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India, Australia arrive in Sydney for decider
Frustrated,
Aussies revert to old ways Now, the momentum
is with Aussies Tales of spinners
and spin doctors
Punjab finish
with flourish
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Himachal Blue,
EME start with wins Jugraj hopes to
be fit for Olympics Asian eves hockey
in Delhi from January 31
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India, Australia arrive in Sydney for decider Sydney, December 31 The stage is set for an epic match after the Australians recovered from their surprise loss in Adelaide to win the third Test in Melbourne by nine wickets and level the series at 1-1. The delicate balance has taken on added significance by the retirement of Australian captain Steve Waugh, whose hometown farewell at the Sydney Cricket Ground has guaranteed a match of high emotion. Tickets for the first three days of the match sold out months ago and city authorities have warned of chaotic traffic and transport congestion around the ground. Australian newspapers, television and talkback radio broadcasts have been filled with tributes and reflections on Waugh’s career. The Indians, who went straight to the practice nets after arriving in Sydney, said they were also trying to not let the emotion of Waugh’s farewell effect them. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said his players were instead trying to figure out how to dismiss Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden, the two Australian batsmen who have become a thorn in their side. Ponting scored his second successive double century of the series in Melbourne while Hayden slammed a first innings hundred and an unbeaten half century in the second innings. Ganguly said the key to India’s hopes of winning the match would depend on how quickly they could bowl at the middle order. “I have made a point of not saying anything controversial on this tour, but that’s the key area, Hayden and Ponting,” Ganguly said. “They are scoring a lot of runs at present and if we can (get them out cheaply) there will be a lot of pressure on the guys coming in the middle.’’ Williams out of tri-series Paceman Brad Williams, who had an impressive limited over series in India, was today left out of the 13-member Australian squad for the first four matches of the triangular one-day series starting on January 9. The other change in the squad that did duty in Indian tri-series was the exclusion of another speedster Michael Kasprowicz. Taking the place of the two would be tearaway fast bowler Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, both of whom missed the Indian outing due to injuries. The series, involving Australia, India and Zimbabwe, starts with a day-night match between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 9. All the teams will play each other four times before the top two sides meet in the best-of-three finals.
— PTI |
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Frustrated, Aussies revert to old ways Sydney, December 31 “Where you have learnt your technique, mate! This is all what John Wright has taught you,” Matthew Hayden taunted Rahul Dravid as the Indian vice-captain, with his trademark defiance, sought an Indian revival. Brad Williams snarled at Sachin Tendulkar after getting him out and directed Ajit Agarkar towards the dressing room after rattling his stumps with a quick delivery. Nathan Bracken, not to be outdone, gave a mouthful to Parthiv Patel after the little wicketkeeper had guided him through slips in succession for fours. An Indian middle order batsman revealed that one player subjected to special sledging by the Aussies was Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly was constantly spoken to by the slip cordon and close-in fielders of the Australian team with Hayden and Gilchrist doing the maximum chattering. The din grew louder as Dravid and Ganguly dropped anchor and put on 93 runs in the afternoon, resisting the verbal intimidatory tactics of the Australians. Ironically, amidst all this, Indians found skipper Steve Waugh the most well-behaved of all his team-mates. Waugh even walked up to Ganguly after the Indian captain had been hit on the head by a rising delivery from Brad Williams. “How are you Sourav, are you okay?” Waugh had asked with genuine concern at seeing a lump form at the back of the Indian captain’s head. Waugh generally is seen as a leader who encouraged “verbal disintegration” of the opposition during his reign but lately has condemned it following a public outcry at Australians’ poor sportsmanship on the field. The matter came to a head on Australia’s tour of the West Indies early this year when Brian Lara and Glenn McGrath stood inches apart, looking in the eye and mouthing venom. Australians did not spare even the Indian tailenders during the match, which they eventually went on to win by nine wickets, and Brett Lee came round the wicket to pitch a few short ones at Anil Kumble with a forward short leg and a short square leg in place. The Indians have not filed any official complaint on the matter and Ganguly said it was not anything unusual from the Australian team on the field. “It was not unusual,” said Ganguly though he admitted he was the focus of special attention from the hosts in the edge-of-the-seat contest on the penultimate day of the Test. Former Australian captain and now national selector Allan Border termed Williams’ aggression as one of a young, eager fast bowler. “I am sure if anything was big enough, he would have been dealt with by the match referee and umpires,” said Border. Cricket Australia has clamped down on sledging in recent times as it believes it brings bad image for the world’s best cricketing nation. The Australian cricket team too has been stirred into action and there is an “internal disciplinary measure” put in place for those who cross the limit of decent behaviour on the field. It is unlikely there would be any action on the issue this time. However, what occurred on the field on the fourth day of the third Test was a subtle reminder that it will be some more time before Aussies forget their old habit.
— PTI |
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Now, the momentum is with Aussies Even though both teams go into the New Year’s Test at Sydney on an even footing, it would be fair to say that the momentum is with Australia after their superb comeback in Melbourne. We went into the Test 0-1 down, were pretty much outplayed on the first day and still managed to come back strongly to win. We were really under the pump on the Boxing Day and it took a great effort from the bowlers to pull things back so dramatically on the second day. Personally speaking I was pretty happy with the way I improved as the match progressed. I normally target at averaging around four wickets in a game, but the quality of the wickets I got — I accounted for the big four, Sachin, Sourav, Virender and Dravid — was particularly satisfying. The most prized memory I will have of the match of course is getting the wicket of Sachin first ball. I am feeling a lot more fit and confident now that I have a game under my belt, so I feel I will do even better in the next Test. It’s not always easy to get back after an injury, and I am glad that I was fit and able to bowl long spells right through the game. I was also happy to see that the new pace bowling line-up comprising Nathan, Willo and myself did so well, and between us we did maintain constant pressure, especially in the second innings. Normally, the line-up is Glenn, Jascn and myself with Bichel coming in as well. However, I think the reserve line-up was really penetrating and consistent right through the game. Things will only get better in Sydney with the return of Jason. Having said that, the selectors will have a tough time deciding who will make way for him as
everybody contributed with the ball at Melbourne. While the bowling was instrumental in the victory, there is no arguing that it was Pontings innings that really set things up for us. We knew from the start that the wicket would be difficult to bat on in the fourth and fifth day. A big first innings lead was crucial, and that was what Ponting’s marathon innings provided us with just that. He was ably supported by Matthew Hayden, and their strokeplay really broke the back of the Indian bowling. We now need to maintain this rhythm and momentum at the SCG as well. It’s going to be a huge game — Stephen’s last Test, the series is level at 1-1 and the first four days of the Test are already sold out. We dominated 80 per cent of the last game, so we need to maintain that kind of ascendancy to win the series. We have a day off today, with a barbecue and a quiet drink tonight, followed by a pretty thorough practice session on New Year’s day. Not too far away, my mate Shoab Akhtar also did pretty well in another Boxing Day Test, against New Zealand at Wellington. There is only one word I have to describe his spell yesterday — outstanding, I watched highlights of the game on the sports round-up and his control, pace and accuracy, was truly, remarkable. We always keep tabs on each other, and I plan to call him up and congratulate him over the next couple of days.
— Gameplan |
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Tales of spinners and spin doctors There are unconfirmed reports that the ICC has asked Muttiah Muralitharan to have his bowling action scanned by Bishen Singh Bedi. Anything is possible in the modern game in which two spinners are all set to take over the world Test bowling record this year. While one of them is a confessed diet pill taker, the other was thought to have a congenitally defective elbow that he cannot ever straighten. Tales of spin bowlers abounded in 2003 which was least surprising because it was also the year of the contentious spin doctors in which Iraq was invaded on the basis of a sexed-up dossier. The fact is spinners are not run of the mill characters, least of all the loquacious Bedi who has always called a spade a shovel. But to term Murali ‘A burglar, a thief, a dacoit’ is a bit akin to the spin doctors justifying war as a means of finding elusive weapons of mass destruction. But then Bedi was always a walking Thesarus who used three synonyms to describe one spinner. That is Bedi for you - forthright, always forthcoming and candid to the point of being brutal. While once justifying settling of scores in life in his column, he called me a mobile encyclopedia. Always nice to land a compliment from the slow spinner with the fast word bytes who is a mobile dictionary. There is a new problem with Murali though. Doctors swore that he cannot ever straighten his elbow. We went for years by that doctored opinion of a bent elbow. Yet, latest video replays show that the waspish new weapon in his armoury, the ‘doosra’, is bowled with a perfectly straight bowling arm at delivery point. So it’s not as if it is only global politics in which spin doctors thrive nor is putting a spin to a tale the preserve of the politicians’ aides. We have the spin doctors now in cricket, too. How else do you explain a medically certified bent elbow that is at times as straight as an arrow now? Imparting spin to the cricket ball in bold, if unorthodox and clearly illegal, new ways was not the only things Murali did in another year full of wickets. He also outscored Sachin Tendulkar in total number of runs and on the year’s average table. Incidentally, he also took more wickets and should pass Warne and Walsh soon. But then Sachin, an occasional tweaker with an impish sense of slow bowling fun, also put a spin to things by picking up two crucial wickets in the course of setting up a historic win for India in Adelaide. So India’s finest Test win in years did not come without a contribution from Sachin even if he found evading ducks a painfully nervous process. A vignette of the year that stood out was the television commentator Shane Warne conversing with Sachin at the ‘Gabba before the series. What new spin was he putting to events as Warney spoke to a batsman in distress? Surely, he did not recommend a diuretic or two as the quick new way to shed weight, look nice on television and find success on the cricket field! While Warne cooled his heels the whole year, another spinner who spoke more than he achieved in the year was left looking at the webbing in his spinning hand rather than picking up wickets for India in Australia. Harbhajan was quick with his opinions in 2003 but was so often wrong with his predictions that astrologers may have voted him into their inner sanctum. If he said India would win, it would be the World Cup for Australia or a draw with New Zealand. Such accuracy must have left the star gazers dumbfounded. Mushtaq, the spinner who ascribes all the success of his leg spin and googlies to God, bowled Sussex to their first ever county championship. Thus a very nice spin was given to the history of a club with such subcontinental connections that began with Ranjitsinhji. Elsewhere, spinners old were finding strength in their spinning fingers as Anil Kumble did. Could success ever have come to a nicer spin bowler? Spinners new like Jacques Rudolph were also picking up wickets, perhaps to their own surprise, in Test cricket which just goes to show that spin remains very much a part of cricket, certainly in a year in which a tweaker in MacGill was the second most successful bowler in terms of wickets behind Makhaya Ntini while Murali, third in the table, picked up 48 wickets to MacGill’s 57 and Ntini’s 59. Before the ICC chooses to deny that it ever thought of asking Bedi to examine Murali’s bowling arm, let us say that if the ICC does indeed make Bedi the spin doctor than some humbugs in digital electronic diagnosis rooms, cricket will actually be a more honest game. Never mind if bundles of notes turn up mysteriously in hotel rooms. You may not always agree with the way Bedi says things but then you cannot disagree with him when he derides the success of the javelin-hurling and pie-throwing spinner category. Having accepted them, what more can we wish for except to say let there be more strength to their elbows!
— UNI |
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Punjab finish with flourish Mohali, December 31 Punjab women garnered four gold medals and two silver medals. Chandigarh women won one silver and one bronze. Jammu and Kashmir eves a gold and a bronze medal. The five-day meet was organised by the Chandigarh Gymnastics Association. Mr RC Agarwal, Director-General, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was the chief guest and distributed the medals. Dimple of Punjab, with her synchronisations with the ribbon and the ball mesmerised the audience. She had a close-point contest with compatriot Rajni in the ribbon event. Dimple secured 15.80 points while Rajni had 15.25 points. It was a lean day for Rajni who won two silver medals, one each in ribbon and rope event. In the latter, she was again close second to Harleen of Jammu and Kashmir who secured 15.85 points. Rajni got 15.40 points. Renu of Punjab raced to gold medal in the hoop event, with 14.50 points, ahead of Pallavi of Maharashtra and Amrita Hazari of Delhi. Local eve Mala Rawat lived upto expectations of the hosts when she fetched a silver medal in the ball event and then a bronze medal in the ribbon event. In the floor exercise, Indian Railways’ fancied Tumpa Debnath who carried the forte by winning the gold medal. She was followed by team-mate Sundari Mondal All results (women):
Rhythmic: ribbon:
Dimple (Pb) 1,15.80; Rajni (Pb) 2,15.25 Mala Rawat (Chd) 3. 13.75 Ball:
Dimple (Pb) 1,14.85 Mala (Chd) 2,13.40 Amrita (Del) 3.13.00. Hoop:
Renu (Pb) 1,14.50 Pallavi( Mhr) 2,14.10 Amrita Hazari (Del) 3,13.65. Rope: Harleen (J&K) 1, 15.85 Rajni (Pb) 2, 15.40 Sonal (J&K) 3, 14.35. |
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Himachal Blue,
EME start
with wins Mandi, December 31 The first match of the day played between Himachal XI Blue and Punjab Armed Police witnessed excellent hockey right from the beginning of the game. In the 14th minute Aashish of Himachal Blue XI sounded the board with a solid field goal to put his team in the lead. Punjab lads managed to get six penalty corners during the first half but none could be converted. The match between Himachal Police and EME Jalandhar was a replay of the first match. The match started on a fast note as both the teams tried to dominate in the beginning. Jagtar Singh converted a penalty corner into a goal in the 18th minute and took 1-0 lead for Jalandhar boys. Himachal Police failed to avail opportunities which came their way and Jalandhar lads won the game 1-0. Earlier during he day, Irrigation and Public Health Minister Thakur Kaul Singh declared the tournament open. |
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Jugraj hopes to be fit for Olympics Amritsar, December 31 The ace striker had sustained serious injuries in a road accident on the night of September 2 near Jalandhar. He had suffered multiple fractures in the right pelvic, thigh and elbow. Commenting on his present condition after having undergone around 37-day treatment in the USA, he said all his fractures had healed completely. Now, he is undergoing physiotherapy. Stating that he was feeling well, he hoped that after four months he would be able to play for the country. Known as a penalty corner expert, Jugraj Singh expressed his gratitude for all countrymen who supported him during the traumatic period. He was also grateful to the Governments of India and Punjab and the doctors, who attended on him. Jugraj said he was in constant touch with the coach of Indian hockey team, Rajinder Singh. |
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Asian eves hockey in Delhi from January 31 Shimla, December 31 AIWHF President Vidya Stokes said almost all leading hockey teams from the continent were expected to participate in the championship. The grouping for the event would be made on the basis of the four zones as defined by the Asian Hockey Council to promote the game and allow weaker teams to gain experience from playing against top teams. She said the Indian federation would organise more national and international championships to give necessary exposure to players. Stokes, who is also the Vice-President of the Asian Hockey Federation, said concerted efforts would be made to popularise women hockey in Asian countries and she would herself visit a few countries in the near future. The Asian Hockey Federation has drawn up a plan for promotion of women's hockey in the countries where the sport has failed to pick up. Besides, providing training and equipment, these countries would also organise exhibition matches. She said in the Indian zone women's hockey required promotion in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Malaysia would take care of Thailand and Singapore in its zone. |
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