The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

PCA stadium gets thumbs up from ICC
Akash Ghai
Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 25
A four-member International Cricket Council panel expressed their satisfaction over the overall facilities at the PCA stadium here today for the forthcoming Champions Trophy in October.

“Undoubtedly, this is a world-class stadium having world class amenities. But there is need to upgrade the media facilities. We have discussed the issues with the officials concerned and they assured us to fulfill the requirements according to the ICC terms,” said Mr Brian Murgatroyd, Media Manager, ICC, and member of the panel, which visited the stadium today.

Apart from Mr Murgatroyd, ICC’s Pitch Consultant Andy Atkinson, Event Manager Warren Deutrom and M. H. Dundia were the other members of the panel.

The panel had a long meeting with PCA President Mr I. S. Bindra in which they discussed various issues like ground, wicket, pitch, nets, television coverage and media arrangements.

According to Mr Murgatroyd, the panel demanded more space in media boxes as well as fixed points for photographers outside the boundary to avoid interruption with their movements during the game. “We will fulfill their demand very soon,” said Mr Bindra.

On the issue of selling of corporate boxes by the PCA, which does not comply with the ICC's condition to have an advertisement-free stadium or prior marketing obligations, Mr Bindra said, “We have had a discussion on the issue and have sorted out the matter. Extra seating arrangements will be made in the air-conditioned lounge as per the ICC requirement to accommodate their officials. While the sale of stands cannot be revoked at this stage, we will not allow the corporate houses to put up their advertisements in the stands sold to them during the matches.”

To assess the pitch at the stadium, Mr Andy Atkinson met the curator Daljit Singh and had a discussion with him. This was the second visit of the ICC panel during this month. Earlier a five-member panel had visited the stadium on April 6 to see the facilities regarding television coverage, which included uplinking, camera positions, commentator boxes and branding.

As many as five matches of the Champions Trophy, including a semifinal, will be played here.

Explain crowd trouble in Guwahati, ICC to BCCI

Mumbai, April 25
International Cricket Council (ICC) has sent a missive to the Indian cricket board seeking the latter’s explanation for what it has termed ‘serious breach of security’ during the fourth one-day international between India and England at Guwahati which was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

“Malcolm Speed (the CEO of ICC) has sent us (BCCI) a letter asking for explanation over what he’s called serious breach of security. I will forward the letter to the Assam Cricket Association for its reply which I hope to get in four or five days,” BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI today.

“The ICC has also sent a copy of the report sent to it by match referee Roshan Mahanama which is a standard procedure.

After getting reply from ACA we would send a reply to the ICC,” Shah said.

The April 9 tie was called off by the umpires because of damp ground conditions, a decision that incensed a section of the crowd at the Nehru Stadium which turned unruly, throwing missiles on to the ground and burning posters in the galleries.

The crowd, which had patiently waited since morning for the match to begin, lost its cool after noon when the umpires called off the match after carrying out several inspections.

Some spectators in one section of the gallery started throwing water bottles and pelting stones on to the ground.

Soon the disturbance spread to the nearby stands with the crowd pulling down vinyl boards and other advertisements Some people gathered posters and banners and put them afire.

Some burning clothes were thrown in the area between the crowd fencing and the boundary line before the police brought things under control. — PTI

Raina, Sreesanth most impressive
Inzamam-ul Haq

S. Sreesanth

Suresh Raina

There has been a lot of cricket in recent months, prompting players to complain of fatigue owing to too much of travelling, particularly for one-day cricket, homesickness and lack of motivation. I shall come to this issue later.

I must say that India has pre-empted overexertion of its players by rotating them nicely. In sharp contrast, Australia are sticking to the same bunch of cricketers. As for Pakistan, we intend to resort to rotational policy in the coming season but the problem for us is that we are playing away from home.

Therefore, we have to be very careful and calculative while resting our players and at the same time winning matches because to me, winning is the best preparation for World Cup.

In the past six to eight months, Pakistan and India played their cricket in the sub-continent and that has been a huge advantage to them in the context of building the team or experimenting with fresh talent.

Players like Suresh Raina, Venugopal, Sreesanth, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ramesh Powar, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif proved themselves as future prospects and cricketers with immense talent and potential. I mean we played Asif on the hard and bouncy Sydney track but he looked very mediocre as compared to his heroics in the past four months. That’s what home conditions can do to the confidence of a youngster.

Of the young Indian talent, I am particularly impressed with Raina and Sreesanth. Raina has the flair and class of Michael Bevan who had the tenacity and approach to finish off games from any situation. Raina’s stroke selection is immaculate and the best part of his batting is that he is very good in finding gaps to push the ball for ones and twos.

Sreesanth is a player who has the aggression that is extremely essential for a fast bowler. He is not afraid to look into the eyes of any batsman nor he is reluctant to pass a remark or two. But staring and looks aside, Sreesanth has the pace, aggression, potential and above all, a thinking head on his shoulders to become one of the bowlers of future.

The true character of a fast bowler comes out when he returns for his second or third spell. And I was impressed to see Sreesanth charging in with the same zest and approach for the new spell. I would be very disappointed if he does not go on to become one of the most feared fast bowlers.

India will soon be leaving for the West Indies that will be a good learning experience for the players to have a feel of the environment and conditions. But I don't think India should read anything more into the tour in context to the World Cup.

The host nation has never won a World Cup and there have been instances where teams have toured the World Cup host country just before the mega event but still returned empty handed. Pakistan is a perfect example when we failed to reach the second stage after touring South Africa just a couple of weeks before the tournament.

For Pakistan, one season is over and the next is waiting just round the corner. We had 55 playing days in the past six months and approximately another 75 days of cricket from July before we arrive in the West Indies for the World Cup. That’s the amount of cricket being played nowadays.

To come back to the topic of too much cricket, the fact is that fatigue, lack of motivation and homesickness combine and the players start struggling to maintain their consistency on the field.

But I have no complaints or regrets because that is the demand nowadays and it is up to the players to adjust to the modern day requirements. That’s our job! But while saying this, I also fear that by the time the World Cup starts, the players might be completely drained and some of the top teams might even be forced to appear in the extravaganza without some of their frontline players.

Now, if that happens, it would not only take the gloss off the competition but it would also throw all the preparations of a particular team for the event out of the window. Let us hope that it does not happen.

At the moment, Australia, India and Pakistan have been playing some of the best cricket. But World Cup is still 10 months away and a lot of cricket is still to be played. So the debate on which team is peaking nicely for the World Cup is premature.

Australia, however, will definitely be the team to beat in the World Cup, chiefly because they have proved themselves in all conditions and against every opponent. Nevertheless, their Ashes series would be closely followed by their opponents and if England manage to pull a trick or two out of their hats, well, then every team will sniff a chance. — PTI

Quality of cricket suffering due to quantity,
says Steve Waugh

London, April 25
As burnout becomes the burning issue, former Australia skipper Steve Waugh believes balancing between Boards’ commitments and players’ interests is necessary as the quality of cricket was suffering because of quantity.

“You’ve got to get some balance there. You’ve got to realise you’re playing for your country and earning good money,” said the most capped Test player in the history of the game.

“However, the authorities have got to realise that if they keep such a heavy schedule, in the end the quality of the cricket will suffer, particularly among the quick bowlers,” he added.

He lamented that the bowling fraternity has suffered most due to the excess of cricket.

“The bowling stock has dropped off the past couple of years because the guys are tired. They’re the ones who are going to be adversely affected, especially through physical fatigue. When the quality of the bowling drops off, you’ll see these big scores and you get games that are not that great to watch. So they’ve got to be careful that they don’t overdo it,” the Aussie great told The Guardian in an interview.

For remedy, he suggested rotation policy, atleast in the shorter version of the game.

“One-day cricket being the more commercial aspect of the game, so I think you can rotate,” he said.

However, after wearing the Baggy Green for almost 19 years and 168 Tests, the Aussie has not had enough himself and said he craved to be a part of the epic Ashes series where Australia lost to England last year.

“Last year during the Ashes when it got really tight and exciting, I would think, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind being out there, still, in the heat of the battle’.” Waugh had an enviable record against the Poms. He played 46 Tests against England, hitting 10 centuries and averaging 58.18. In England, he averaged 74.22.

Burn out complaints rubbish: Miandad

Islamabad: Joining the debate over players’ burn-out due to busy international calender, former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has dismissed the complaints as “rubbish” and said it was a reality players should get used to.

“All these complaints about too much cricket nowadays is rubbish. In our days we yearned for more matches,” Miandad said.

“Look at the other sports globally and how much football, tennis and golf is played on the international circuit.

Cricket still lacks in global appeal because it is restricted to few countries,” he was quoted as saying by The News.

“It’s a reality players have to get used to and just try to maintain optimum fitness levels to avoid fatigue and burnout,” he added. Miandad, who has thrice been the coach of Pakistan team, said if players felt they were overburdened they could “pick and choose” the matches.

Miandad, however, agreed that proper rest period between matches during a series should be ensured. —UNI, PTI

McGrath is the world’s best bowler: Sehwag

Ludhiana, April 25
Virender Sehwag finds Australian paceman Glenn McGrath the most difficult bowler to tackle in world cricket because of his consistent line and length. “Till now in my whole cricket career, I have found that it is not easy to play against McGrath due to his perfect bowling in respect of line and length,” Sehwag said when asked which bowler he found most difficult to handle.

Asked if the recent success of players such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni had overshadowed the performances of other players, Sehwag said, “It does not matter who is performing. The good thing is that Indian team is winning consistently over other strong teams.”

Sehwag was in the city to meet his fans at his recently opened restaurant. After making a foray into restaurant business in Delhi and Ludhiana, the Delhi batsman plans to open restaurants in Allahabad and Jaipur. — PTI

RVC riders steal the show
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25
The Army’s Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) swept the Asian Show Jumping Challenge (Category A) with its riders bagging the top two positions during the ongoing Chandigarh horse show here today.

Naib Subedar Malchand Bishnoi of the RVC Centre, Meerut, and Dfr S. Poonia of the RVC School and Depot, Saharanpur, were declared first and second in the event organised in India for the first time. The third position was bagged by Hav Giridhari Lal of the Shivalik Riding and Pony Club, Chandigarh, followed by Constable Dharam Pal of the Delhi Police.

Bishnoi, who has been riding for the past 12 years, has represented India in several international equestrian events. He bagged gold at the World Challenge Show Jumping at Kolkata in December, 2002. At the Delhi Horse Show this year, he had several firsts to his credit in open jumping and open knockout. He has also represented India in international events in China and Korea.

There were a total of 10 riders participating in the show jumping. Their names would be forwarded to the Asian Equestrian Federation for compiling finals results at the Asian level. Similar competitions are being held in other countries. The competition required riders to compete in a “tough and tight” course comprising 11 obstacles within an arena of 70 meters by 36 meters.

Other events today included several competitions for children, trick riding, junior hacks and successive relay. The results, in the order of merit are: Children Ball Bucket Gp-II — Vattandeep Singh (PPS); Amber (CHRS); Children Ball Bucket Gp-II – Adhiraj Toor; Kartic Singh (both CHRS), Nipun (SRPC); Children Jumping III – Zorawar Singh.

3 Indians in lead after second round

Dubai, April 25
Talented youngster M.R. Lalith Babu put up a fine show to beat International Master Sergey Kayumov of Uzbekistan in the second round of Dubai International Open chess championship for Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup here.

Grandmaster R.B. Ramesh and teenager S.P. Sethuraman were the other Indians to come up with flawless performances.

Playing with black, Ramesh had to withstand a slightly dubious onslaught from compatriot O.T. Anil Kumar but once the GM got his counter play rolling there was no defence for his opponent at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.

Sethuraman scored over compatriot IM Vishal Sareen, who was outdone early in the middle game, on what turned out to be a better day for the huge Indian contingent.

After the first two rounds of this $ 40,000 prize money tournament, 23 players share the lead with a perfect score.

Lalith Babu, Ramesh and Sethuraman are among the leaders while IM Abhijeet Gupta, woman Grandmaster Aarthie Ramamswamy and world under-12 champion N. Srinath are in the next group of 1.5 pointers.

Lalith Babu employed his pet Caro Kann defence and put up stiff resistance when Kayumov was seen pressing for an advantage.

The Advance Variation by the Uzbek did not yield a desirable position in the middle game and Lalith Kumar superbly shredded white’s position into pieces in the final stages of the game.

Among other Indians in the fray, IM Prathamesh Mokal went down fighting against top seed Izoria Zviad of Georgia in a keenly contested game.

Playing the white side of a Sicilian Scheveningen, Mokal played it safe in the opening and allowed Zviad to gain a balanced position early in the middle game.

As the game progressed, it looked like drifting towards a draw but the Georgian hung in there and created a lot of problems for a slightly defensive white pieces to finally get the breakthrough he was looking for.

The endgame finally turned out in the favour of the Georgian after Mokal made an error.

D. Sai Srinivas was beaten by Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia in a one-sided affair while Aarthie Ramaswamy missed out a few winning opportunities before settling for peace with GM norm holder Safarli Eltaz of Azerbaijan.

After a disastrous first round loss, double GM norm holder Parimarjan Negi made short work of Valerio Axel of Philippines. — PTI