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ICC lashes out at cricketers
No role in inviting Azhar, Prabhakar: PCB
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Bindra, Sushma pull out of World Cup squad
Sania lets India down
Positive dope test was a surprise: lifter
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New Delhi, April 22 “Players have to realise it is a two-way street. They cannot, on the one hand, complain of playing too much and then turn round and head off for a lucrative spell of English county cricket when there is a break in the schedule,” ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed wrote in an article in Cricinfo magazine. The ICC Chief Executive also said there were cricketers who actually wanted to play more while also suggesting that it was a win-win situation for most of them. “They are engaged in their career of choice. They are doing something that the vast majority of people that watch them in action can only dream of, and they are well-paid too,” the Australian said. Describing the criticism of the international cricket calendar as “quite simply ill-informed and wrong”, he said the itineraries were finalised after consultations with the captains and players’ representatives. “Avoiding that cycle of problems was one reason why the ICC recently introduced its new six-year Future Tours Programme (FTP) to replace the existing five-year schedule,” Speed explained. Speed outlined that the FTP ensured that no team should play more than 15 Test matches and 30 ODIs in a 12-month period, although he added that “teams rarely come close to this limit”. But he admitted that the strain of travelling and playing was clear for all to see and he put a part of the blame on individual boards for some of the scheduling which, he said, was outside the ICC’s control. Ahmedabad: An ICC official today said the national boards, which were trying to maximise their revenues, also needed “to look after the players”. “Member countries of the ICC have to find a balance between maximising revenues and players,” said ICC media manager Brian Murgatroyd, who was part of the four-member ICC team that visited the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera to review arrangements for the Champions Trophy. Murgatroyd and the others inspected facilities at the stadium, which is one of the four venues for the Champions Trophy to be held in October.
— PTI Guwahati report under review An International Cricket Council (ICC) official said on Saturday that action could be taken against Guwahati, which witnessed unruly crowd behaviour after a one-day international between India and England was abandoned on April 9. “The ICC has take a note of the happenings at Guwahati,” said an ICC official. “A report about the violence at the Guwahati stadium has been submitted to the ICC by Match referee Roshan Mahanama,” he added. — PTI
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No role in inviting Azhar, Prabhakar: PCB
Karachi, April 22 The two senior sides square off in the first of the four one-day matches here tomorrow. “The seniors cricket board is operating on their own and they have invited Azharuddin and Prabhakar. We just support the seniors board and have allowed them to use our facilities,” PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan told PTI from Lahore. Azharuddin is serving a life ban for his alleged involvement in match-fixing, while Prabhakar was slapped with a five-year ban in 2000 which has since expired. “The senior board is not affiliated with the PCB so they are holding this series on their own,” Shaharyar said. While Azharuddin and Prabhakar will take part in the series, former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, serving a life ban for similar charges, has been stopped from playing in the series. “We have stopped Malik from playing because he comes in our domain,” Shaharyar said. Rashid Latif, who was the first to blow the whistle on match-fixing in 1995, has also been named for tomorrow's match.
— PTI |
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Vinod’s team wins Pro-Am title
Chandigarh, April 22 Vinod and his team of amateurs Rakesh Jolly, M.P. Singh and former India cricketer and now a national selector Bhupinder Singh (Sr) aggregated 206 to finish as winners. Two teams were tied at 207 but in the count-back, Kolkata pro Sankar Das and amateurs Col Gurdyal Singh and S.S. Dayal finished second while C. Muniyappa and his team of Col. H.S. Kapur, H.S. Kang and Col. J.S. Kang came third. Apart from the main prizes, there were other exciting contests to keep everyone enthused. I.P.S Mann, father of Chandigarh’s leading professional Gurbaaz Mann, drove to 296 yards to bag the “Longest Drive” award. Dimple Minocha hit the ball to three feet and two inches from the pin on the par-3 third to bag the “Hero Honda Zone” award for the closest to pin. But the most interesting competition was the “Hole in the Heart” where the participants were asked to chip from about 15 feet and pierce the hole in the heart of a Tiger Woods’ statue. Lalit Karwa was the only one who managed to achieve the feat. The event featured some of the leading stars of Indian golf including the recently crowned champion and No.1 player Mukesh Kumar, No.2 S.S.P. Chowrasia, No.3 Ashok Kumar, No.4 Feroz Ali and No.5 Vijay Kumar amongst others. Playing with them were the top bureaucrats and members of the club. India’s celebrated athlete Milkha Singh and former hockey star Pargat Singh were the others who participated. The tournament was played on strokeplay format where the professional’s score and the two amateur scores accounted for the team’s total. Mr Sunil Munjal of Hero Group, Chandigarh Golf Club president G.S. Sandhu and Sandeep Sandhu, captain, Chandigarh Golf Club, gave away the prizes. The Amby Valley PGAI Tour now moves to Noida for the ONGC-Noida Open to be held from April 24 to 28 before moving to Mumbai for a new event on the Tour. It will be followed by the $ 400,000 Amby Valley Masters to be held at the Amby Valley Golf Club, Amby Valley Sahara Lake City from May 10 to 14.
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‘Brand ambassador’ of Indian golf
He is a virtual brand ambassador of Indian golf. Yes, Brandon Cecil de Souza has made his mark on the golfing scene. He is the man who is responsible for changing the face of the sport. From a measly prize money of Rs 1.10 crore in 1998, Brandon who heads Tiger Sports, has converted the sport into the second richest domestic sport with the Indian tour worth a whopping Rs 3.40 crore in prize money. I managed to buttonhole Brandon at the Chandigarh Golf Club bar on Friday afternoon. He looked the same, though a bit bulkier and with a greying tinge. Twentyone years ago he had clinched the Wills Open title on the Chandigarh greens. He has viewed the game from every possible angle — as an amateur player, a professional, a coach, an administrator, a journalist, an expert on television, a consultant and a sponsor. Even his biggest critics have a word of praise for him. “If Brandon has said yes, it will be done”, said a golf buff in the know of things. Eager to share his experiences and the difficulties he has faced in this field, Brandon says he is always ready to try out new ideas. “The trouble is that the ideas remain on the table as no one is prepared for the presentation,” he says. “Brandon you are needed”, these interruptions from Tiger Sports executives saw the 45-year-old Brandon making quick trips to the committee room to sort out last-minute problems, probably it was the Pro-Am teams for the next day. A product of La Martiniere, Kolkata, and St Xavier’s College, Kolkata, Brandon is of the firm opinion that the golfers should never forget their roots. Here he mentioned the name of Jeev Milkha Singh. “He makes it a point to play in domestic golf whenever he gets the time,” he added. He agreed that competition was limited in ladies golf. He mentioned Irina Brar of Chandigarh, who he felt had the capability to make it big. He said he burnt his fingers while inviting four top US lady golf professionals to India for a tournament. He had to face a lot of criticism for that move. Brandon says he is satisfied for what he has done for the game. “I have given 100 per cent to the game. I have even roped in my wife, son and daughter into the golf greens so that I have more time to spend on the golfing activities.” He was happy that a number of ace golfers were from “not so well to do families”. They had made it big. So was the case of caddies making it big on the national golf circuit. He was quick to take the name of Shankar Lal. He was virtually adopted by the Royal Calcutta Club after his father died. Today he is 17 and playing good professional golf. Chandigarh, he says, has been a very good golf nursery. “Sponsorship is no charity’. These words were loud and clear. And coming from Brandon, a person who virtually breathes golf, is a clear hint to those who feel they are doing charity by sponsoring an event. Another golf professional who has been in the field for quite some time, said in several countries the sponsors have to wait in a virtual queue for sponsorship. — TNS
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Bindra, Sushma pull out of World Cup squad
New Delhi, April 22 Pistol shooter Sushma Rana has also opted out of the squad on health grounds. Bindra cited no official reason for his last-minute pull out, though it is learnt that he was not fully prepared to compete in the big event, as he wanted to ensure that he was cent percent fit, and was in a position to give his best shot. Bindra’s bolt from the blue decision took Sunny Thomas by surprise as the Punjab shooter was considered the best bet among the Indian shooters. Prof Sunny Thomas said Abhinav was apparently nursing some back problem, which he had suffered at the Athens Olympics, and wanted to be on “traction” for two weeks to get back into shape. The young shooter had been carrying the problem all these months, though it got slightly aggravated during a training camp in Delhi, forcing him to seek medical attention for fully curing his back, instead of taking chances. With Susha Rana pulling out of the Brazil World Cup on health grounds, the coach now pins high hopes of striking it rich and earning quota berth on women rifle shooters Tejaswini Sawant, Avneet Kaur Sidhu and Kuheli Ganguly. Prof Thomas said Tejaswinii had come within one point of gaining an Olympic berth in the ISSF World Cup in China, immediately after the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne when she shot 395. And the coach expects her to make no such mistake in Brazil while Aveneet Kaur and Kuheli Ganguly are expected to do well, too. Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) included rifle shooter Anjali Ved Bhagwat in the 10m air rifle team for the coming ISSF World Cups in Munich and Milan, after excluding her from her pet event for the World Cups in China and Brazil. Anjali had also been kept out of the event for the Commonwealth Games but her scores of 399/400 in the trials in Delhi prompted the NRAI to bring her back in her pet event, to be in the company of Tejaswini and Avneet Kaur. Anuja Jung, wife of Samaresh Jung, who had struck gold at Melbourne, has been dropped while Deepali Deshpande has been picked for the rifle 3 position. Pistol shooters Ronak Pandit and S. Kumar and rifle shooters Imran Hasan Khana and Surendra Singh Rathore also figure in the World Cup squad with Kumar going to Brazil at his own expense. World Cup squad: Suma Shirur, Joydeep Karmakar, Sanjeev Rajput, Gagan Narang, Sonia Rana, Anuja Jung, Tejaswini Sawant, Avneet Kaur Sidhu, Anjali Bhagwat, Satendra Singh, Manoj Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Harpreet Singh, P T Raghunath, Kuheli Ganguly Aneesa Sayyed, Sushil Kale, Shweta Chowdhary, Biji V V, Soudamini Gavankar, Saroja Kumari, Jaspal Rana, Samresh Jung, Vijay Kumar, Pemba Tamang, Vivek Singh, Harveen Sarao and Ram Kishan.
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Sania lets India down
New Delhi, April 22 Shikha Uberoi put India ahead with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the first singles over 21-year-old and world number 179 Casey Dell’acqua who was playing in her maiden Fed Cup tie. But the Aussies pulled level as Sania Mirza, world ranked 40, went down 6-4, 6-2 to Samantha Stosur, who is ranked 17 places below her rival, in the second singles. Stosur, ranked number one in the doubles, then combined with Rennae Stubbs, world number six, to beat Sania and Shikha 7-6, 6-2 in the doubles rubber. Australia go through to the World Group 2 play-off while India remain in Group 1.
— PTI |
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Positive dope test was a surprise: lifter
New Delhi, April 22 Prameelavalli’s injury claims added a new twist to the intriguing dope scandals afflicting the sport as it contradicted the Indian Weightlifting Federation’s explanation that “family reasons” had prompted the Andhra lifter to skip the mega event. “I have no clue about my WADA samples testing positive. The federation has not contacted me since I have withdrawn from the Commonwealth team,” Prameelavalli said. “I came to know about the ban slapped on me through newspapers and I really wondered about it,” she said. Prameelavalli, who won medals in sub-junior, junior and senior categories, has been suspended for two years after she tested positive for a banned drug stanozonol in pre-event dope tests. —PTI
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