy Mohun Bagan defence to fashion a 3-2 triumph here. Brazilian Marcos Pereira struck twice, while Angelo Gomes scored a solitary goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead at the break, before Bagan reduced the margin through Sunil Chhetri and Baichung Bhutia in the latter session of the Salt Lake Stadium match. |
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PSEB swamp Rewari Club New Delhi, March 5 PSEB took the lead through Gurdish Singh in the 12th minute and added the second goal when Dalip Kumar found the mark in the 29th minute. The Rewari Club looked like making a match of it when they pulled off a goal immediately on resumption. But it was like a flash in the pan as PSEB added three more goals to seal an emphatic victory. Parminder Singh scored the third goal while Gurdish Singh and Kuldip Singh struck home the fourth and fifth goals, respectively. Ravinder Kumar pulled one back for Rewari at the fag end of the match to make the score 2-5. |
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Cape Town, March 5
Cape Town, March 5
Islamabad, March 5
