S P O R T S

Weather may play spoilsport
Decision on pitch today
Mohali, March 7
A truncated match is in store with the meteorologists predicting inclement weather ahead of the second Test. The Meteorological Department officials in Chandigarh said light to moderate rain or snow was likely to occur at many places in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh while light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely at a few places in Punjab and Haryana during the next two days.

Indian cricketers run during a practise session at the PCA ground in Mohali on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Vinay Malik

We can win in Mohali: Flintoff
Chandigarh, March 7
“We are a young side and fully prepared to face India. Youngsters on our side have been doing great,” said England’s captain Andrew Flintoff  while praising the three debutants in their side — Monty Panesar, Ian Blackwell and A. Cook.

English cricketers run during a practise session at the PCA ground in Mohali on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Vinay Malik

Australian swimming superstar Ian Thorpe leaves a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday after announcing that he had pulled out of the Commonwealth Games.
— AFP

	PCA Stadium may host some matches March 7, 2006
	Test ends in exciting draw March 6, 2006
	Cook spoils India’s broth March 5, 2006
	Kaif, Kumble keep India afloat March 4, 2006
	Collingwood inspires England fightback March 3, 2006
	India seize early advantage March 2, 2006
	India favourites against depleted England March 1, 2006
	Dalmiya gets BCCI notice February 28, 2006
	India fight back to hold Pakistan 3-3 February 27, 2006
	Munaf sends England crashing to defeat February 26, 2006

Fletcher praises Monty Panesar London, March 7 Monty Panesar has played just one Test but he has already earned plaudits from England’s coach Duncan Fletcher who says the young spinner’s classical action and attitude has given his team “control” in a Test against India. Fletcher said he was surprised at the control he showed in the first Test in Nagpur and his consistency will prove to be handy for England. “I was surprised at the control he showed right from the start: he didn’t seem to show any nerves. In video: Panesar's parents fly in for his match. (28k, 56k) Monty Panesar bowls in the nets during a practise session in Mohali on Tuesday. — AFP photo

Greg Chappell looking for genuine speedsters

Mohali, March 7 “Bounce out the opposition with sheer speed”. This is the mantra the Indian think-tank, coach Greg Chappell to be precise, is going by regarding spotting and developing quick bowlers the Indian team needs. Non-availability of genuine speedsters having the ability to rattle the opposition with pace has been the bane of Indian cricket for long. Numerous have been the occasions when Indian bowlers were able to send first half of the rival batting to the pavilion in a jiffy, but struggled to dislodge the tail. With the objective to overcome this glaring handicap, selection committee, particularly Greg Chappell, is on the lookout to unearth the pacers who have the natural ability to hurl the cherry at 135 kmph or in excess of it.

Munaf Patel...wicket to decide his fate.

Dalmiya questions BCCI’s TV rights deal
Kolkata, March 7
Former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya today raised questions on the award of global media rights by the board and alleged that it has lost Rs 81.40 crore on the deal.

• Bindra rubbishes Dalmiya’s charges

Cue sports may get place in C’wealth Games
Chandigarh, March 7
There is a move to make billiards and snooker part of the Commonwealth Games and a decision is expected at a special meeting being held during the games being held at Melbourne, Australia.

Hockey eves eye gold in Commonwealth games
Melbourne, March 7
Four years ago, the Indian women’s team stunned the hockey world as they snatched the gold in the Commonwealth Games, despite the presence of stronger teams like Australia, New Zealand and hosts England.

Ambassadors’ Cup starts today
Patiala, March 7
The organisers and participants are in upbeat mood on the eve of the 55th edition of the Federation International Ambassadors’ Cup polo tournament, which will commence at the Patiala Riding and Polo club from tomorrow.

Amarinder to take up SAI coaches’ issue with Centre
Chandigarh, March 7
The contentious issue of the unceremonious and large scale transfers of coaches of the Sports Authority of India from Punjab echoed in the Punjab Assembly today.

Kulwinder, Sikander best athletes
Ropar, March 7
Kulwinder Kaur (B.Ed) and Sikander (Engineering) were adjudged best girl athlete and best boy athlete during the Third Annual Sports Meet of Indo Global Colleges which concluded on the Indo Global campus at Abhipur, Ropar district.

Weather may play spoilsport
Decision on pitch today
Akash Ghai & PTI
Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 7
A truncated match is in store with the meteorologists predicting inclement weather ahead of the second Test. The Meteorological Department officials in Chandigarh said light to moderate rain or snow was likely to occur at many places in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh while light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely at a few places in Punjab and Haryana during the next two days.

Meanwhile, the Indian team management will have two pitches to choose from during the second Test match with England at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium commencing from March 9 here.

“We have prepared three tracks as per the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and out of these we have selected two for the final decision, which will be taken tomorrow by the team authorities,” said Mr M.P. Pandove, Joint Secretary, BCCI and Honorary Secretary, PCA.

“We prepared both the pitches on different terms. One has green top having enough grass while the other is a dry one,” said Mr Daljit Singh, curator of the PCA.

About the behaviour of the pitches during the match, Mr Daljit Singh said: “Undoubtedly the seamers will be benefited if the management selected the green-topped track. The other one will be a batsman’s paradise but the spinners can make the most of it after two days provided they have the knack to exploit the conditions,” said Daljit Singh.

One thing is sure, if it rains during the day it will compound the difficulties for the batsmen on both the pitches, added Mr Daljit.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper and current Punjab Ranji coach Intiqab Alam wanted that the home advantage of preparing the pitches should be done away and instead the International Cricket Council should have a permanent panel of curators to prepare standardised pitches all over the world. 

We can win in Mohali: Flintoff
G. S. Paul
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7
“We are a young side and fully prepared to face India. Youngsters on our side have been doing great,” said England’s captain Andrew Flintoff  while praising the three debutants in their side — Monty Panesar, Ian Blackwell and A. Cook.

Flintoff took part in the team’s net practice session at Mohali in the morning and also had a look at the pitch. “The Mohali pitch should offer more bounce, more pace and we have fair chance to take the lead,” he said.

Flintoff, who is captaining in the absence of Michael Vaughan is fully confident of his team’s potential and said any team-mate’s opinion is welcome and if it is worthwhile, we will have no hesitation in implementing it instantly, as our aim is to win the second Test.

While referring to the drawn Test as Nagpur, Flintoff said, “Some of the things went against us or probably we were deficient in planning. We have learnt a lot from there.”

Enjoying captaining the English side, he remarked that it was a stopgap arrangement and once Vaughan gets back, he would gladly hand over the charge to him.

Commenting on his style and approach, he said that he will play his natural game. He, however , said since it rained heavily overnight, the conditions are likely to stay slightly overcast till Thursday as well.

On Ganguly-Chappell spat, he chose to reserve his comments. “Whatever it might be, but is not at all affecting us in any way,” he said.

Flintoff said his team cannot afford to take the Indian side lightly especially after they put up a remarkable show at Nagpur. “We performed well in the earlier Test and are in a position to win the match at Mohali and our aim is to play to our potential,” he said.

Fletcher praises Monty Panesar

London, March 7
Monty Panesar has played just one Test but he has already earned plaudits from England’s coach Duncan Fletcher who says the young spinner’s classical action and attitude has given his team “control” in a Test against India.

Fletcher said he was surprised at the control he showed in the first Test in Nagpur and his consistency will prove to be handy for England. “I was surprised at the control he showed right from the start: he didn’t seem to show any nerves. He’s got a good classical action and that’s what we’ve been trying to get out of our bowlers, instead of these mechanical actions where they are fighting to get consistency”, Fletcher said.

“We’ve got someone here with a really nice, classical spin-bowling action, which must make his job a lot easier,” Fletcher was quoted as saying in Daily Telegraph today.

Panesar, the first Sikh to play a Test for England, claimed his maiden wicket by getting the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar in the first innings.

The coach said he was excited by the display of some of the youngsters in the England team.

“I’ve been excited by some of the young players in England for some time. In Pakistan I thought Liam Plunkett was exciting and I was also impressed with Alastair Cook when he came over as cover for Michael Vaughan. That’s why we got him back this time.

“Then we’ve got Panesar giving us control in a Test against India, which is not easy for a young spinner.

Together they are a group of youngsters pushing for places, which is exciting.”

Former England spinner and Monty Panesar’s coach, Nick Cook was also impressed by Panesar's performance in the first Test.

“I played for 18 years and I never bowled a delivery like the one that got Kaif in the first innings. His two bowleds were absolute peach deliveries. That is what Monty can do for you,” Cook was quoted as saying by the same newspaper.

Panesar made his county debut against Leicestershire in 2001 and took eight for 131 but a winter England Under-19s tour to India followed and his career started to stall, the report said.

With only one Test performance, Panesar has shown a wicket-taking talent that Cook predicts may pose problems for England's game plan.

“Ashley Giles keeps an end plugged up and he has done a great job but whether Monty can do that I don’t know,” he said.

“But if Monty continues to impress and take wickets he will put a massive question to the England management. Maybe they will have to change the dynamics of the team for Monty. That is a big question Duncan Fletcher may have to answer one day,” he added. — PTI

Greg Chappell looking for genuine speedsters
Gopal Sharma
Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 7
“Bounce out the opposition with sheer speed”. This is the mantra the Indian think-tank, coach Greg Chappell to be precise, is going by regarding spotting and developing quick bowlers the Indian team needs.

Non-availability of genuine speedsters having the ability to rattle the opposition with pace has been the bane of Indian cricket for long. Numerous have been the occasions when Indian bowlers were able to send first half of the rival batting to the pavilion in a jiffy, but struggled to dislodge the tail.

With the objective to overcome this glaring handicap, selection committee, particularly Greg Chappell, is on the lookout to unearth the pacers who have the natural ability to hurl the cherry at 135 kmph or in excess of it. A select group of pacers has been identified which is being groomed. Hunt is on for some more.

“Greg has the knack of spotting and rushing a youngster right in the middle of the action if he is convinced about the ability and skill of a youngster. Success of S. Sreesanth and R. P. Singh in such a short span of time is the result of this theory,” sources in the selection committee revealed.

“Greg has a very good opinion about V. R. V. Singh and Munaf Patel, both having the ability to generate good pace and he is keen to see how they perform at the highest level,” sources said on the condition of anonymity.

In fact, it is the natural ability of V. R. V. Singh and Munaf Patel to bowl in excess of 135 and touch 140 effortlessly that caught the eye of Greg Chappell.

It was his lack of adequate match practice — his not being not “match fit” — that VRV was made to make way for Patel for the second Test starting at Mohali from March 9. VRV was out of action for a couple of months due to injury before he played the three-day game for Board President’s XI against England. “He will be considered when he gets back into his rhythm by playing some domestic cricket,” the sources revealed.

“If the team management decides to play on a wicket with some grass on it, Munaf will be most likely included in the playing eleven. “But if the team management decides to play on a bald track, they would go into the match with two seamers and two spinners. In that case it would be tough for Munaf to get into the final squad,” the sources said.

“Even if he does not play he will benefit on account of being part of the dressing room and interacting with players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid under the surveillance of Greg Chappell.”

Development of Jammu and Kashmir pacer Abid Nabi, who broke onto the national scene in Ranji Trophy two seasons back and displayed the ability to work up an impressive pace, is being keenly observed. “Blessed with good physique and height, Nabi can be pretty sharp. He needs to be more disciplined with his line. Nabi has been summoned and he will he here in the stadium on March 10,” the sources stated.

Strapping 6’6” tall Rajasthan bowler Pankaj Singh is deemed a good prospect. The young pacer was very impressive in the Plate group Ranji Trophy match against Orissa and finished with an impressive haul.

Regarding L Balaji and Ashish Nehra, vital cogs in the Indian pace attack not long back, the sources disclosed that they were yet to contact the board and state their fitness.

“Nehra has started bowling, though with a shorter run up, while Balaji is yet to start bowling. They will be considered after they convey to the selection committee about their match fitness,” the sources said. Balaji was the part of Indian success story and the most popular player during the Indian team’s previous tour of Pakistan

“The Indian team physio and bio-mechanic expert keep a tab on the upcoming players and provide whatever assistance they need,” the sources added. 

Dalmiya questions BCCI’s TV rights deal

Kolkata, March 7
Former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya today raised questions on the award of global media rights by the board and alleged that it has lost Rs 81.40 crore on the deal.

Quoting tender documents and other communications from the board to the bidders, Dalmiya said though the BCCI has awarded global media rights to Nimbus Communications for $ 612.18 million, if the highest bid was considered the board should have received $ 630.27 million.

“This means the board did not receive $ 18.09 million and this converted to Indian currency works out to Rs 81.40 crore,” Dalmiya said.

“This obviously leads to some serious questions. Was any undue advantage given to Nimbus? Whether any vested interest was at work? Whether concession was given to somebody by somebody?” Dalmiya asked.

Dalmiya said Nimbus Communications (India) was the highest bidder with $ 504.09 for the India rights, while for the international rights the highest offer of $ 126.18 million was given by Nimbus Sports Pte (Singapore).

“But we find that the entire rights were given to Nimbus Communications (India) even though their offer for international rights ($ 108.09 million) was significantly lower than that of Nimbus Singapore Pte,” Dalmiya said.

He said as per the criteria laid down by the board at the time of floating the tenders the international rights should have gone to Nimbus (Singapore).

Dalmiya said the Cricket Association of Bengal, of which he was the president, had written to the BCCI on March 1 raising the questions, but a reply was yet to be received. “I hear people (the powers that be in BCCI) shouting from the rooftops about transparency. This is an example of that,” he said sarcastically.

“We understand that board vice-president (Lalit) Modi himself issued clarifications during the tender process that made it clear that maximisation of revenue was the main objective and for this purpose, the bidders were asked to make optimum combinations possible,” the letter by CAB joint secretary Amitabha Banerjee said.

The letter also asked whether the board had signed an agreement with the winning bidder and whether Nimbus had deposited the requisite amount of Rs 200 crore with the board throughout the duration of the agreement.

Banerjee’s letter, referred to by Dalmiya today, also asked if concessions were allowed to Nimbus and whether it furnished rolling bank guarantees.

Bindra rubbishes Dalmiya’s charges 

Cue sports may get place in C’wealth Games
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7
There is a move to make billiards and snooker part of the Commonwealth Games and a decision is expected at a special meeting being held during the games being held at Melbourne, Australia. In fact, the World Council of Billiards & Snooker (WCBS) has been running a big campaign to obtain acceptance for cue sports in the Commonwealth Games.

The Indian camp is lobbying hard for their inclusion, looking at the world-class players and the pool of talent India has in cue sports. In the Asian Games too, Indian cueists have got laurels for the country and won a large number of medals.

Indian cueists have been regularly making their mark on the world arena. In the World Snooker Championships held recently at Wales in UK, Alok Kumar of Punjab became the only Indian from North India to go beyond the quarterfinal stage and won a bronze medal. The World Snooker Championship is the biggest amateur Championship in the world and 80 of the world’s best players from around 25 countries participated in it.

In his group matches, Alok moved into the knockout stage after winning seven of the nine matches. In his first match in the knockout stage, he overwhelmed Mark Joyce of England 5-2. In the pre-quarterfinals, he defeated compatriot Pankaj Advani 5-1. In the quarterfinals, Alok made short work of Gavin Pantell of Wales 6-1. The semifinal match was against Michael White of Wales, who ultimately went on to become the world champion. Alok lost this match 5-8, but clinched the bronze medal for his country and his sponsor, ONGC.

Such performances tend to help popularise the game. To further popularise cue sports in India, the Players Association of Billiards and Snooker has taken on itself the task of generating viewer interest and launched the National Cue Masters League with a interesting and exciting format. Each match consists of all three cue games - one frame of snooker, a 50-point game of billiards and a race to three racks of nine Ball Pool. The player who wins the toss chooses the first game – snooker, pool or billiards. The second game is selected by the opponent out of the two remaining disciplines. In case the score gets tied 1-1 after the 2 games, the third discipline will decide the winner.

“The basic idea is to make the game exciting to watch while testing the mastery of the player in the three discipline of cue sports. This will further enhance the popularity and the skill levels of the game in India,” stated Arjuna awardee Alok Kumar, Joint Secretary, Billiards and Snooker Players Association of India. 

Hockey eves eye gold in Commonwealth games

Melbourne, March 7
Four years ago, the Indian women’s team stunned the hockey world as they snatched the gold in the Commonwealth Games, despite the presence of stronger teams like Australia, New Zealand and hosts England.

The team was the first to arrive here for this year’s Commonwealth Games. Two days on and they look well settled, as coach Maharaj Kumar Kaushik, a gold medallist with the Indian men’s team of 1980 Olympics, expresses confidence ahead of their campaign to defend the title.

“The team is a perfect blend of youth and experience. Ours is a team, which is in the building process for events like World Cup, Asian Games and 2008 Olympics. But this is also an important engagement for us. More so because we are the defending champions,” he said.

The Indians are yet to play any practice games, but as Kaushik added: “We need to get adjusted to local conditions and then I will fix some games with other teams as they arrive.”

Kaushik, who was in-charge of the teams that took part in junior and senior Asia Cup and also the Afro-Asian Games, marked out seasoned goalkeeper Helen Mary and experienced Jyoti Kullu, Kanti Baa and Mamta Kharab and skipper Sumrai Tete as the key players for the team.

The 27-year-old Tete, who hails from Jharkhand, has been playing international hockey as a junior since 1990. Named captain for the first time, she says: “Although this is my first time as captain, I am confident that my team would do well. I am happy with my team as we have a mix of youth and experience.”

India is drawn with Australia, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa. While the hosts Australia are being viewed as the toughest rivals for them, South Africa too could be sticky customers. — IANS

Ambassadors’ Cup starts today
Ravi Dhaliwal

Patiala, March 7
The organisers and participants are in upbeat mood on the eve of the 55th edition of the Federation International Ambassadors’ Cup polo tournament, which will commence at the Patiala Riding and Polo club (PRPC) from tomorrow.

The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, who is an avid polo fan and even took part in the Army Cup held at the same venue in February last year, is taking personal interest to make the show a grand success. He visited the venue twice today to ensure everything was spick and span and no last minute hurdles are created in the way of holding the tourney.

The five-day meet will also be featuring more than 20 foreign players although as per the Indian Polo Association (IPA) rules professional players have been kept out of the tourney. 

Amarinder to take up SAI coaches’ issue with Centre
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7
The contentious issue of the unceremonious and large scale transfers of coaches of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) from Punjab echoed in the Punjab Assembly today.

The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, said he would take up the matter with the Centre to send replacements for the transferred coaches or post these coaches back to Punjab.

A total 49 coaches of various sports disciplines were transferred out of Punjab by the SAI last year.

Kulwinder, Sikander best athletes
Tribune News Service

Ropar, March 7
Kulwinder Kaur (B.Ed) and Sikander (Engineering) were adjudged best girl athlete and best boy athlete during the Third Annual Sports Meet of Indo Global Colleges which concluded on the Indo Global campus at Abhipur, Ropar district.

Mr Satish Kumar Sharma, IG, Patiala Range, was the chief guest and gave away prizes to the winners.

Mr S.S. Sekhon, Principal, IGCA, in his inaugural speech, called upon the students to show sportsman spirit while playing.

The results:

Cross Country (Boys): 1 Vishal Gupta 2 Suraj Rattan 3 Sidharth Sood

Chatti Race (Combined) Girls: 1 Jatinder Kaur 2 Hardeep 3 Kanu Priya.

(4X400) Relay (Boys): 1 Rajiv, Aney, Sunil, Navneet 2 Sikander, Pankaj, Saroj, Rohit 3 Vishal, Iqbal, Rashpal, Sorav.

Rope Climbing (Boys): 1 Karanjeet 2 Rashpal 3 Shoaib.

Three Leg Race (Combined) Girls: 1 Vijeta and Richa 2 Gunjan and Shweta 3 Priyaska and Aarti.

Cross Country (Boys): 1 Iqbal 2 Gaurav 3 Vikram.

(4X400) Relay (Boys): 1 Gurdeep,Iqbal, Shalinder, Sardeep 2 Vikram, Mubashir, Ashish, Sanjiv

Kabaddi team (Boys): 1 Pawan, Ishtpal, Gurdeep, Gopinder, Sardeep, Shailender.

BRIEFLY

Warne makes another debut
Sydney: Australian spin wizard Shane Warne has made his debut on a different field altogether. This time the 36-year-old leg-spin legend donned make-up to act in a television soap titled ‘Neighbours.’ Warne appeared as himself in the soap with the storyline revolving around his charity organisation — the Shane Warne Foundation, according to a report in ‘Herald Sun.’ Warne shot for three scenes for more than two hours as his kids Brooke and Jackson watched their father performing a new role. In the scenes shot for the serial, the highest Test wicket-taker is seen visiting Ramsay Street to collect donation for his foundation, which works for seriously ill and underprivileged children. — PTI

Sania slips to 45
New Delhi: The string of early round losses finally made an impact as India's tennis ace Sania Mirza fell out of the top 30 in the latest WTA Tour rankings released on Tuesday. Sania, who has failed to go beyond the second round this season so far, was ranked 45th, a fall of nine places from last week’s position of 36. Remaining in the top 30 in world rankings is crucial for a player since it gets direct entry into top Tier tournaments on the professional tour beside helping being seeded in Grand Slams. — PTI

Indians move up
New Delhi: The recent good showing on the course reflected on the paper for the top Indian pros as they moved up the ladder in the latest World Golf Rankings. Highest placed Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa moved up one spot to stay at 107th while Arjun Atwal and Shiv Kapur made considerable improvement on their earlier rankings. Atwal, who finished tied 35th in the $ 5.5 million Ford Championship, jumped five places to reach 132. Shiv Kapur, who was tied seventh in Indonesian Open, reduced the gap with Atwal to be at 135th. However, veteran Jeev Milkha Singh remains at 329. — PTI

Skiing team
Patiala: The Punjab Winter Games Federation (PWGF) has announced a four- member squad which will take part in the senior National skiing championship slated to be held at Gulmarg from March 19 to 21. According to Mr Harbhajan Singh, President , PWGF, the team members are Baljinder Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Dinesh Kumar and Satpal Verma. The team will be leaving for Gulmarg on March 17. — OSR

Thorpe do out
SYDNEY: Australian swimming superstar Ian Thorpe pulled out of this month’s Commonwealth Games due to illness on Tuesday, leaving the Melbourne event without one of its prime drawcards. The five-time Olympic gold medallist said he was frustrated at not being able to perform in front of his home crowd, but the lingering effects of a bout of bronchitis and a viral infection had left him drained and unable to compete. — AFP