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Australia emerge Azlan Shah champions
Bhaskaran livid with Deepak
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Lara surpasses Bradman; strong reply by West Indies
Richards paints a grim picture for Windies
England rout Bangladesh
PCB not keen to renew Shoaib’s contract
Three-wicket haul for Harbhajan
PCA set to renew Intikhab’s contract
Anju sixth in US meet
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Australia emerge Azlan Shah champions
Kuala Lumpur, June 5 The match winner for India was scored by Prabhjot Singh after the two teams were locked 1-1 at the break and full time. Malaysia, with an earlier comprehensive tournament win against India topped up with Friday’s triumph over Pakistan, took the field all fired up. They took the lead in the third minute when striker Hairul Nizam Ab Rani, set up by skipper Kuhan, went past Len Aiyappa and Bimal Lakra to beat Indian goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan. India controlled the first session’s play as their forwards propelled onslaughts from both flanks. Rajpal Singh and Prabhjot had the nip and stickwork to constantly disturb the Malaysian defence. The scores could have been level in the 10th minute but Prabhjot missed an excellent Ignace Tirkey cross inside the circle. Shortly afterward, Arjun Halappa pushed wide a Deepak Thakur pass. Another rhythmic Indian move from Thakur, Halappa and Prabhjot was blocked by Malaysian custodian Roslan Jamaludin. India, however, got the equaliser from their first penalty corner in the 20th minute with Aiyappa’s forceful dragflick. India forced two more penalty corners in the first half but were unable to take the lead. It was again India who held sway in the second period, even though Malaysia put up a good resistance. India could have taken the lead midway in the session but failed to convert an indirect penalty corner, with four rebound attempts in the Malaysian circle. First it was Aiyappa, followed by Dilip Tirkey and Thakur and finally Halappa. Malaysia frittered away two good chances also when Robert Alacantara and Mohd Fairuz Ramli missed the mark with only Chauhan to beat. India had a goal disallowed from a penalty corner two minutes from the end. The indirect hit from Aiyappa which was deflected in by Thakur was disputed by the Malaysians. Pakistan umpire Rana Muhammad Liaqat reversed his decision, leading to frayed tempers amongst the players. Eventually, Thakur and Jiwa Mohan were shown the red card as the game went into extra time. Fortunately, India did not have to wait long to get the golden goal, even though they wasted two penalty corners. Prabhjot scored the all-important goal after the initial spadework of Rajpal and Halappa. Meanwhile, Pakistan made heavy weather of their bronze-medal match against New Zealand before winning 4-2. Pakistan had taken a 2-0 lead through Rehan Butt (10th) and Adnan Zakir (17th) before the Kiwis fought back to equalise through Dean Couzins (21st) and Richard Petherick (27th). At the break, the scores were tied at 2-2. The Kiwis had their share of goal scoring chances and could have taken the lead but their frontline fumbled in the Pakistan striking circle. Just when it seemed that the match might enter extra time, Mudassar Ali Khan scored off a brilliant field goal for Pakistan. With three minutes left in the match, Pakistan had a free hit and the shot was deflected in by Rehan Butt who scored his second and his team’s fourth goal to seal the fate of the match and secure the bronze.
— PTI, UNI |
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Bhaskaran livid with Deepak
Kuala Lumpur, June 5 “I do not know why he lost his cool at such a sensitive point in the match. I think running after the opponent’s player is not asked for. What if it had got ugly with the entire team getting suspended “Bhaskaran asked. Deepak was struck on the face by Malaysia’s Jiwa Mohan’s stick which was unintentional. But the Indian striker went after the Malaysian player and after frayed tempers, both players were shown red card. This happened just after players from both teams were engaged in an altercation about a goal scored by Deepak in the 66th minute, with the teams tied 1-1. The goal was later disallowed by the umpires. Bhaskaran said players did sometimes get frustrated over bad decisions and added, ‘’But it should have been taken sportingly by Deepak.” “His goal was disallowed and that must have upset him. But he needed to take it sportingly. There was no need to get into a fight knowing that the umpire will flash a red card,’’ Bhaskaran said. The former Indian captain said Deepak was lucky that it was the last match of the tournament, so the automatic one-match suspension did not hold good. He added, ‘’But the International Hockey Federation takes notice of all these infringements. The umpires will also be careful with him. As a player, and a senior at that, he should have been more careful”.
— UNI |
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Nadal crowned king of clay
Paris, June 5 In doing so he also became the first debutant since Swede Mats Wilander in 1982 to win the men’s singles at Roland Garros. Puerta played inspired tennis early on and looked capable of emulating countryman Gaston Gaudio’s triumph here 12 months ago, but Nadal would not be denied. Soaking up everything Puerta could muster, he eventually ground the gallant Argentine into the dust, saving three set points in a gripping fourth set before Puerta sent a forehand wide on his first match point after three hours and 24 minutes. Nadal had been virtually unbeatable on clay this year, collecting five titles and racking up 23 successive victories on the surface going into the final. He started as the overwhelming favourite against a player who this time last year was still serving a nine-month ban for doping. All the talk had been of Nadal claiming his rightful place in the history books, but Puerta had not been listening. The first professional era men’s final at Roland Garros featuring two left-handers threatened to fizzle out after the 26-year-old Argentine made a torrid start. Fourth seed Nadal roared into a 3-1 lead against his nervous-looking opponent. Things looked bleak for Puerta at 15-40 in the fifth game, when he needed lengthy treatment on a thigh injury, a legacy of the 15 hours he had spent on court reaching the final. A capacity centre court crowd feared an early finish as Puerta continued with a heavy strapping in place, but the gritty Argentine had other ideas. Mixing clever angles with subtle drop shots, he took the fight to his opponent, holding serve to trail only 3-2. He then immediately broke Nadal to level up the set. The next six games all went with serve, setting up a pulsating tiebreaker. Nadal bludgeoned a backhand down the line to lead 5-4, but Puerta was the first to reach set point as Nadal was sent sprawling across the clay, having been run all over the court. The Spaniard saved the first one, but when Puerta’s second set point came at 7-6, he forced Nadal to hit a defensive lob wide after 72 minutes of drama. The effort of winning the first set appeared to have taken its toll on Puerta in the second. A weary looking backhand drifted over the baseline to hand Nadal a break for 3-1 and this time, there was no coming back. The tenacious Nadal served out the set comfortably, producing a trademark fist pump to send a battle-scarred Puerta back to his seat with the match level at one set apiece. As the skies darkened over Roland Garros, the momentum swung completely in Nadal’s favour at the start of the third set. He muscled his way to an early break of serve and Puerta’s resistance began to crumble as Nadal pounded away from the baseline. Nothing the Argentine tried worked and Nadal broke for a 4-1 lead and then repeated the trick two games later to put himself in sight of his first Grand Slam title. However, Puerta, a survivor of five-set battles in his quarterfinal and semifinal, found a new lease of life in the fourth set as he applied the brakes on Nadal’s victory charge. At 3-3, he had Nadal down 0-40 on serve, but the bullish Spaniard dug himself out of trouble, holding serve with a dipping crosscourt backhand. Hitting the ball with ferocious power and venturing boldly to the net Puerta engineered another break opportunity at 4-4 and this time, he jabbed away a backhand volley to give himself the chance to take the match into a decider. The drama reached new levels in the next game as Nadal saved three set points, the second after a dazzling exchange at the net, which ended with Puerta diving full length across the clay. Nadal then seized on a poor attempted drop volley from Puerta, leaping high into the air and yelling loudly as he broke back to level the set at 5-5. Two games later, Nadal edged to match point and Puerta finally succumbed, shovelling a forehand wide after three hours, 24 minutes as Nadal collapsed joyfully on to the court. — Reuters
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Pascual, Suarez do it again
Paris, June 5 The top seeds, playing their sixth consecutive final at Roland Garros, beat second seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Ruano Pascual and Suarez have now played 13 Grand Slam finals together, winning eight. Black and Huber, playing their first Grand Slam doubles final together and teaming up at a major tournament for the second time, had a great start but their experienced opponents then took control of the match. “We had to fight hard,” said Ruano Pascual. “They played very well. They gave us many problems in the beginning. As the match progressed we understood how we had to play. We changed our game and it worked.” Ruano Pascual, 31, and Suarez, 28, have won 28 titles as a team. They had triumphed in Paris before in 2001, 2002 and last year. “We’ve been playing together for a very long time,” said Ruano Pascual. “We know each other very well. We know exactly what the other one is going to do at each moment. We feel good together even outside the court and that brings us a lot.” The pair were less harmonious when asked about the men’s singles final, with Ruano Pascual supporting compatriot Rafael Nadal and Suarez favouring fellow Argentine Mariano Puerta. “We are not going to agree,” said Ruano
Pascual. — Reuters |
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Lara surpasses Bradman; strong reply by West Indies
Kingston, June 5 The West Indies lost captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the last over but Lara’s 30th Test century lifted them to 275 for four, trailing Pakistan by 99 runs on the first innings. Collymore grabbed seven for 78 as Pakistan, resuming on 336-6, were dismissed for 374 after an hour, losing their last four wickets for 38 runs. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal withstood a painful blow to his groin to hit a boundary-studded 49 for the visitors. Lara arrived at the crease just after lunch when Abdul Razzaq reduced the West Indies to 59-2 despite a galloping start. Chris Gayle walloped six fours and a six in 33 off 22 balls before he snicked to Akmal just before the first break. Razzaq struck again immediately after the interval, ending Devon Smith’s attractive 25 with a shooter that rolled into the off stump. Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan rebuilt the innings in the next two and a half hours with a partnership of 146 for the third wicket. Lara dazzled just before tea as he allowed himself to advertise some of his trademark attacking strokes. He blasted legspinner Danish Kaneria twice into the Red Stripe Mound at long on off consecutive balls. Soon afterward, his half century came off 77 balls and he celebrated by smacking fast bowler Rana Naved for three fours in a row. Sarwan contributed a solid 55 before he perished to the hook shot for the ninth time in tests. Sarwan cracked eightfours off 137 balls but top-edged Shabbir Ahmed to fine leg when he seemed set for more at 205-3. Lara found another solid ally in Chanderpaul, and the pair continued to grind the Pakistanis with a fourth-wicket stand of 70 in an hour and a half. Lara, who dominated Kaneria with 54 runs off just 50 deliveries, passed three figures midway through the final session with his 12th boundary. But just as the West Indies seemed set to carry the ascendancy into day three, Kaneria claimed a crucial strike as Chanderpaul feathered an edge to a top-spinner. Chanderpaul hit three fours in his 28. When Pakistan resumed in the morning, allrounder Razzaq was out for 19 in the first over, trapped plumb in front by a Collymore delivery which nipped back. Collymore, who took four wickets on Friday, also claimed Shabbir Ahmed for a duck at 360-8. Akmal perished one short of his half century to Daren Powell, who got one to cut back and keep low for a plain leg before decision. Collymore wrapped up the innings in the next over as last man Kaneria missed an unconvincing drive and lost his off stump for six. Scorboard Pakistan 1st Innings Malik c Browne Hameed c Gayle Younis Khan c Haq c Smith b Gayle 50 Kamal b Collymore 51 Afridi c Browne Razzaq lbw b Collymore 19 Akmal lbw b Powell 49 Naved not out 7 Shabbir c Browne Kaneria b Collymore 6 Extras: Total (all out) 374 Fall of wickets:
1-16, 2-43, 3-131, 4-247, 5-260, 6-298, Bowling: Powell 21-4-69-2; Best 12-1-59-0; Collymore 27.3-5-78-7; King 13-1-65-0; Gayle 25-1-85-1; Sarwan 2-0-11-0. West Indies 1st Innings Gayle c Akmal b Razzaq 33 Smith b Razzaq 25 Sarwan c Kaneria Lara not out 125 Chanderpaul c Akmal Extras: Total: (4 wkts) 275 Fall of wickets:
1-48, 2-59, 3-205, 4-275. Bowling: Rana Naved 6-0-50-0, Shabbir 13-3-40-1, Razzaq 12-2-36-2, Kaneria 21.3-5-69-1, Afridi 8-1-30-0, Malik 16-1-44-0.
— AFP |
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Richards paints a grim picture for Windies
“I think we have lost our way big time,” former West Indies skipper Viv Richards said yesterday in an interview before accepting the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Award of Excellence at a gala in New York City. Sir Viv, as he is fondly called since his knighthood, helped the West Indies win the first two World Cup titles in 1975 and 1979, but has since watched the team descend to shadow of its former greatness in the 1990s. He blames the decline on regional cricket administrators for not concentrating on what is important — the players. All the attention is on aesthetics and new stadiums being built for cricket’s premier event in 2007, Richards says. One will be named for him in his native Antigua and Barbuda. “I will love to see emphasis placed on getting the team in a proper competitive position,— but it looks to me the other way round,” he said. Perhaps that is why people like him were being drafted “to maybe explain what has gone wrong,” he said. An imperious batsman and brilliant fielder, Richards amassed a total of 8,540 runs in 121 Tests, as well as 6,721 runs from 187 limited-overs internationals. But he is also widely recognised as a personality whose strengths transcended the sport to provide cultural and ideological leadership. “He was one of the most imposing personalities in cricket, who proved to the rest of the world that despite our small size we in the region can achieve greatness,” the tourism organisation’s chairman, Pamela
C.Richards, said before the ceremony. “The Caribbean is as proud of him today as in the days he struck fear in the hearts of opposing teams.” Richards began his international career in 1974 when Caribbean cricket was widely admired for its entertaining style, but before the West Indies proved it had the creativity and staying power to do it consistently and be the best in the world. Through the late 1970s and into the ‘80s, that was exactly what the West Indies proved they could be. “We finally did — and a lot of people never expected us to have done that and done it well and with such a fine-tuned machine for such a long time,” Richards said. But now increasing numbers of youngsters in the Caribbean were turning to soccer and basketball, and Richards said regional cricket administrators must shoulder the blame. “The administrators wanted all the glory for themselves,” he said, adding that the “product” that was the West Indies team was not promoted and administered well. West Indies cricket for years had been disrupted by arguments between players and the West Indies Cricket Board, based in Richards’ home island, Antigua. Most recently, the board won a wrangle that pitted players who had personal endorsements from the telecommunications giant Cable and Wireless against team new sponsor, Ireland-based Digicel. The argument jeopardised the team’s tour to Australia in January, and prevented even players, including star batsman Brian Lara, from playing in the first Test against the visiting South Africans last month. Despite bursts of brilliance when they joined the series, the West Indies were swept 5-0 by South Africa on their home ground — a disappointing showing, that had become typical in recent years. “Maybe some of the administrators and ourselves never quite did our homework, (never) did what was needed to get some of the younger fellows involved and keep that torch alight,” he said. Some administrators thought they had “the knowledge to move West Indies cricket forward and I just felt they failed us big time.” That showed, he said, not just in the non-results in competition, but neglected issues such as ‘respect factors’. If the process were a relay race, “I think we dropped that baton a long time ago.” A great legacy may be lost, he
implied. — AP |
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England rout Bangladesh
Chester-le-Street, June 5 Hoggard, who had taken three wickets for two runs late yesterday, removed Tapash Baisya in the fourth over of a drab morning as the tailender edged behind. Mashrafe Mortaza followed in a similar fashion five balls later, Marcus Trescothick holding the catch at first slip at the second attempt, as Bangladesh were bowled out for 316. Aftab Ahmed, the last recognised batsman, was left stranded on a run-a-ball 82 not out, hitting one six and 13 fours. England needed only 26 balls to complete their win yesterday. It is the first time England have won five successive Test series since 1969-71. It was also the side’s 14th win in 18 Test starts, set against a single defeat. Bangladesh have won just one of their 38 Tests. Bangladesh’s final innings of the series easily surpassed their three previous efforts — 108 and 159 at Lord’s, followed by their first innings of 104 at The Riverside. England’s 447 for three declared was built on Trescothick’s 151 and Ian Bell’s 162 not out, his maiden century in his third Test. The two teams next play in a one-day triangular series also involving Australia. England take on Bangladesh in the first match at The Oval on June 16. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings) 104 England (1st innings) Bangladesh (2nd innings) J. Omar c G. Jones b N. Iqbal c G. Jones R. Saleh c Strauss M. Ashraful c Hoggard H. Bashar lbw b Flintoff 63 K. Mashud lbw A. Ahmed not out 82 M. Rafique b Hoggard 2 A. Hossain c Thorpe T. Baisya c G. Jones M. Mortaza c Trescothick Extras (lb-6 nb-14 w-1) 21 Total (all out, 72.5 overs) 316 Fall of wickets:
1-50, 2-75, 3-101, 4-125, 5-195, 6-235, 7-245, 8-251, 9-311. Bowling:
Hoggard 15.5-3-73-5, Harmison 17-1-86-1, S. Jones 10- 1-49-0, Flintoff 15-2-58-3, Batty 15- 2-44-1.
— Reuters |
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PCB not keen to renew Shoaib’s contract
Karachi, June 5 “If we decide to offer him a contract, it will then be a short-term contract,” PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said here today. The 29-year-old Shoaib, who has been out of favour for various reasons, including fitness and discipline, has not played any cricket since January this year and the PCB is uncertain if he would be fit enough to serve the country in the hectic season ahead during which Pakistan will host England, India and the Asia Cup. “In Barbados, we decided more or less on the number of players whom we will offer fresh central contracts after the present seven-month contracts expire on June 30. But we cannot guarantee a central contract to Shoaib Akhtar because we are not sure of his fitness. He has not played for Pakistan in the past five months,” Shaharyar said. The board will offer full-time six-month contracts from July 1 to December 31 while the short term contracts, which could be for three months, from July 1 to September 30. “Not only Shoaib, but we have to decide on Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed also. Umar has not played for the past year while Shabbir’s bowling action is again under scrutiny. We will offer full contracts to only those who will be available for selection for the length of the contract,” he said. Shoaib, along with Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana and Abdul Razzaq under the present contract, gets a monthly retainer of Rs 2,00,000 while players in category B, including Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Sami and Shoaib Malik, get a monthly retainer of Rs 1,25,000. Danish Kaneria, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat, Shabbir Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Asim Kamal, Rana Naved, Salman Butt and Taufiq Umar are in category C and get a monthly retainer of Rs 75,000.
— PTI |
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Three-wicket haul for Harbhajan
London, June 5 Replying to Surrey’s first innings total of 340, Warwickshire were skittled out for 209. Surrey declared their second innings at 310 for seven but their rivals reached 222 for three to run away with a draw. Harbhajan, who was out for a second-ball duck in the first innings, scored a brisk 15 off 12 balls in the second, including a six. In Warwickshire’s second innings, the Indian off spinner claimed IJL Trott’s wicket conceding 60 runs in his 26 overs, that included nine maidens. His first innings figures read 20-4-57-2. Meanwhile, after his duck in the first innings. India captain Sourav Ganguly spent some time in the middle and remained not out on 15 as Glamorgan escaped with a draw against Sussex in a division one match of the County Championship at Swansea. After Sussex declared their first innings at 497 for five, Glamorgan were all out for 301 and asked to follow on. Ganguly’s contribution with the bat was a duck before he was castled by Jason Lewry in the first essay. Earlier, the Indian captain came up with modest bowling figures of 4-1-7-0 in Sussex’s first innings. Following on, Glamorgan batsmen put up a better show and their Australian recruit Matthew Elliot, who scored a valuable 85 in the first innings, hit a sparkling 162 to save the side from a sixth consecutive championship defeat. Daniel Cherry, too, contributed 87 as Glamorgan reached 354 for three to save the match. Ganguly put up a better show in this innings. He faced 50 balls for his 15, which included a towering six.
— UNI |
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PCA set to renew Intikhab’s contract Mohali, June 5 Alam just finished his contract with Punjab and left for Pakistan, leaving PCA bosses satisfied with his management of the team. Sources said he had been offered the post on an enhanced salary and for two years. This means the contract will run through till March-April 2007, when the cricketing season ends for that year. Punjab’s offer to Alam is, however, subject to formal clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Also, clearance is awaited from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for allowing transfer of foreign currency to the Pakistani’s account. Sources said the formalities would be completed as Alam had already served in Punjab for six months in the last season and clearance from the ministry and the RBI had been given. This should be done within a week or so, said PCA sources. Punjab had finished runners-up in the Ranji Trophy, which was won by Railways this year. Alam was seen as the man behind the success of the Punjab Ranji team, which made it to the final after almost 12 years.
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Anju sixth in US meet
New Delhi, June 5 Russian world No. 3 Tatyana Kotova won the first place leaping to 6.80m. The second and third places went to Elva Goulbourne (6.64) of Jamaica and Grace Upshaw (6.49) of USA, according to information received here today. The prestigious meet, named after American athlete Steve Prefontaine who died at the age of 24, had been a lucky one for Anju as she recorded a wind assisted 6.83m jump to finish third last year. She later repeated the distance, without any wind help, at the Athens Olympics in August. This was Anju’s second meet of the season after she finished fourth in the IAAF Super Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar last month. Anju, who was the defending champion there, managed to clear a distance of only 6.42 m.
— PTI |
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New York, June 5
