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Tuesday,
March 11, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Kiwis look to halt Aussie run Cairns fighting back to full fitness Top sides bring out the best in us A perfect game, says Ganguly
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Good to see Sehwag get some runs
‘No comparison between
Sachin, Sehwag’ Hayden heads for beach to end dry run Waqar Younis refuses to step down DIARY OF THE WEEK Bouncers or
googlies, steadfast stands the ICC Colourful world of umpires Enough of cricket, says Trescothick Tickets go abegging
Leko wins title, Anand 3rd Indian Bank thrash ITI J&K Bank rally to hold BSF Patiala ready to hold
senior national judo
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Kiwis look to halt Aussie run
Port Elizabeth, March 10 It was at the same St George’s Park here on March 2 that Ricky Ponting’s men had their least convincing win of the tournament scraping home by two wickets against England. They now face a New Zealand team which has given them some of their toughest contests in recent years. New Zealand won three out of four limited overs matches last season to prevent the world champions from reaching the finals of a triangular series in Australia. Steve Waugh was dropped as Australian one-day captain after that failure and replaced by Ponting. Earlier that season New Zealand shared an away Test series against the Australians. The St George’s Park wicket was low, slow and awkward when Australia slumped to 135 for eight against England before an unbeaten ninth-wicket stand of 73 between Michael Bevan and Andy Bichel took them to victory. Similar conditions tomorrow would suit New Zealand’s medium-pacers but Ponting claimed not to be worried about his side’s previous struggles against the Kiwis, remembering instead an emphatic 164-run win in their most recent clash at the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September. Australia are on a world record streak of 13 successive one-day wins and another victory would clinch top spot on the Super Six table with one game to play. A top spot would mean a semifinal against the fourth placed side on March 18. New Zealand are also on a winning streak, having won five in a row since they lost their opening World Cup match against Sri Lanka on February 10, although they forfeited points against Kenya to make their task of qualifying more difficult. New Zealand have insisted they will not be intimidated by Australia’s awesome pace battalion after Brett Lee was used as a battering ram to deliberately target Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya on Friday. It was done with such force that Jayasuriya ended up in hospital with an arm injury which almost ended his World Cup and Ponting hinted that Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming would be next in the firing line. However, the Black Caps skipper was unconcerned. “We’ve heard it all before,” said Fleming. “They’re just following on from Steve Waugh who was very good at using the media.” Ponting, whose team are the only ones with a perfect record in the tournament, is adamant that nothing will stand in his way of a second successive World Cup title. “We need to put pressure on Stephen Fleming,” said Ponting who will again be without the services of Andrew Symonds who has yet to recover from a thigh strain. New Zealand started the Super Six stage in fifth place with four points but doubled that tally by beating Zimbabwe by six wickets in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Fleming’s men still need one more win to be sure of reaching the semifinals. A key factor in the win over Zimbabwe was the return to form of all-rounder Chris Cairns. He had his first productive bowling spell of the tournament, taking two for 16, then clubbed 54 valuable runs. 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. New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Andre Adams, Nathan
Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Matthew
Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent. Umpires:
Asoka de Silva (SL) and Steve Bucknor (WI) TV umpire: Brian Jerling (RSA) Match referee:
Ranjan Madugalle (SL).
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Cairns fighting back to full fitness
Johannesburg, March 10 Instead, the world’s most spectacular all rounder has fought back to something close to full fitness at a stage in the World Cup when New Zealand need him most. Cairns took two for 16 from four overs against Zimbabwe in their Super Six match yesterday. His first wickets of the tournament were followed by his first half-century, an innings crucial to his team’s six-wicket victory. A gloriously gifted athlete still at the age of 32, Cairns is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball around and a potentially dangerous pace bowler. He will probably need to be near his best in both facets of the game during New Zealand’s remaining two Super Six matches against Australia and India if they are to qualify for the semi-finals. New Zealand’s strength lies in their team ethic, the ability of a group of individuals to lift their collective game. More will be needed against Australia, who have looked awesome so far in the tournament, and Cairns is one player who can win a match on his own. Cairns was cautiously optimistic at practice before Tuesday’s game in Port Elizabeth against the defending champions. “I’m probably a long way off where I’d probably like to be,” he told reporters. “But it’s a fact of life and I’ve really had to fight to get here.” “Improving in each outing is what we are after and that’s been the case. It’s got better each time. “Australia are a great side, everyone knows that, it goes without saying. But in the last three World Cups I have been involved in we have got a two-win one-loss record against them.” Cairns, who once said he bowled for a living but batted for enjoyment, commands attention whatever he does on the field. His low flat throw, after Lou Vincent had scooped up the ball near the boundary, ran out Brian Lara in the group match against West Indies, a game New Zealand had to win to stay in the tournament. His innings against Zimbabwe, apart from one lapse when he was dropped hitting across the line, was a masterpiece of restraint, showing once again that he can score with perfectly orthodox strokes at around four an over without taking risks. Bowling is a different matter. Cairns started his international life as a strike bowler, before a crippling back injury forced him to change his action and drop his pace. Four years ago he reinvented himself as a fast bowler, taking the new ball as New Zealand rallied from one Test down to win only their second series in England. Now he is back at fast-medium, but still with the ability to make the ball do unexpected tricks in the air or off the pitch. His performances in the first round were unpromising. Four overs cost 38 runs, the first of them going for 21, and his subsequent jubilation when he captured his first victim on Saturday was understandable. “Relief is a better word,” Cairns said. “It’s nice to contribute as a player. What role I play is up to Flem (captain Stephen Fleming) but hopefully that role will be there if he wants to use it.
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Top sides bring out the best in us We came into the Super Sixes needing to win two of our three games against the group A qualifiers. We are on course with a win against Zimbabwe, and would like to put it beyond doubt with a win against Australia. Playing top sides has always brought out the best from our team, and we hope to continue that trend against the defending champions. We are being billed as one of the sides that have done well against the Australians in the past. While results have not always gone our way, we have enjoyed playing our neighbours more than most other teams. Some teams in this tournament have looked defeated by the thought of playing Australia, they have backed away even before a ball has been bowled. We know that the result may go either way tomorrow, but I’m proud that every Black Cap is really looking forward to testing himself against the best. One of the advantages we will have tomorrow is the fact that our bowlers will relish the conditions at Port Elizabeth more than the Australian bowlers would. Bowlers like McGrath and Lee prefer wickets with pace and bounce and would have to make an adjustment to play at St. George’s Park. On the other hand, the likes of Scott Styris, Chris Harris and Nathan Astle will be quite happy to exploit conditions. St. George’s Park will not provide an ideal scenario for the Shane Bond-Brett Lee confrontation. I don’t expect either to do much pace-wise, but they might still be a handful because the pitch is a little two-paced. The only worry for me at present is our bowling at the death. This has traditionally been a weak link in our one-day cricket. We are trying different methods to get over this problem, like using slower bowlers in the last five overs. This did not work in the game against Zimbabwe, and I did not have either Bond or Jacob Oram to fall back on since I had exhausted their overs in my quest to get the Zimbabwean lower order out. We are working at this area ahead of our next two games because both Australia and India have batsmen who can make us pay for any sloppiness at the death. Chris Cairns is gradually resuming his bowling duties. We have been circumspect about using him because we don’t want to lose Cairns the batsman by over-utilising Cairns the bowler. For the Black Caps the trend right through this tournament has been high scores and big run chases - quite a contrast from our low-scoring games against India at home. The big plus in the tournament so far has been our batting, which has been firing pretty consistently. Personally, I’m pretty happy with the way things are going. I had made some changes in my technique as well as my grip, and after the initial adjustment phase, it’s been very good for my game. I would love to continue in this form, especially as the crunch games approach. Nathan Astle’s century will also make him feel a lot better. One drop had been a problem area for us for quite some time, but Astle seems to have fitted into that slot pretty well. He had been unlucky not to have got a big score after his unbeaten 50 against South Africa, but now luck seems to be on his side.
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A perfect game, says Ganguly Johannesburg, March 10 “We go to Durban (to play the semi-final). It does not matter whether we meet Australia or any one else in the semi-final or final,” Ganguly said. Ganguly said his team was on a roll after six consecutive victories and ready to take on any opposition. “After the defeat against Australia, we have registered six wins in a row in this high pressure tournament. Everybody is fired up and clicking,” he said. The Indian captain described today’s win as a “perfect
game”. PTI |
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Good to see
Sehwag get some runs When Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss and decided to field first, much to the surprise of many, he gave that little bit extra opportunity for his seam bowlers, who have been sadly off-colour except for Chaminda Vaas, to get the maximum this wicket could give in terms of seam movement. This, he thought was the best way to curtail the awesome inform batting line-up of India. What followed next did not surprise me much. The Lankans pitched on two extremes of the wicket, either too short or too up to the batsmen, bowled on both sides of the wicket and gave a lot in no-balls and extras. All this only helped in Sachin Tendulkar increasing his run tally in the world cup, Sehwag in rediscovering his form and the ball losing its shine in double quick time. The inability of new ball bowlers forces skipper Jayasuriya to depend heavily on his part times, they have regularly sent down 30 overs between them in this tournament, giving more scoring chances to opposition batsmen. It was good to see Sehwag getting some runs under his belt and as soon as he raised his bat and looked heavenwards, the last part of Indian batting jigsaw was put together. Remaining the only batsman to keep the scorers busy, the Delhi opener finally made good, if not the maximum use, of the start he got and played some splendid shots both in the air and off the ground. Sachin, to say the least, was simply himself and that he again missed out on a hundred was the only sour part in the Indian innings. Ganguly also joined the party but he would have been a bit disappointed towards the last stages of the innings when the islanders pulled things back a bit. A total of 293 on this Wanderers wicket was perfectly gettable and all it required was a big hundred coming out from Marvan Attapattu and a blistering start in the first fifteen overs, courtesy Sanath Jayasuriya. Sadly the Lankan batsmen decided to ramp walk between the middle and dressing room and soon the match was settled for every practical purposes. After 59 for 6 it was left to the players to vie for some individual distinctions. Srinath bowled very good and I thought was a trifle unlucky to miss out on his five-wicket haul. Nehra and Zaheer both supported their senior pro with some good aggressive stuff. It’s now beyond doubt that Indians are peaking at the right time, winning seven straight matches, and look well on course of beating the Australians if they meet us this time in the finals. I know I am jumping the gun a bit as far as semis is concerned but doesn’t this team look solid enough to get a final date at the same ground? Well, Jayasuriya braved a chipped bone and an injured wrist to play against India but the result of his bravado will not buy him a good night sleep. He still has to fight all over again, probably all alone also, against Zimbabwe or else are in danger of elimination from the last four stage. In the end, is it all worth the pain, Mr
Jayasuriya? Dronacharya Sports Promoters |
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‘No comparison between Sachin, Sehwag’
Johannesburg, March 10 “Look, you can’t even begin to compare Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. One is right up there and the other is down here,” Holding, nicknamed the ‘Whispering Death’ in his hey days, said. “When the West Indians were touring India last October, there was a lot of talk about Sehwag being the next Sachin and I said right then that the two are like chalk and cheese. “The World Cup has completely exposed the difference between the two,” the West Indian legend was quoted as saying on the official World Cup website today. Sehwag has climbed the popularity charts in the past couple of years with his aggressive style of play resembling that of Tendulkar. Promoted as an opener last year, Sehwag has had explosive knocks to his credit but the dashing right-hander is still struggling to get the big scores in the World Cup. Tendulkar, on the other hand, has dazzled and outshone Sehwag, emerging as the highest run-getter in the premier event so far. Holding felt Saurav Ganguly had “improved” as a captain over the last one year. “Ganguly is improving as a captain. When the team was in the West Indies last May, the way he would glare at the bowlers was just not right. It must have been very discouraging to the young guys but I think he is improving. “There is a vast difference between last year and now. At present I, could not see anybody else replacing him as captain,” Holding said. Reflecting on the West Indies’ early exit from the World Cup, Holding said it was a mistake to ignore in-form Marlon Samuels at the cost of batting superstar Brian Lara. “Well I said (before the West Indies’ first match against South Africa) that he (Lara) should not have played the first game. Lara did score a hundred in that game but what did he do after that? I really believe that Marlon Samuels could have collectively contributed more than Lara. The former fast bowler also felt that Australia, unbeaten in their seven World Cup games so far, were not invincible. “Let’s just say that they’re not invincible. I think New Zealand have challenged them in recent times when they toured Australia and they are definitely capable of doing it in the World Cup,” Holding said. The trick to beat Australia would be to not lose early wickets, he said. “Australia’s plan is simple - get rid of the top two, three, even four wickets. “By the time part-time bowlers like Darren Lehmann come on to bowl, they are not bowling at the best batsmen so they just automatically become more effective. But if you can keep wickets, may be lose just one in the first 12 or 13 overs, you stand a good chance against them,” the former cricketer said. Holding gave full marks to the frontline batsmen for performing upto expectations and among the bowlers he was all praise for Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas and India’s Ashish Nehra. “As far as the batting is concerned, all the big names have fired - Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist - all the guys you would expect to perform have performed. As far as the bowling is concerned, I would say that Chaminda Vaas and Ashish Nehra have bowled really well. “Nehra impressed me when he came to the West Indies last May and he has improved considerably since then in pace,” he said.
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Hayden heads for beach to end dry run Post Elizabeth, March 10 The big left-hander, who has had a modest tournament by his own standards, left his bat behind as he headed towards the coast with a surfboard. Then, when the team practised at St George’s Park in the afternoon, Hayden, with 250 runs at 41.67 in South Africa, opted for extra fielding rather than a net. “That sort of thing is a strategy I have been doing for a while now,” he told reporters. “We have played an awful lot of cricket over the past couple of years, we have trained hard and it has been a long campaign. “I just felt it was time to back off and for a surfaholic like me it was a perfect day out. I just feel I am ready to bat in the middle now.” Tomorrow’s match could be Australia’s biggest test of the tournament so far. Stephen Fleming’s side beat the world champions in three out of four matches in a 2002 tri-series in Australia, dumping them out of the finals in the process, only the third time that had happened since the competition started in 1979-80. “I think that...makes us more determined to beat them,” Hayden said. “We were hurt by those losses.” Hayden said the pain had been partially eased by a win against New Zealand in last September’s Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. “New Zealand play good tournament cricket and we had our hands full in that tri-series,” he said. “We looked to make amends in Colombo by playing good, solid cricket and that worked. From now on it is all about intensity and purpose. “We are looking for that to result in wins at this business end of the tournament.” Australia’s top order, Hayden promised, would adopt a less frantic approach than they did against England at the same venue. Then, chasing 205 to win, they slumped to 48 for four with Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting all falling to attacking shots. “We went out with a very positive strategy to try and chase down the England target as quickly as we could,” said Hayden. “That was not from an arrogant point of view but, on slower pitches chasing smaller scores, you can get bogged down and not play your natural game.” “It was a definite strategy but we were impatient, it did not work, we have learnt from it.” New Zealand arrived in Port Elizabeth on Sunday after their win over Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein.
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Waqar Younis refuses to step down Islamabad, March 10 Three days after quietly returning home, a contrite Waqar and Inzamam faced the media at Lahore and again apologised for the team’s failure which included a loss to India. Inzamam, a total failure with the bat, immediately announced that he will make way for a younger player as vice-captain. Coach Richard Pybus has already stepped down a few days ago. Waqar, however, put the blame on the entire team for failing to rise to the occasion and said it was for the selectors and administrators to decide on his future. “It is entirely on them but I think my performance over the last couple of years has been good if not excellent. I have finished second best (in terms of wickets) if not the leading wicket-taker. “It would be unjustified if only the captaincy is blamed. I think we didn’t bat and bowl as well as we should have. Overall the team’s performance was below par and we have no excuses to offer,” Waqar said. The players, flanked by team manager Shahryar Khan, announced their decision at a press conference in Lahore. The desperation to stave off public wrath was evident as the cricketers once again apologised for their poor performance. “We are apologetic and sorry for not living up to expectations. But we tried very hard. We wouldn’t blame anyone except ourselves. We were beaten fair and square by teams who were better than us,” Sharyar Khan told reporters on behalf of all the players. In an unprecedented gesture, the players had issued a statement after their exit in the league round of the World Cup apologising to their fans for letting them down. Woefully out-of-form Inzamam said he had “let the country down” with his “lacklustre” performance. “I feel I have to shoulder some of the responsibility and consequently have decided to step down as vice-captain. Now my objective is to concentrate on my batting and regain confidence for future assignment,” Inzamam said. Shaharyar Khan said a wrong hype was created before the commencement of the World Cup. “I believe we were wrongly labeled as favourites. We didn’t realise that the team had been on a losing streak and not doing well prior to the World Cup. “Secondly, we had ageing super stars who were not the same force as they used to be about four years ago. Unfortunately, the players on whom our future lays, also failed to rise to the occasion,” Sharyar said without taking names.
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DIARY OF THE WEEK JOHANNESBURG: The rumblings in South Africa refuse to die. Allan Donald says the one up there didn’t want South Africa to win. Now classy all-rounder Jacques Kallis is considering quitting international cricket to play with Western Australia next summer. Kallis, it is understood, is having personal problems and is willing to sacrifice his spot in the national side. The 27-year-old has a Test batting average in excess of 50 and has taken 137 wickets. Kallis would certainly have to retire from international duties if he moved because South Africa’s summer coincides with the Australian season. The cry on Shaun Pollock’s removal as captain has also grown strident. Only, the cricket body is careful not to push `Polly too far—he is still a world class bowler who, if pushed, could opt for gentler environment of county cricket. Prolific opener Herschelle Gibbs is the popular choice as the next skipper. Anil Kumble has reason to feel vindicated, if not rejoice, in South Africa’s exit. Apparently StumpVision, a software company he owns along with his brother Dinesh, submitted a package to the World Cup organisers with a capacity to show the Duckworth-Lewis calculations on the giant scoreboard. But the contract went to a local developer, Dave Milton. Brian Basson, manager of the umpires and referee organising committee, says the Indian package was deficient in other areas. John Bailey, local representative of Kumble’s company, is unimpressed. “We processed our scoring system late in 2001. It was fully evaluated in May and June 2002. We were phoned at late notice and not even given specification criteria. Neither were we told why our software was rejected.” Kumble might have lost out on the contract and on a regular place in the team in the 2003 World Cup but the businessman in him appears to be doing well. It was Kumble’s company which brokered the deal with Samsung on behalf of quite a few Indian cricketers. One believes the cut has been sizeable. He has also been at the forefront of the contracts row and is one of the founding members of the Players Cricketers Association. There is little doubt the great man is at the end of a long and distinguished career. Kumble’s team-mate Javagal Srinath too is showing an inclination to play for Durham in English county league. It seems Indians are getting into county cricket this summer with a rare frenzy. India doesn’t have a cricket schedule this summer and Virender Sehwag (Leicestershire), Harbhajan Singh (Lancashire) and Rahul Dravid (Scotland) will all pack bags for England. Tendulkar has been approached by Hampshire but it is unlikely he would succumb—or for that matter Saurav Ganguly, who just hates county cricket. Meanwhile, the photographers and television crews are salivating at the prospect of Sir Garfield Sobers presenting the man of the tournament award to Sachin Tendulkar at the end of the tournament. Tendulkar is the leading scorer of the tournament and, barring anything unexpected, will head the table. Another Barbadian Everton Weekes, will present one of the man-of-the-match awards at the semifinals. In politically correct South Africa, certain gestures must be made on the colour lines. |
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Bouncers or googlies, steadfast stands the ICC Pigs may fly. But the organising committee and the ICC’s technical committee, will not change their minds on anything. Such a steadfast stand against those taking pot shots or handing in protests at rules, regulations, venues, etc has lent this World Cup a certain majesty. Critics are now lining up against the carryover league points into the Super Six. Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, has joined the chorus. “It’s a hot debate and my personal view is once you get through to another stage you start again,” he told a New Zealand newspaper. It’s funny how teams want rules, regulations and playing conditions to change according to their whims and fancies. The Kiwi skipper’s view was never formalised into a protest because it would have been so ridiculous. The organising committee would have thrown it out in quicker time than it takes a Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee or Shane Bond thunderbolt to travel the 22 yards down the pitch. “Too much can happen in the first stage to warrant taking points through, as we’ve seen, and I’m sure that will be reviewed. The concept when it was introduced had the best intentions of rewarding sides for playing well throughout the World Cup. But certain stages warrant certain stresses and strains, and when you get to the Super Six it should start again,” was how the Kiwi shed more light on the subject. Fleming is too intelligent a cricketer to have forgotten that back in 1999 the New Zealanders were the beneficiaries of the Super Six carryover points system. By beating India in the second stage they could draw level with the Zimbabwe, who they edged out on net run rate since their Super Six match at Leeds had been rained off. The rules suited the Kiwis then. The rules do not suit the Kiwis now because they refused to go to Kenya. Intelligence reports gathered by sources other than the official ICC-backed agency had it that Al Qaeda extremists were looking for white targets in Kenya. That, plus a bomb in Mombasa last October was sufficient for the Kiwis to stay put in South Africa where they discovered nightclub visits could be dangerous too. They may have had a genuine grouse against the net run-rate rules when Steve Waugh’s Australia dawdled deliberately in a small run chase against the West Indies in the 99 World Cup. By taking their time to get the winning runs, the Aussies were hoping to put the West Indians into the Super Six ahead of New Zealand. That way, they could carry some points into the second stage which they would not have if New Zealand qualified since they lost their trans-Tasman clash in the league. Ironically, it was the net run-rate rule that finally helped New Zealand qualify to the semifinals ahead of Zimbabwe. As silly as these pot shots at the rules may sound, the move by India to have the day-night semifinal in Durban to be played by day was also ludicrous. The Indian team, one of two sides to chase a target successfully under lights in this World Cup at Cape Town (Kenya is the other), lodged a very strange request. They may have been carried away by the lottery scare created by pundits. When they put in their request for a change of playing times in the semifinal, the Indian team may not have had its facts right. Of the 16 day-night one-day internationals staged in Kingsmead, seven have been won by teams batting first and seven by teams chasing a target. There was one no-result and then there was the famous or notorious tied match between South Africa and Sri Lanka. Even though both successful chases under lights in the World Cup have come there, it is known that Newlands is by far the more difficult venue at which to chase a target. The results there have shown a clear bias towards teams batting by daylight. But, those in charge of the World Cup seem to have instructed the groundsmen to remove more grass off the surface so that the skidding effect on the ball caused by dew is not so prominent. The major host nation South Africa was done in by their poor arithmetic rather than any undue difficulty in batting under lights in Durban, where the quality of lights is also better. If the Port Elizabeth pitch remains sluggish, a chase there might prove much more difficult. In giving a fair chance to both teams regardless of the toss, Kingsmead is any day a better venue than the St. George’s Park. The organising committees must be complimented for refusing to consider any 11th hour changes in the schedule. Those who were willing to forfeit matches for whatever reason have never prospered in World Cups. The rules are the same for everyone actually playing their matches. Too many problems at this World Cup have been created by attitudes rather than any realistic positions over security concerns. If the problems were such in a World Cup in southern Africa, imagine the scenario when Mickey Mouse comes into World Cup action with Disneyland a possible venue in the 2007 edition. The rumblings have already started in the Caribbean where cash-strapped nations are eyeing the gravy train that the cricket World Cup is.
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Colourful world of umpires
Johannesburg, March 10 Under the glare of the television lights here, World Cup umpires are beginning to shine just as much as the players. New Zealand’s Billy Bowden is making a name for himself with his flamboyant gestures - the hooked right index finger to give the batsman out, the staged robotic raising of the arms, with right leg bent at the knee, to register a six, and the exaggerated sweep of the right arm across the midriff to indicate a boundary. “I have always been an eccentric guy who loves to have a bit of fun,” said the 38-year-old Bowden. Bowden’s trademark raised crooked-finger is a legacy of rheumatoid arthritis in his twenties which affected the joints in his arm and cut short his playing career. David Shepherd of England is more subtle with his behaviour. Dubbed the ‘dancing umpire’, he is known for his discreet little hops because of his superstition when the score reaches the ‘Nelson’ of 111 and its multiples. He is standing in his fifth World Cup and such is the popularity of the Nelson effect that his curious habit has been honoured by a TV
commercial here which has cricket fans imitating Shepherd when 111 is on the board. Fellow veteran Srinivas Venkataraghavan of India also draws attention with his method - his right arm is held out to his side, elbow bent at 90 degrees, index finger raised and a gentle nod of the head telling the batsman his time is up. Elsewhere at this World Cup, Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar offered a prayer after he narrowly avoided being smashed on the face by a full-blooded drive from Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Dar ducked in time but fell to the ground as Tendulkar straight drove Namibia’s Bjorn Kotze during the February 23 match at Pietermaritzburg. “I could have been killed,” a relieved Dar told AFP. “I got saved because of my good eye sight. I actually quite enjoyed the incident. Sachin was very apologetic about it and kept saying sorry for the next two overs.” Umpires have had to be equally able to dodge controversy in their careers. Australian Darrell Hair once received death threats from Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger fighters after he became the first umpire to no-ball Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing. Muralitharan is the only Tamil in the 15-man Sri Lanka squad. He was also no-balled by another Australian umpire, Ross Emerson who is not involved at this World Cup. Hair is here, but he has not been assigned a Sri Lanka match. English umpires Peter Willey and Neil Mallender reignited the Zimbabwe boycott controversy earlier in the tournament when they refused to officiate in the strife-torn country. News of Willey’s decision was greeted with anger by Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) chief executive Vince Hogg. “Just what is the matter with these people?” The same question could be asked of all the men in the middle here.
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Enough of cricket, says Trescothick
London, March 10 “To be honest, I’ve had such a gut-full of playing cricket over the last five months that I just want to get it out of my system,” Trescothick told the ‘Mail on Sunday’ newspaper. The 27-year-old has been touring with England since mid-September last year. The team, which forfeited four points to Zimbabwe after refusing to go to Harare for their league match, failed to qualify for the Super Six stage of the competition. “The combination of all the things we went through over Zimbabwe, being away for so long, not being able to get a break from the environment we were in and my battles with my own form have left me demoralised and frustrated. “I get so much enjoyment from the game and I love it so much, but, at the moment, I’ve reached the stage where a bit of enthusiasm has gone - and that scares me. “I am experiencing something I never have before and I thought I never would. I’ve stopped enjoying it,” Trescothick said. Asked whether he was interested in the captaincy of the England team, the Somerset opener said “obviously I’d be delighted to have a go if asked - but to be totally frank, it is the last thing I’m thinking about at the moment.” Hours after England were shown the door in the World Cup, skipper Nasser Hussain said he would not continue as captain of the one-day side. Michael Vaughan, Adam Hollioake, Paul Collingwood and Trescothick have all emerged as possible replacements. On the team’s decision not to go to Harare citing security concerns, Trescothick said “in hindsight, forfeiting the points may have cost us a place in the Super Sixes and we would have felt very confident of going further.”
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Tickets go abegging Johannesburg, March 10 There is plenty of room available in the various stadia in South Africa, thanks to the home team’s early exit from the tournament. None of the three Super Sixes matches played up to Saturday drew capacity crowds with the New Zealand-Zimbabwe game at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein on Saturday attracting just 2,000 spectators. Tickets were freely available for today’s high-profile match between Asian rivals India and Sri Lanka at the Wanderers here, a game South Africa were billed to play as Group B winners had they made it through. Instead, Sri Lanka took their place after knocking the hosts out following the dramatic rain-hit tie at Durban a week ago. “I don’t want to be nasty, but local zest for the tournament has vanished,” a member of the ticketing committee at the Wanderers said.
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Leko wins title, Anand 3rd
Linares (Spain), March 10 India’s supergrandmaster Viswanathan Anand drew his final round game with top rated Garry Kasparov in the 14th and last round to finish third on better tie-break. The tie-break rule favoured the player with more number of wins and Hungarian Leko had the maximum four in the tournament. Anand was next in list with three wins while the Russian duo of Kasparov and Kramnik recorded two wins each. Anand can be happy be with this performance here. He could have easily finished on top but for the misfortune that struck him in two endgames when he lost from drawn positions against Kasparov and Leko. The last round games were devoid of any excitement as players concentrated on accurate play and avoided risks. Leko, who beat Anand in the penultimate round, managed to equalise pretty comfortably against Kramnik, who played white while Anand could not find himself in a position from where he could press hard against Kasparov. PTI |
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Indian
Bank thrash ITI
Chennai, March 10 The bankman exhibited immense talent as a striker, combined lethally with former international Syed Sabir Pasha and helped Indian Bank stave off relegation. He opened up the floodgates after Pasha forced a 1-0 lead with a sterling left-footer on the left flank in the 29th minute, squeezing the ball through the narrow gap between the upright and an advancing ITI goalkeeper Gumpe Rime. Jeyasurya struck in the 38th minute off a Pasha cross at close range off a defence lapse by ITI stopper Sunil Kumar and custodian Gumpe. Pasha then made it 3-0 in the 40th minute, running down the flank and beating Gumpe hands down again. At this juncture, the ITI managed to reduce the margin when their star striker Najeeb managed to find the target in front of the bank goal off a volley. The ball went in after striking the cross piece in the 48th minute. Jeyasurya struck two scintillating goals in tandem in the 54th and 57th minutes to give Indian Bank an unassailable 5-1 lead.
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J&K Bank rally to hold BSF New Delhi, March 10 In another Group B match, Indian National, Delhi crushed Him Club, Himachal Pradesh 5-0. Jammu and Kashmir Bank tallied 10 points from four matches to complete their quota of matches while BSF, who have earned seven points from three matches, take on Him Club in their last match of the preliminary league. In a well-contested match, BSF and J and K Bank made a determined effort to outwit each other. BSF eventually succeeded in taking the lead just before the half time break when defender Raghvir Singh moved up to cash in on a defensive lapse by the bankmen to place the ball home. However, Rizwan Sheikh pulled back the equaliser for the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the 54th minute to split points. In the other match, Indian National scored at will to subdue Him Club. Sanjeev Sharma scored two quick goals in the 11th and 16th minutes to put nationals in the lead. In the second half, Shekhar Khanna scored a brace of goals to make it 4-0 while outside right Bhupender Thakur completed the tally. There will be no match tomorrow. On Wednesday, Chandigarh Police will take on Indian Nationals while BSF will play against Him Club. The Super League matches involving four teams will be held from March 14 to 18. The top teams of the Super League will qualify for the final round of the National League to be played at Thiruvanathapuram (Kerala) and Jamshedpur, from March 26 to April 6. |
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Patiala
ready to hold senior national judo Chandigarh, March 10 Giving this information, Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, president, Punjab Judo Association, said that nearly 35 teams would participate in this three-day meet, including strong teams from police forces like the CRPF, the CISF and the ITBP. Many top ranked and international level judokas were members of these teams. He said, however, there was restricted entry of eight per section from each affiliated unit. Mr Bajwa said they would try to rope in sponsors to attract money for the association so that game got the desired uplift. He said, the championship would be played on two Belgium mats. On the expected performance of Punjab judokas in the forthcoming nationals, he said they hoped to win a rich haul of medals. Mr Bajwa, a Cabinet minister in the state government, said they would continue to provide incentives to the state judokas who performed well at national or international level. Only recently they had honoured medalists of the 32nd National Games-2002 (Andhra Pradesh) at a function held in Ludhiana. These medalists were given cash prizes and many other gifts. Mr AS Grewal, general secretary of the Punjab Judo Association said, for the smooth conduct of the national meet at Patiala, the Judo Federation of India had appointed Mr Ravinder Patil as Director Tournament, while other senior technical officials like Cavas Billimoria, Manohar and Sailash would be the jury members. He said the outstanding judokas of the state who would take part in this meet in men included Jaipal Singh, Navjot Channa,Shamsher Singh, Pawan Kumar and Ritesh Rai among others. Mr Grewal said Punjab had good quality of judokas but since they were now serving with different police forces, so they were duty bound to play for their institution only. He said last year Punjab was the overall runner-up in the last senior national championship, with men winning one gold medal, two silver and equal number of bronze medals. Punjab women had bagged four silver and same number of bronze medals. A preparatory camp of the state judokas for this national meet was already in progress at PAP, Jalandhar. Narinder Singh, a former Olympian was in charge of men’s camp while Birinder Singh was looking after the women’s section. Players would be given free boarding and lodging arrangements during the national meet which had been made at Polo Ground hostel, NIS and Chiranjeev Ashram, Patiala. Mr Jagdish Tytler, president, Judo Federation of India, would inaugurate the
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Port Elizabeth, March 10
