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Tendulkar, Dravid are World XI
Teams besieged by their own woes ahead
Reverse swing — once suspect, now glorified |
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Ganguly back in rhythm
Weightlifters finish 2nd
Swimmers shine
Advani, Mehta lose
Punjab Police win
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Tendulkar, Dravid are World XI vice-captains
Dubai, August 23 Tendulkar, who will make his comeback after a long injury layoff, has found a place in both the teams while Dravid has made it to the Test squad, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced in Melbourne. Opener Virender Sehwag, who is in both the squads, is the other Indian to make the grade. Two South Africans — Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock — will lead the Test and ODI teams, respectively, an ICC press note has said. Smith will lead the 13-member ICC World XI in the six-day Test against the Australians at the Sydney Cricket Ground from October 14 to 19, while Pollock will skipper the 14-member team for three one-dayers against the world champions at Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium on October 5, 7 and 9. Test squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Steve Harmison, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori. ODI squad: Shaun Pollock (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Flintoff, Kumar Sangakkara, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori. The selectors — Mike Atherton, Richard Hadlee, Clive Lloyd, Jonty Rhodes and Aravinda de Silva — have included Andrew Flintoff, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Steve Harmison and Shoaib Akhtar in the star-studded squads. Those omitted from the Test squad are Anil Kumble, Michael Vaughan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Makhaya Ntini, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendon McCullum. Those to miss out in the ODI squad are Inzamam-ul-Haq, Rahul Dravid, Abdul Razzaq, Chris Gayle, Steve Harmison and Brendon McCullum. Sunil Gavaskar, the record-breaking former Indian captain who chaired the selection panel, said the World XI would put Australia under pressure to maintain their dominant
home record. “Australia will be looking to regroup after the intensity of the Ashes series in England, but I do not think the cricket will be any easier for them against these World XI sides,” Gavaskar said. “England have shown up fault lines in Australia’s performances. I know (World XI coach) John Wright, Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock will be eager to capitalise on that.” Wright, the former Indian coach, would coach the ICC World XI teams, with Goolam Rajah of South Africa acting as team manager and Kirk Russell of England the team physiotherapist. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said the selectors had picked two squads of superb players who would test Australia to the limit. “There are no weak links in either of these squads; everywhere you look there is an outstanding player whose talent enriches the game,” Speed said. “I firmly believe that Sunil and his co-selectors have chosen wisely in making their choices and have given Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock an enviable number of options to cover all match circumstances.” Combined prize money and match payments for the ODI series would be $ 1.254 million, while the total money available for the Super Test would be $ 1.39 million.
— PTI |
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Teams besieged by their own woes ahead of tri-series
Bulawayo, August 23 Zimbabwe have spawned an industry of cricketing jokes, but New Zealand have no less problems of their own and for India, it takes only a puff to remove the gloss. Then there are the new Powerplay and Super Sub rules, which are stretching these teams’ wits to the end. In Zimbabwe, the entire team pads up and not just the next batsman when it is time to bat in the middle. They lost two Tests to New Zealand within five days, the first one in two. Now another joke doing the rounds is that the ICC is waiting for them to lose a Test in a day before treating them as a problem. Their administrators are adding their bit to the tragi-comedy. There was no review of batsmen for the
second Test despite scores of 99 and 59 in two innings. Convener of selectors Mascoond Ebrahim said this was the best team they could muster from 80-odd first-class cricketers. On the surface, Zimbabwe seem to have recovered from the past of players’ boycotts, suspensions and self-imposed exiles. The old stars have returned, but the rumour mills are suggesting they are in there for money and not national interest. The opposition is now able to beat them with eyes closed. In the last seven Tests, Zimbabwe have lost five by more than an innings, including one to Bangladesh, who until then were still awaiting their maiden win. Ironically, they survived the initial experience at the top, only to stagnate with time. It is burdened with failing infrastructure and ever-diminishing resources. The old guardians of the game have fled the country, the new ones have not got the funds or requisite number of players. New Zealand, on the other hand, are struggling with their top order. An immediate overhaul is not possible either as New Zealand do not play another Test in the next seven months. That New Zealand were 113 for 5 against Zimbabwe in the first Test does tell a story about its top. After four different opening pairs in five Tests, New Zealand have gone back to Lou Vincent, a move which has been described by the sharp-tongued Chris Cairns as “putting a band-aid over a gaping wound”. The game behind the play on the field is no less messy. The government has forced the hands of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Zimbabwe’s visit in December. The South African Board has postponed the Test series in October so that a few of its players can take part in Super Series in Australia. New Zealand now play a Test against the West Indies only in March next year. About the woes at the top, former Test star Ken Rutherford wonders why the NZC has not sorted itself out through its academy, development programmes and officers around the provinces. Former batting legend Glenn Turner has no doubt the technical aspects of the batting has deteriorated. “There has been a tendency for batsmen to loosen up and look for boundaries, to the detriment of their technical ability,” Turner has said. India are approaching the new series as if nothing much has been achieved in the eventful last five years of Sourav Ganguly’s reign. Ganguly has been on trial like never before, but the same can be said about the other top batsmen, with the exception of the admirable Rahul Dravid. Fast bowlers shine only for a season or two before injury and survival instincts return to haunt them. In the field, most are good enough only to chase a tortoise. Amidst all this, new coach Greg Chappell starts with noble intentions and a futuristic vision. No sooner than he lifts the broom, scorpions from under the carpet gather and aim to leave their marks on his skin. This tour is important for knives are already out for Chappell, ironically, not from the media, but from the very people who have brought him aboard in the first place. The new one-day rules afford these teams options. However, it is a pity though there are not enough talented reserves to make the best of the Super Sub rule. New Zealand coach John Bracewell will go for a batsman which, given their plight at the top, is understandable. Chappell is for at least five bowlers in the line-up and it is sure to raise a derisive laugh from one who is not in the squad, Anil Kumble, and no less from Zaheer Khan and Laxmipathy Balaji. As for Zimbabwe, their chief selector, with his statement, has closed the door on any new options. These teams can thump their chests as much as they want at any positive signs emerging from this one-day series. In essence, it will tell little if they have hit the road in earnest for the 2007 World Cup.
— PTI |
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Reverse swing — once suspect, now glorified
London, August 23 Or so certain British tabloids of the early 1990s would have had you believe. Today it is a magical, miraculous gift, totally above board, practised by upright Englishmen, or one upright Englishman and one Welshman, to be more accurate, and which may yet decide the outcome of the 2005 Ashes. Reverse swing — the ability to swing an old cricket ball in the opposite direction to that expected by batsmen — has been around for decades. It has not, however, had as great an impact as it is having on the current series between England and Australia for a long while. Back in 1992, Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis made the old ball reverse in, viciously fast, viciously late and invariably on a yorker length. Often it broke a stump or broke a toe. Waqar did not make the ball swing away, but it did not much matter. England’s batsmen knew where the ball was going, but could do little about it. Nor could they begin to understand how Waqar and Wasim Akram were managing to make the ball boomerang around corners. The conviction grew that it was all done illegally, with bottle tops and penknives and sharp fingernails. Reverse swing became a synonym for ball tampering. Emotions became so heated that players and former players from both sides even found themselves facing each other in British libel courts. Those legal confrontations helped uncover some of the mystery. Sarfraz Nawaz, another hugely gifted Pakistan fast bowler, revealed how he had discovered the phenomenon in the 1970s. First, he would swing the ball traditionally, the seam upright to act as a rudder and one side kept shiny to make it go through the air quicker. Then, when the ball aged, he would apply sweat to the shiny side, weighing it down, while leaving the other dry and rough. Using the outwsinger’s grip, he could create inswing. The magic passed from Sarfraz to Imran Khan to Waqar and Wasim and England were well beaten on home turf in both 1992 and 1996. Even when the rest of the world discovered the secret, however, they found out that know-how mattered less than can-do. Every bowler seems to understand reverse swing, but few can make it happen. Today, England have unearthed two men who make it happen with alarming regularity. Simon Jones, a one-time team-mate of Waqar’s at Glamorgan, and Andrew Flintoff, have even added a new dimension. Both can make the old ball swing into batsmen, but they can also make it swing away. They are also reverse swinging the ball much earlier in an innings than previously seen, after around 15 overs rather than 40. No bottle tops, raised seams or unexplained marks on the ball have been spotted, leading to suggestions that England’s big fast bowlers, the hard grounds and the habit of their fielders of throwing the ball in on the bounce rather than on the full, have helped to rough up the ball more quickly. Australia’s top-order batsmen have certainly been clueless while Jones and Flintoff have swung the ball as if by remote control. Some of the recent British press coverage, captivated with England’s unexpected successes against Australia in the last few weeks, seems to have forgotten the 1990s altogether. Waqar, watching from afar, cannot help a wry smile. The Pakistani, who retired last year, says reverse swing has been given a positive spin in the last few weeks. “It is being given a new name now,” he said. “When we bowled it, it was called ball tampering. Now that they have somebody to do it, bowlers like Flintoff and Jones, they are coming up with new words to glorify it.”
— Reuters |
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Ganguly back in rhythm
Abu Dhabi, August 23 IM-in-waiting Abhijeet Gupta’s prospects of his maiden GM norm suffered a decisive setback as the 15-year-old went down fighting against GM Dmitry Bocharov of Russia. With just one round remaining in the tournament, GM Ashot Ananstesian of Armenia took another step forward for the coveted winner’s trophy by defeating GM Alesej Aleksandrov of Belarus. The Armenian took his tally to 6.5 points after the victory and emerged as the sole leader. Ukrainian GM Alexander Goloshchapov (6 points) was pushed to the sole second spot after he drew with top seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan. Six players occupied the fifth spot on 5.5 points while Ganguly and IM D.V. Prasad were next in line along with others on 5 points apiece. For Ganguly, it turned out to be second victory on the trot after he had lost two games in succession. The national champion was at his technical best in the endgame. The opening was a Grunfeld Indian, in which Raetsky played white and achieved nothing when Ganguly outsmarted him. With a routine pawn sacrifice in the middle game, Ganguly ensured himself play all over the board and in trying to equalise, Raetsky erred again to find himself in a slightly inferior endgame. Ganguly was a picture of confidence once the rook and minor piece endgame arrived and slowly improved his position to first knock down a pawn and later marched his king to the heart of white’s
position to win another pawn for no counter-play. Raetsky resigned after 67 moves. Gupta was outdone by Bocharov in a Queen’s Indian defence. Playing white, the youngster failed to withhold the pressure his opponent created in the middle game and went down after opting for an erroneous plan. Having struck form quite late in the event, Prasad drew with GM Konstantin Chernychov of Russia. The opening did not go well for the Indian as Chernyshov equalised easily in the middle game, arising out of a Pirc defense. Subsequent exchanges led to a drawn queen and pawns endgame, in which the draw was a just result. Parimarjan Negi drew with Turkan Mamedjarova of Azerbaijan, Akshat Khamparia scored over Toufighi Homayoon of Iran and Tania Sachdev drew with Meilis Annaberdiev of Turkmenistan.
— PTI |
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Weightlifters finish 2nd
New Delhi, August 23 Simple Kaur Bumrah won three bronze medals — one each in snatch, clean and jerk and overall — in the 75 kg class on the final day to increase India’s tally to three silver and nine bronze. The 12 medals led to an aggregate of 469 points, behind China, who claimed the title with 494 points yesterday, the Indian Weightlifting Federation said here today. Thailand finished third (364 points) and Kazakhstan was fourth with 340 points. In the sub-junior event, Indian won one gold, five silver and three bronze medals. Subhan Dey became the first Indian to create an Asian youth record by raising 90 kg in snatch, which earned him the gold in the 50 kg weight category. He won silver in the clean and jerk with a lift of 103 kg, behind gold winner N. Napoom of Thailand. Dey missed the overall gold on bodyweight count after he tied with Napoom at 193 kg, weighing 140 gm heavier than the Thai. In the girls’ 48 kg category, Supria Patil won three bronze medals, with best efforts of 63 kg in snatch and 81 kg in clean and jerk, to total 144 kg overall. Shiva Rani won three silver medals in the 44 kg class. Shyamla Shetty was adjudged the ‘best woman coach’ in the junior category.
— PTI |
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Swimmers shine
Chennai, August 23 India also won three silver medals to take their medals tally to five gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze. After Khade claimed gold in the 50 metres freestyle final with a time of 25.55 seconds, Aaroon D’Souza and Jason Shiraz of Bangalore pulled off a one-two finish in the 800m freestyle final. The trio — Khade, D’Souza and Shiraz — kept up the momentum in the 4 x 200 metres relay for boys (open group) along with Poorna Chandran to set a new mark, relegating the defending champion and record holders Japan to second place. Shiraz played the anchor role to perfection, recording a time of 8 minutes, 21.37 seconds, eclipsing the old record of 8:26.37. Bangalore’s Shikha Tandon, who represented India at the Athens Olympics, bagged silver medals in the 50 metres freestyle and 100 metres backstroke finals, taking her individual tally to four silver and a bronze. Khade and D’Souza had won a brace of individual gold, besides one in the relay event. In a waterpolo placings match, India beat Indonesia 12-8.
— PTI |
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Advani, Mehta lose
New Delhi, August 23 In the last 32 stage of the under-21 section, third-seeded Advani came a cropper against Michael Lupton as the Australian walked away with a 5-3 win while Mehta fought tooth and nail before going down 4-5 to his Scottish opponent Robert Stephen in the best-of-nine-frames contest. Others who made it to the last 16 were second seed Raymond Fry of Northern Ireland, fifth-seeded Irish David Hogan, compatriots Davis Morris and John Connors, Thai Kobkit Palajin, Belgian Kevin Hanssens, Wales duo of Aled Brothers and Jamie Jones, Gareth Coates of England and Chinese trio of Liang Wenbo, Li Hang and Tian Pengfei. In the senior event, former world billiards champion and third seed Geet Sethi would take on Cheung Sing of Hong Kong in a best-of-seven-frames
contest. — UNI |
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Punjab Police win
Chandigarh, August 23 The second goal for Punjab Police came off a spot kick after a rival defender handled the ball inside the box. The subsequent penalty was converted by Gurpreet, giving Punjab Police
a 2-0 lead. In the 72nd minute, a powerful shot by Vijay Kumar sailed
into the net after striking a Mahilpur defender, making it 3-0 in favour
of the Punjab cops. Mahilpur FC did initiate some fine moves,
particularly through Balwant and Mandeep, but both failed the beat the
Punjab Police goalkeeper. — TNS |
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GND varsity wins trophy
Amritsar, August 23 Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, will receive the award from the President of India, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in an investiture ceremony at Ashoka Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on August 29. The President will award a replica of this trophy and a cash award of Rs 2 lakh for development of sports infrastructure at the university. This is the 19th time the university has won the trophy. |
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video: Team India leaves for Zimbabwe. (
