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Friday,
March 7, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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India need to stay focused: Wright Kenyans stand no chance,
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Buoyant Lankans unfazed by Aussies |
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Sachin Tendulkar is living up to his reputation
A farce or high drama in the Super Six Bacher defends Super Six format Indians have it in them to lift the trophy England, New Zealand did not do cricket any favour PROFILE OF THE WEEK Kiwis the dark horses of the tournament Orchard, Tiffin axed No tears for SA:
Ponting
Top shooters for World
Cup J & K Bank, BSF
win
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India need to stay focused: Wright Cape Town, March 6 It is a travesty of sorts that Kenya are in the Super Sixes, the first non-Test nation to have proceeded so far in the premier event, and have more points than heavyweights India. Kenya carry forward 10 points from the league round and are placed as the second top team from Group ‘B’ behind Sri Lanka. India are second in Group ‘A’ and carry eight points into the second round. Thanks to complicated system, it has emerged that Kenya can make it to the semifinals without even a single win in the Super Sixes and it means India will have to take their day-night match tomorrow with all the seriousners that they can muster. India have not forgotten the 70-run upset defeat at the hands of the same team in a tri-series in South Africa in 2001 and that memory was rekindled when Kenya used their giantkilling skills to defeat Asian powerhouses Sri Lanka earlier in this tournament. It was only expected of Indian coach John Wright to ring the caution bell for his team which has staged a remarkable comeback to once again count among the favourites to lift the Cup. “We must keep our feet on the ground and prepare as well as we can,” said Wright. “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. PTI |
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Kenyans stand no chance, says Sandeep Patil Cape Town, March 6 Patil, a member of India’s World Cup-winning squad in 1983, said India was a vastly superior side and a much more accomplished unit in all aspects of the game. “I watched Sachin Tendulkar in full flow against Pakistan on television but ideally I would not be reminded about it nor would I like my boys to see that innings, lest it affects their confidence,” said Patil. The way Patil went raving about the Indian side, particularly Tendulkar, many, including Indian coach John Wright, feel it could be a tactics by the extremely shrewd Kenyan coach to distract the Indian players.
PTI |
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Buoyant Lankans unfazed by Aussies Centurion, March 6 Australia showed no signs of being affected by the loss of strike bowlers Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne as they cruised through the preliminary league with an all-win record. The 12 points the Australians have carried through to the the Super Sixes means just one more win will lift them into the semi-finals. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, faced a harrowing time during a one-day series down under in December and January against England and the hosts. But Sri Lanka’s Australian coach Dav Whatmore insisted his side was looking forward to clashing with the champions again at SuperSport Park tomorrow. “Ours is a totally different side now than the team that played in Australia,” Whatmore said referring to the growing confidence of Sanath Jayasuriya’s men after topping Group B. “We are mentally tougher. The boys want to do well and keep playing good cricket. They have been playing under these conditions for a long time.” Whatmore conceded Sri Lanka were the underdogs against Australia, but said that may just help his team to perform better. “Definitely Australia will be the favourites and we will be the underdogs, which we would rather be,” he said. “We’ve had some success against them in the past, but it is fair to say that it will be tough game particularly in these conditions. But you never know.” Sri Lanka will be looking for a good start from Marvan Atapattu, fresh from a century against South Africa, and skipper Jayasuriya on a perfect batting wicket. “It’s a beauty,” Whatmore said of the SuperSport Park wicket where India successfully chased Pakistan’s 273 for 7 on Saturday. Australian captain Ricky Ponting, still recovering from the loss of Gillespie due to injury, said the little grass on the wicket will help his bowlers. “We will try to unsettle them by taking wickets at the top and make the most of the conditions like we did in the group game against India,” Ponting said. The Aussies shot out India’s star-studded batting for their lowest World Cup score of 125, Gillespie taking 3 for10 in 10 superb overs, to win by nine wickets at the same venue on February 15. “We are not at all relaxed just because we have the maximum points. The objective is to play for a win and keep the momentum going,” Ponting said. Australia, already without Warne who withdrew before the tournament after a failed drug test, suffered another blow when Gillespie flew home yesterday with an injury to his right heel. Teams (from): Australia: Ricky Ponting
(capt), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Brad
Hogg, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andy
Symonds, Nathan Bracken, Nathan Hauritz. Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya
(capt), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva, Russel Arnold, Jehan
Mubarak, Avishka Gunawardena, Hashan Tillakaratne, Muttiah
Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Pulasthi Gunaratne, Prabath
Nissanka, Charitha Buddhika. Umpires: Billy Bowden (Nzl) and David Shepherd (Eng). TV umpire:
Brian Jerling (Rsa). Match referee: Mike Procter (Rsa). AFP |
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Sachin Tendulkar is living up to his reputation At the start of the World Cup when asked about my predictions, I had suggested that India and New Zealand had a good chance of causing a major upset, and winning the tournament. I must confess that I never considered Kenya at all, and even though they have progressed to the Super Sixes ahead of South Africa, and with no disrespect intended, I do not think the Kenyans are going to trouble any of the teams from pool A. The reason I backed India to get to the semifinals, if not all the way, is that they have two or three quality batsmen, plus the genius of Sachin Tendulkar. Sometimes this can count against them, as they have often relied too heavily on Tendulkar to score the bulk of their runs for them, at a rapid rate. He has shown that he is relishing the challenge of living up to his reputation, and he has such an appetite for runs that he has been able to set the platform for India’s middle order to come in and express themselves. Most teams only have one player at the top of the order who scores at a strike rate of above a run-a-ball, but Tendulkar is ably assisted by Virender Sehwag, who is capable of taking any attack by storm. Tendulkar is far more consistent, as his technique has little or no flaw for the opposition to exploit. If the two of them bat for the first 15 overs of the Indian innings for their remaining World Cup games, then the young play makers, like Yuvraj and Kaif will be able to perform well without the responsibility of having to work the ball around just to see out the 50 overs. Now that South Africa are out of the equation, I would love to see Rahul Dravid be given an opportunity higher up the order, as his technique is suited to South African wickets. The two left-handed quickies have provided more than adequate assistance to “Mr Reliable”, Javagal Srinath in the fast bowling department. The key to one-day cricket in South Africa is being able to take wickets in the middle period of a match, as this prevents the batting team from laying a platform and launching an onslaught in the final 10 overs. The batting surfaces here are true, and if you have wickets in hand, you can score between 80 to 100 in the last 10 overs. To be in the position to be able to leave Anil Kumble out of the attack speaks volumes for India’s bowling side, however, now that the team is entering the most important stage of the tournament, I am a firm believer that players with the experience are going to be making major contributions to their team’s success, and for this reason alone, I would play Kumble for the rest of the show. Fielding was the one area that Indian teams of the past just did not excel in. I must congratulate the coach and his players for raising their fielding standards to a really high level. There have been some great catches taken so far, but it is not just the catches that win matches, the Indian players have been able to put pressure on their opponents through a combination of tight bowling and heroic fielding, and I am looking forward to being entertained in the remaining matches. The exuberance of Mohammed Kaif opened the floodgates against England, when his direct hit accounted for Nick Knight. Along with
Yuvraj, he has ensured that there are no quick singles on offer for the opposition. How good are India’s chances of reaching the final? I would say excellent. The situation is such, that if the Kiwis don’t make it past India in the Super Six, Kenya might just sneak into the next round as well. Sri Lanka start with 7.5 points and have a good chance of reaching the semifinals, along with Australia and India. Once you get to the knock-out stage of the tournament, anything can happen, and even if you have to play the confident Aussies, any of the three other teams have shown that on their day, they are impossible to stop, and this includes India. On current form I would still put India and New Zealand as joint second
favourites. Another reason why that March 14 game between the two sides promises to be a great game. (Gameplan) |
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A farce or high drama in the Super Six Is it going to be a farce or will it be high drama in the Super Six round in the World Cup? Thanks to politics, rain and prohibitively expensive and nightmarish logistics for a cash-strapped promoter which is the real reason why reserve days were not in place in the league, the World Cup has now been reduced to an
Australia-Southern Africa Cup. Like the curate’s egg, it is good in parts only. Missing from their own party are the South Africans while the departure lounge of Johannesburg airport must have been filled with an assortment of West Indians, Englishmen and Pakistanis. Had any two of those four teams survived at the expense of Kenya and Zimbabwe, they would have made this a mouth-watering Super Six. What is left is a somewhat farcical lineup from which Kenya can qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Zimbabwe or, if it rains some more, even get to the last four even without a win in the Super Six. It is all very nice toasting a team of minnows who made it to the big stage but it will mean very little when teams switch up a gear in the Super Six and expose the gulf in standards. The Australians can win one game and not even turn up for the other two and seek a sun tan on the beaches of South Africa instead and still make it to the semis as the top team. New Zealand would have to win at least two of three matches to stay in contention. The Sri Lankans also would have to aim to win two of three games to ensure they go through. Where does that leave India? The men in blue can be masters of their own destiny from here. If they win all their games, they could set up a semi-final meeting with the Sri Lankans who will finish third if they beat Zimbabwe which on form they are expected to do. This is by far the best scenario for India. Any other combination of results is potentially hazardous. If the men in blue only beat the Kenyans and lose the other two games, they could invite a possible fourth place finish with a tie on points with New Zealand that could mean a semi-final pairing with Australia at Port Elizabeth. That is best avoided. A second or third place finish would be best for India even if it means taking a chance in the day-night semi-final lottery at Durban. The Indians would rather take on the Aussies in the electric atmosphere of a final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg which has the best batting wicket in the whole of South Africa. The world knows batting is India’s strength. Sachin Tendulkar can play the cat among the pigeons act if the pitch is true and fast bowlers try to blast him out rather than plot his downfall. As the teams in form, Australia and India are in a position to dictate terms and leave the others gasping a bit for places. The most likely scenario is Australia, India, Sri Lanka and Kenya will qualify for the semis if New Zealand does not beat India after defeating Zimbabwe. The Kiwis will not go down without a fight and that could mean the other likely semi-final scenario is Australia vs Sri Lanka and India vs New Zealand. Of the six remaining in the tournament which Dr Ali Bacher somehow thought as ‘’the best’’ World Cup ever, the presence of those four would make for the best possible semi-final encounters. Dr Bacher must accept the blame for a late change that saw the scrapping of rain days in the league. The news is that the high power administrator did so to please the Global Cricket Corporation that has become the high prized promoter of two Worlds Cups. Such a compromise saw cricket being placed second to financial
interests of a global media mogul. There were reserve days in the last World Cup in England. Could a one-day match ever be envisaged in rainy English summers without a reserve day? The same should have held good for the African plains where summer showers brought about the high farce that saw the exit of the West Indies and saw Zimbabwe coming in at the expense of England or Pakistan. South Africa suffered not from the politics of boycotts but from a miscalculation of the D/L method but also because of the scrapping of reserve days. Those who cried hoarse over the rain rule down under in 1992 were ruined by their own high power administrator pandering to a commercial interest in 2003. A World Cup without rain days — don’t even think about it. India are in the comfort zone in this World Cup. Back in 1999, India qualified for the Super Six without a single point because Zimbabwe was a fellow qualifier and the defeat at the hands of Henry Olonga at the death in Leicester left them with nothing to take forward. India had beaten England in a do-or-die game on the morning of the reserve day. To have rain days is the commonsense approach to running a quadrennial showpiece event. Given cricket’s uneasy relationship with wet weather, the least Dr Bacher could have done was to place cricket first. He too can share the burden of regrets with Shaun Pollock and his troops who became wet from a tropical storm that hit the wrong place at the wrong time. That was dramatic irony at its most intense.
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Bacher defends Super Six format Johannesburg, March 6 During the 1996 World Cup in Asia, South Africa won all their group matches only to lose their quarter-final against the West Indies — the first and, so far, only occasion in which a last eight stage has been included in the tournament. And Bacher said that experience had prompted South Africa to press for a change in the rules. “In 1996 our South African team won all their initial matches, they were the outstanding team, but, come the quarter-final, one bad game, out. “We said, and I was a party to that proposal, there must be something in the pool stages that if you do well, you can carry it forward.” “It was all to make sure that every pool game had
meaning. That was the basis of how it started.” Reigning champions Australia go into the Super Sixes carrying forward 12 points after they were unbeaten in group A. Teams received four points for a win over fellow qualifiers and a point for a win over non-qualifiers. But such has been Australia’s dominance so far that, theoretically, they could qualify for the semi-finals without winning any of their three Super Six matches. In the Super Six, instead of playing all five of their fellow qualifiers, teams merely take on those sides who have made it through from outside their own group. And the situation has been complicated further by the fact that Kenya have received four points for a ‘win’ over fellow qualifiers following the Kiwis boycott of their match in Nairobi on security grounds.
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Indians have it in them to lift the trophy From the wobbly start against Holland to the horrendous defeat against Australia, the revitalising win against Zimbabwe and England to the morale boosting win over Pakistan, Sourav Ganguly’ boys have been through all. The way our team met the challenges so far in this tournament is really commendable. They deserved every privilege of scouting around exotic locales of the African nation and tasting the mouth watering cuisine but now it’s time they keep all those memories fondly in the photo albums. It’s back to business now. It’s time for some serious cricket. After making people believe, again, that they have it in them to get back the coveted Cup, the present Indian team has its task cut out. They are standing in the midst of a bridge, from where going the entire length would be a sensible option than returning back. They have the confidence and the form going for them and it will not be a problem to succeed if you are armed with these two, just in case you meet any eventuality chasing your destination. Frankly, if this Indian team does not go the distance now, even the host nation’s mourning of an early exit will be overshadowed. Talking about the day-night fixture against Kenya, the question which rages in my mind is whether Indians will experiment with their team composition? Mind you, experimenting does not warrant a sense of complacency and John Wright will be drilling these feeds to them but having desisted from making any changes unless the situation demanded, I feel that India will stick to the same team, which means that Patel, Bangar and Agarkar continue with their guest appearance in the field. God forbid, but if any injury scares bother India, then the reserve should be ready to take on the mantle. The Indians are no Australians, there will be no Bichel standing up for a Gillespie, precisely why we need to give a game to, possibly one, of the reserves. But is it too late, that question needs some brain storming. India have been banking on Sachin’s energizer to fuel a perfect start but Sehwag, a match winner he is, must realise the urgency of sharing that load on a longer basis in the innings with him. Ganguly, apart from that hundred, did not look convincing and both of them, vital ammunition in team’s
armoury, need to take guard in this match. Kaif’s promotion, like I mentioned previously, was a good move and India should continue with the same batting order, Dravid and Yuvraj following
Kaif. The main problem has remained with the bowling, spin bowling to be specific. The wickets here does not afford a luxury of playing two spinners and it’s a pain Ganguly has been living since the start of the tournament. Will Kumble make it or Harbhajan? That’s the question which is uppermost in people’s minds now. Kenya on the other hand, know what to expect from the Indian team. Coach Sandeep
Patil, has in the past plotted two Indian defeats and we would do good to watch that out. The Kenyans, for sure, will come out with some game plan and their best option lies in batting first, putting up a good total and pray hard for a long forgotten Indian collapse to come haunting again. Meanwhile, the other match today, between Sri Lanka and Australia promises to be a thriller. On one side we have an immaculate display of professional cricket and on the other hand we are served with spicy, turning and strokeful Lankan recipe, it surely makes up for an interesting cocktail. The two teams have not been the best of friends and it will be least surprising to see some ‘fireworks’. Can Murali have the Aussies dancing even on foreign wickets, can Vaas continue his dream run against Gilchrist, how long will the Aussie vice-captain’s bat remain silent in this tournament, will Jayasuriya’s blade be more fast than Lee’s bouncers. These questions are best to be left answered at the Centurion Park only. Let the game begin! |
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England, New Zealand did not do cricket any favour Nothing is certain but the unforeseen. Kenya and Zimbabwe are in the Super Six stage of the World Cup, sadly not because of any great cricketing merit but due to a combination of political vibrations that rocked the tournament and inclement weather which surfaced at the most inopportune moments for teams like the West Indies, Pakistan and South Africa. At the start of the tournament, who would have expected Kenya and Zimbabwe to be in the Super Six ahead of teams like South Africa, Pakistan, the West Indies and England? Rain denied Pakistan and South Africa the chance to win their final league matches and make up for some poor cricket earlier but bad management should never be confused with
Destiny. You can’t be unlucky three times. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. The West Indies, which gave the tournament a rousing start with a win over South Africa, lost out on its chance to make it to the Super Six stage mainly because rain caused its game against lowly Bangladesh to be abandoned. It hammered Kenya and yet found itself out of the World Cup after the preliminary league The West Indies discovered that the unexpected always happens. Good luck often has an odour of perspiration to it. Kenya first got a walkover from New Zealand and then scored a sensational upset victory over Sri Lanka to be able to carry 10 points into the Super Six. That leaves it in an advantageous position since New Zealand (four points) and Zimbabwe (3-1/2) need to win two matches now to make it to the semifinal. Can it get any more absurd than that? Despite losing to India and Australia, Zimbabwe benefitted from the walk-over it got over England and the two points it picked up when rain affected its final league game with Pakistan. Zimbabwe is in the Super Six with victories over the Netherlands and Namibia. Now, how fair is that? It is all right to duck behind the rules and say that all teams were aware of the situation, that no reserve day had been provided for rain-hit games in the league stage and of the consequences of forfeiting games. Yet, even granting that weather and conditions play a role in the game, the International Cricket Council has got some thinking to do. Would fans around the world not want to watch the teams with the most merit compete in the Super Six stage? Can the ICC escape responsibility? It is not my intention to surf a political subject here but in deciding not to travel to Harare and Nairobi to play their World Cup games, England and New Zealand did not do cricket any favour. On a stage like the World Cup, the fortunes of teams must be decided on the cricket field and not in boardrooms. Where does all this leave India? The folly of one is fortune for the other and India has the simple task of beating Kenya in the first match. You would reckon that 99 times out of 100, India would win that game and go through to the semifinals. It looks peaches and cream all the way for the team which has been revitalised and is recharged, thanks to wonderful form of Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian team’s resurgence is the triumph of collective spirit. Yet, it must be said that Tendulkar has been the
flagbearer, defending the initiative so well that others haven’t felt the pressure. It must be hoped that the lion carries his form into the second stage and beyond. For all that, India must win a second game in the Super Six to to avoid meeting Australia in the semifinal. The sides which have come across as the two best must be pitted in the final and not sooner. Australia has been virtually invincible since it raises the bar all the time. It lost Shane Warne even before the first match but adversity seems to get the best out of the team. The world has a lot of work to do to catch up with Australia, which rides on self-belief. It seems so strong that it does worry too much about the loss of Jason Gillespie to injury. Andy Bichel has already performed so well in the limited opportunity given him that the team may not look any worse for Gillespie’s absence. Though New Zealand carries just four points into the Super Sixes, I think it must be put down as the dark horse. It has got its balance right and is blessed with players of sound allround ability. Above all, it has an astute leader in charge of its operations. Stephen Fleming, who played a superb knock against South Africa to lift his team from the dumps, has easily been the best captain in the tournament. I expect Kenya and Zimbabwe to go out of the Super Six stage since I believe the best four teams — Australia, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand - would play the semifinals. The teams from the sub-continent can draw cheer from the fact that the tracks in South Africa make it seem as if they are from their own backyards. Yet, it must be remembered that while God is on the side of the heaviest battalion, that was not to be in he preliminary league.
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PROFILE OF THE WEEK CAPE TOWN: No sooner had the Kenyan team arrived in Cape Town, their coach Sandeep Patil was telling everyone how he would like to get even with an Indian commentator. “He’s made some nasty remarks like how top teams are going to lick us like candies. I would like to remind him of his own record and how he struggled in his first seven games. I would also like to tell him the entire Kenyan team is carrying candies for him.” Patil, elegant as ever in a khaki trousers and maroon T-shirt, was sitting by the magnificent poolside of Hotel Cullinan where the two teams, India and Pakistan, have been put up. Patil didn’t mince words and left little to the imagination that the sting was aimed at Navjot Singh Sidhu. The witty Sardar, it appears, is no longer appearing funny to the participating teams of the 2003 World Cup. In the evening, captain Sourav Ganguly and the entire Indian team is having a get-together with the Indian media. A reporter, on behalf of the television channel for whom Sidhu works, once again approaches Ganguly and pleads for things to cool off. Ganguly’s looks said it — he was in no mood to compromise. The Indian team, it would appear, wants Sidhu out of the commentator’s box. Sidhu, a day before, was asked by his television employers to take things a little easy. The easy-going Sikh lost his cool at this suggestion and asserted he wasn’t going to back off. Caught in a cleft, the television channel doesn’t know how to get out of this mess. They need cricketers during the World Cup and the Indian team is in a defiant mood. Sidhu at least did better than Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the former India skipper, who was made to apologise to the Indian team by the television channel he works for. Srikkanth suppressed his pride and offered an apology which, instead of cooling off the cricketers, has actually made them more aggressive. From being hunted, the Indian team are hunters now. Only, the cricketers seem to be transgressing their own bounds of decency. Anyone who has dealt with Sidhu would tell the former India opener doesn’t bear any malice, even if he is a little loose with his comments on television. If he doesn’t do it with an intention to insult, the cricketers shouldn’t hold any grudge against a man who during his playing days was their senior and contemporary. Sidhu has a five-year contract with the particular television network and by the looks of it the cricketers are adamant they would do their best to ensure he doesn’t last his term. The television channel might play into their hands by disassociating itself with the lively Sikh. It would be a mistake, not only from the freedom of the press point of view, but also from the business angle as Sidhu vs Cricketers could really work as the selling point for the network. |
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Kiwis the dark horses of the tournament If the organizers of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa don’t have a problem with teams like Kenya and Zimbabwe qualifying, then I shouldn’t have one. If they don’t feel that the World Cup has been devalued, that less cricket was played due to weather and forfeits, and that their economy is going to suffer as the home crowd, the Barmy Army, the Pakistanis and the West Indians lose interest then I guess I should not worry either. Sadly, as a former cricketer, I do care for this tournament, which started out as a quest to find the best teams in the world. Today, thanks to poor organizing and to the ostrich-like stance of the governing bodies, we have a situation where Kenya can go through to the semis by virtue of beating only one Test-playing team. If that is not a farce, what is? The England-Zimbabwe situation should have been sorted out four months before the tournament and not four days before the match was to be played. I cannot be convinced that the tournament would have been any poorer if common sense had prevailed, and England’s match was rescheduled in South Africa. I am all for globalising cricket, but not at the cost of lowering the standards of the game’s most prestigious tournament. Will the faulty planning affect the Super Sixes? Of course it will. In every other sport, when teams qualify for the next round, they don’t carry any benefits from the preceding round. For instance, just because a soccer team tops by group in World Cup Soccer, If does not go into the pre-quarterfinals with an advantage. I had said this in 1999 and I repeat it in 2003, teams must start the Super Sixes on an even keel. Fortunately, four quality teams made it to the 1999 semis. However, if New Zealand don’t win two of their Super Six games, Kenya go through, and they go through because of rain, forfeits and one win against a quality side. This World Cup will be the last we see of the Super Sixes system, and after the dead games you will see in the next 10 days, it will be obvious why. Fortunately, New Zealand are the dark horses of the tournament, and if they stay fit, they can win two games to go through to the last four. In fact all the three top sides on a good day can challenge the Australians. Against England, the champions looked fallible, and while they are the hardest to beat, it’s not entirely impossible. In fact, England should have won that game, but for their complete inability to go in for the kill against Australia. The latter will have to go through the rest of the World Cup without Jason Gillespie, but seeing Andy Bichel against England, I’m sure Ricky Ponting is not having sleepless nights. As expected England’s exit saw the resignation of Nasser Hussain as captain. Many experts had started wondering rather loudly, whether he was fit for a place in the one-day side, and of late, the strains of leadership are more visible on his brow when he dons the blue uniform. There are one or two contenders for the job, but my pick would be 31-year-old Adam Hollioake. He is a good leader, has fine man management skills, and most importantly has a good county season behind him. He showed fine resilience and character to get over the tragic death of his brother Ben, and all said and done fits the role pretty well. (Gameplan) |
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Orchard, Tiffin axed Johannesburg, March 6 But England’s Peter Willey, who refused to officiate in Zimbabwe on safety grounds, has been retained for the Super Six stage of the competition which will feature three Australians - Daryl Harper, Darrell Hair and Simon Taufel. ICC general manager David Richardson admitted mistakes had been made. “What we’ve taken into account is the form of the umpires. There might be one or two who have missed out for the rest of this tournament not because they are necessarily bad umpires but simply because they might not be in the best of form,” he said. “Mistakes have been made, they will always continue to be made I’m sure. And in this respect I’d like to compliment the players for their behaviour which we think has been excellent throughout the tournament thus far.” He said the only incident the disciplinary committee had been forced to deal with was when Australia’s Adam Gilchrist accused fellow keeper Rashid Latif of Pakistan of racial abuse. Latif was not found guilty. “But apart from that I don’t think I can recall seeing one nasty incident on the field of dissent or verbal abuse and I think the players deserve some sort of credit in that regard,” Richardson added. All five full time members of the ICC match referee panel — Clive Lloyd, Ranjan Madugalle, Mike Procter, Wasim Raja and Gundappa Viswanath — will officiate in the Super Sixes. Super Six umpires Billy Bowden
(Nzl), Steve Bucknor (WIs), Aleem Dar (Pak), Asoka de Silva (Sri), Daryl Harper (Aus), Darrell Hair (Aus), Brian Jerling
(RSA), Rudi Koertzen (RSA), David Shepherd (Eng), Simon Taufel (Aus), Srinivas Venkataraghavan
(Ind), Peter Willey (Eng). AFP |
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No tears for SA: Ponting Johannesburg, March 6 “The West Indies were the ones who were really hurt by the rain in my view,” said Ponting referring to the washed-out match against Bangladesh at Benoni which ultimately delivered a fatal blow to Carl Hooper’s campaign. South Africa’s chances, meanwhile, were washed away in Durban when their final group game against Sri Lanka ended in a tie. “South Africa made a few mistakes along the way and did not play as well as they should have,” added Ponting.
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Anand slips to fourth place Linares, March 6 |
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Top shooters for World
Cup New Delhi, March 6 Trap: Dominic Grazioli (USA), Alexei Alipov (Russia), Khaled Almudhaf (Kuwait) and Tommi Andelin (Finland); double trap: Hamad Alafasi (Kuwait), Marco Innocenti (Italy), Waldemar Schanz (Germany), Daniele Dispigno (Italy) and Joonas Olkkonen (Finland); skeet: Shawn Dulohery (USA) and Jan Sychra (Czech Republic). Meanwhile, India have named a 26-strong contingent for the World Cup. The shooters are Trap: Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Mansher Singh, Anwer Sultan, Zoravar Singh (reserve), S M Faizal, Ranajit Nobis, Birendeep Sodhi (junior) and Ankur Singh (junior). Double trap: RVS Rathore, Moraad Ali Khan, Gaurav Sondhi, Vikram Bhatnagar (reserve), Ronjan Sodhi, Dil Bahadur, Asaf Ali (junior) and Shagun Chaudhary (women). Skeet: Naveen Jindal, Rao Inderjit Singh, Amardeep Singh Rai, Rahoul Rai (reserve), Baba P S Bedi, Rajpal Singh Kochhar, Alok Singh (junior), Devesh Rai (junior), Karan Badhwar (junior reserve) and Arti Singh Rao (women). |
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J & K Bank, BSF
win New Delhi, March 6 Jammu and Kashmir Bank defeated Chandigarh Police 2-0 to earn full points. Chandigarh Police thus suffered their second straight defeat. Inside-left Deepu Sangral put the bankmen in the lead in the 37th minute while Raizwan Sheikh struck home the second goal in 77th minute. Border Security Force sailed past Indian National Club of Delhi 4-2 to take their points tally to six, from two matches. BSF forged ahead in the 34th minute when Ouseph found the mark. But in a tit-for-tat exchange, Aftab Ashraf equalised for Nationals three minutes later. In the second half, Ouseph made it 2-1 for while Gurjit Singh struck home two quick goals in the 70th and 79th minutes to bulge the BSF lead to 4-1. At the closing stages of the match, Sanjeev Sharma with a solo effort got the second goal for Nationals, to reduce the margin. |
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Cape Town, March 6
Cape Town, March 6
Nothing is certain but the unforeseen. Kenya and Zimbabwe are in the Super Six stage of the World Cup, sadly not because of any great cricketing merit but due to a combination of political vibrations
and inclement weather.
Johannesburg, March 6
