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Second-string Windies stun Sri Lanka
Fifth bowler problem to be sorted
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Kiwis keen to focus on cricket
Sandeep, Vinay cleared for Dutch league
Godina flops, Lebedeva survives
Kim Clijsters ousted
Indian colts rout Morocco
Haryana to have new sports policy
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Second-string Windies stun Sri Lanka
Colombo, August 6 The West Indies, without many of the top players who have boycotted the tour over a contract dispute with their board, put up 226 for seven before bowling out the Lankans for 193 with three overs to spare at the Premadasa Stadium. It was the first victory on the tour for the second-string side that was made up of players quickly drafted from an ‘A’ team after the senior players, including Brian Lara, refused to come on board. Sri Lanka had ensured their berth in the final before the match but India, who have beaten the Windies in their earlier encounter but lost to Sri Lanka twice, must defeat the Caribbeans to enter the final. The West Indies win, their first after losing 11 successive games, was the handiwork of its bowlers and fielders who defended a reasonable total. It gives the West Indies their first win from three games in the competition, the same as Indians have managed and tomorrow’s game between the two, the last league game, would decide who gets the chance to meet Sri Lanka in final. Earlier, led by half-centuries from skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sylvester Joseph, the West Indies put up an improved batting performance against Sri Lanka. Chanderpaul, opening the innings, provided that solidity to the top order which had been missing in the previous matches with a brisk 57 that contained eight fours and came from 79 balls. Scoreboard West Indies Marshall run out 8 Chanderpaul c Maharoof Joseph run out 58 Deonarine lbw b Chandana 21 Banks run out 33 Smith lbw b Muralitharan 13 R. Powell run out 6 Best not out 12 Butler not out 0 Extras
(b-1, lb-6, w-9) 16 Total (7 wickets, 50 overs) 226 Fall of wickets:
1-25, 2-97, 3-152, 4-165, 5-189, 6-206, 7-224. Bowling: Zoysa 8-0-47-0, Maharoof 9-3-35-0, Fernando 9-2-34-0, Muralitharan 10-2-31-1, Chandana 10-1-49-2, Dilshan 4-0-23-0. Sri Lanka Tharanga b Smith 25 Jayasuriya lbw b Butler 23 Sangakkara c Marshall Jayawardene c D. Powell Dilshan lbw b Smith 0 Arnold b Deonarine 59 Chandana c sub b Banks 4 Maharoof c Ramdin b Best 20 Zoysa b Deonarine 9 Murali c Marshall b D. Powell 1 Fernando not out 3 Extras
(lb-3 nb-7 w-10) 20 Total (all out, 47 overs) 193 Fall of wickets:
1-46, 2-64, 3-73, 4-73, 5-92, 6-107, 7-140, 8-163, 9-171. Bowling:
Best 8-0-40-1, Butler 7-0-39-1, D. Powell 9-1-28-2, Smith 9-0-41-2, Banks 10-1-24-2, Deonarine 4-0-18-2.
— PTI |
Birmingham, August 6 The world champions, set 282 to win after Warne’s six wickets had helped restrict the English second innings to 182, battled to stay in the game until a late clatter of wickets left the home side totally dominant. By the close the Australians, 1-0 up in the five-match series, had struggled to 175 for eight on an increasingly two-paced and uneven Edgbaston pitch. England claimed the extra half-hour but could not apply the finishing touches, although Steve Harmison yorked Michael Clarke, the last specialist batsman, with the final ball of the third day. Warne, still defiant after sweeping two sixes, was 20 not out. Flintoff, after a fine innings of 73 to salvage the England second innings earlier in the day, took three for 34. Warne seemed to have set Australia on course for an unlikely victory — they had been 99 runs behind after the first innings — as he completed a 10-wicket match haul, his ninth in 125 Tests, to leave him on 599 for his career. But Flintoff salvaged the England innings with his vital 73 runs — no other home batsman got past 21 — then produced a lion-hearted performance with the ball. England, 99 runs ahead after the first innings and resuming the third day on 25 for one, had slumped to 95 for six by lunch. Lee broke through in the morning with three wickets for four runs in 11 vitriolic deliveries before Warne snapped up Kevin Pietersen (20) and Ian Bell (21) within six balls to leave the world champions well on top. Pietersen, who looked unlucky to be given caught behind off a Warne delivery ball that ricocheted off pad, body and elbow, put on 41 with Bell. Adam Gilchrist’s glovework, however, to get rid of Pietersen was quite breathtaking as he scooped up the ball an inch off the ground near his left heel. Earlier, Marcus Trescothick, flat-footed, wafted at a short, wide delivery and snicked the strike bowler behind for 21 in the fifth over of the day. Captain Michael Vaughan managed just two minutes and two balls, his bat coming down askew as he failed to get forward to a Lee off-cutter which plucked out his off stump. Matthew Hoggard, the nightwatchman, then guided a delivery straight to gully. The procession continued in the first over after lunch break when Lee getting rid of Geraint Jones with a sharp lifter which was gloved to second slip. Scoreboard England (1st innings) 407 Australia (1st innings) 308 England (2nd innings) Trescothick c Gilchrist b Lee 21 Strauss b Warne 6 Hoggard c Hayden b Lee 1 Vaughan b Lee 1 Bell c Gilchrist b Warne 21 Pietersen c Gilchrist b Warne 20 Flintoff b Warne 73 G. Jones c Ponting b Lee 9 Giles c Hayden b Warne 8 Harmison c Ponting b Warne 0 S. Jones not out 12 Extras (lb-1, nb-9) 10 Total (all out, 52.1 overs) 182 Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-27, 3-29, 4-31, 5-72, 6-75, 7-101, 8-131, 9-131. Bowling: Lee 18-1-82-4, Gillespie 8-0-24-0, Kasprowicz 3-0-29-0, Warne 23.1-7-46-6. Australia (2nd innings) Langer b Flintoff 28 Hayden c Trescothick b S. Jones 31 Ponting c G. Jones b Flintoff 0 Martyn c Bell b Hoggard 28 Clarke b Harmison 30 Katich c Trescothick b Giles 16 Gilchrist c Flintoff b Giles 1 Gillespie lbw b Flintoff 0 Warne not out 20 Extras (b-8, lb-6, w-1, nb-6) 21 Total (8 wkts, 43.4 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-48, 3-82, 4-107, 5-134, 6-136, 7-137, 8-175. Bowling: Harmison 10.4-3-26-1, Hoggard 5-0-26-1, Giles 11-1-52-2, Flintoff 12-2-34-3, S. Jones 5-1-23-1. — Reuters
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Fifth bowler problem to be sorted out: Dravid
Colombo, August 6 Captain Rahul Dravid admitted that his side was taking the issue of the fifth bowler seriously and was now trying all they could do to plug the loophole for the remaining matches of the tri-series. “The fifth bowler has not bowled well, but we are hoping that Sehwag, Yuvraj and Sourav can bowl better in the next two games,” Dravid told reporters on the eve of India’s last league match against the West Indies at the Khettarama Stadium. “If you have noticed, they are bowling a lot in the nets these days. The more they bowl, the better they will get,” he said. India had lost both their matches against Sri Lanka largely on account of some poor batting and the fifth bowler giving away too many runs. The stylish middle-order batsman also hoped that the conditions in Colombo could produce a different result for his team. “There is a possibility that we play two spinners or it can again be a combination of three and one.” “The wicket at Premadasa, I have generally noticed, is that it starts off well, but then gradually tends to get slow and low. Hopefully, we are playing just two games, here so it will not be a factor here.” Dravid hinted that J.P. Yadav and Anil Kumble could be given a look-in tomorrow although he refused to admit that the selections were being made according to a rotation policy. “That is the general thing we have in mind. I call it squad mentality, giving most people opportunity. It is not that we are dropping people, just giving everyone a chance to get involved.” “It is the start of the season and it is better if everyone plays as much as possible. The general endeavour is to create squad mentality, I will not call it rotation.” India had struggled to get enough runs on the board in the tournament so far and the failure of Virender Sehwag — 14, 2 and 32 from three innings — had had a telling effect. “He is an explosive player who has consistently done well for us. He has just started the season a bit slowly. But he looked good in the last game and it would have helped him. I am sure there are bigger scores within him in the last two games,” Dravid said. India were beaten in both games by Sri Lanka despite running them close in Dambulla. Dravid said he was not daunted that the hosts achieved wins even when their stalwarts such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa were missing. “Both Muralitharan and Jayasuriya played a game each and we ran them close. In the other game, Dilshan took four wickets and I wonder if even Muralitharan could have achieved those figures.” “Even now, when they play their full team, I am pretty confident. I will like to have a go at them and am looking forward to the opportunity.” Dravid, the meticulous planner that he is, went to Premadasa Stadium this morning to assess the wicket and conditions. “It looks similar to what we know of it. It remains to be seen how they are after rolling and today’s play.” “It is also hotter and there is less wind. Wind was a huge factor in Dambulla. Obviously, we have to manage here — the heat and fluids. Hope people here are fit and not tired.” “These are tough conditions for the fast bowlers. They have had good enough time to get used to it.” Declaring everyone in the side to be fit, Dravid said there were not many lessons to be learnt from the first two games against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. “We just needed another wicket. We did not have enough runs to start with, but at 95 for 6, we probably could have bowled a bit better. Having said so, sometimes it is also alright to give credit to the opposition batsmen for having played so well.”
— PTI |
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Kiwis keen to focus on cricket
Harare, August 6 Last month, the New Zealand Government passed a resolution calling on the International Cricket Council and New Zealand Cricket to cancel the trip due to concerns over human rights abuses under Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. “I guess the party line is that we’re here to play cricket,” Fleming told a press conference. “The guys have taken in a lot of information and we’re very aware of the situation, but the biggest mistake we could make would be to focus too much on what is happening outside the cricket.” Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu said the controversy, which had sparked a campaign in New Zealand in favour of legislation banning tours to countries with poor human rights records, had not affected his team. “It hasn’t had any impact on the side at all,” said Taibu. “We can’t control politics, so why should we go sticking our nose in there?” Taibu took a dim view of the likelihood that the Zimbabwe team would be denied entry to New Zealand for their scheduled return tour in December. “Obviously that’s bad, we’re professional cricketers and we need to play matches,” he said. “But I understand their reasons, they’re politicians and they are just doing their jobs.” New Zealand go into the two-match series with their sights set high. Express bowler Shane Bond has returned from two years out through back injury and batsman Lou Vincent scored 224 in his last Test innings, albeit in April. “It all bodes well for us to play well in this series, but there will be some cobwebs,” Fleming said. “Our country and our cricket is in no position to under-estimate anyone, but the goal is to win 2-0,” he added. Zimbabwe have lost five and drawn one of the six Tests they have played since most of their experienced players walked out in a dispute with their cricket board in April last year. Several of those players have since returned to the fold, but the home side will start the series as clear underdogs.
— Reuters |
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Sandeep, Vinay cleared for Dutch league
Patiala, August 6 The deal has reportedly been brokered through Percept Profile, a player marketing firm, through its New Delhi office. This is for the first time that any Indian player has been invited by a Dutch club to play in the league. Earlier, top Indian players used to turn out for the Malaysian and German leagues, while Italian, French and Canadian leagues used to attract club-level players from the subcontinent. Both Sandeep and VS Vinay were stars of the team that took part in the Junior World Cup in Rotterdam last month. Despite giving good performances at Rotterdam, both these players were cold-shouldered for the senior Indian team which is scheduled to take part in the Rabobank tournament to be played at Amstelveen from August 14. Athens Olympian Sandeep Singh, who last month had undergone a minor nose operation at his native place in Shahbad Markanda, was the top scorer for the country at Rotterdam with 10 goals. Both Vinay and Sandeep have turned out for the senior team in various international tournaments. Sandeep was summoned yesterday by federation President KPS Gill to New Delhi, where he was given the news of his clearance for the Dutch Premier Hockey League. A source revealed that the payment being offered to Sandeep and Vinay was attractive. |
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Godina flops, Lebedeva survives
Helsinki, August 6 Godina threw only 19.54 metres, well below his season-leading mark of 22.20, and finished 17th. Only the top 12 advanced. Christian Cantwell had the top throw with 21.11, and Adam Nelson also qualified easily with a throw of 20.35. On a sunny opening morning at the Olympic Stadium, Gatlin breezed through his heat, slowing down at the end and clocking 10.16 seconds. Olympic 200 metres champion Shawn Crawford also went through, though he was beaten by Portugal’s Francis Obikwelu in his heat. Gatlin’s task in the 100 metres was made easier by the no-show of world record holder Asafa Powell, who is out with a groin injury. Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft showed little effect from a sprained left ankle. With her taped jumping foot, the defending champion finished second to France’s Eunice Barber in the opening 100 metres hurdles. Though Tatyana Lebedeva qualified for the final of the triple jump, the Russian forfeited two attempts after a mediocre opening jump of 14.15 and scraped through as the 10th of 12 qualifiers. Lebedeva was still unbeaten in Golden League meets, but at the Oslo meet last week, there had been doubts on her fitness. She was going for a third straight title.
— AP |
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Kim Clijsters ousted
San Diego, August 6 Unseeded Sugiyama became the first player to move into the semifinals of the hardcourt event by rolling over 15-year-old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva 6-1, 6-2. Sugiyama would meet countrywoman Morigami, who sent Russian teenager Anna Chakvetadze packing 6-3, 6-4. Mary Pierce needed four match points to dismiss Swiss star Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals.
— AFP |
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Indian colts rout Morocco
Visakhapatnam, August 6 Rathish Nair and Sudarsan Varma were at their attacking best, with Pradeep Guttikonda and PS Srikanth providing good support. The Indians were quick off the blocks and took the opening set before the Moroccans could settle down. They took out the second set 25-16 and though the Africans fought till the end, the writing was on the wall. Srikanth brought the match point with a winner to the left court and the victory was sealed when Abdessamad Benbekkar put his service into the net. In another contest in Pool A, South Korea beat Serbia and Montenegro 25-21, 21-25, 27-25, 17-25, 17-15 in a gripping encounter. In the same group, Russia got the better of Cuba in three tight sets with the scoreline reading 29-27, 28-26, 25-22.
— PTI |
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Haryana to have new sports policy
Gurgaon, August 6 The government has earmarked Rs 25 crore in the 2005-06 Budget for promotion of sports in the state, he added. The General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee and the in charge of Haryana affairs, Mr Janardan Diwedi, was also present on the occasion. |
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