History on our side: Brian Lara
Ashis Ray

Kingston, May 17
Established in 1834, The Gleaner is to Jamaica what The Tribune is to Punjab. Despite the Indian cricketers being here since Friday, only in the last couple of days has coverage of the tourists crept into its pages. 

The grand old lady of print has been preoccupied — and still is — with guessing whether the American Justin Gatlin, who broke the world 100 metres record last week, will race the previous holder, Asafa Powell of Jamaica at Gateshead, England next month!

“Cricket,” said my talkative taxi-driver, “is still the most popular sport in this island, though football has caught up with it.” In this land of the legendary George Headley — the man historians labelled as the “black Bradman” but whose ardent admirers proudly preferred to call the Australian, Don Bradman “white Headley” — the mention of cricket still fetches a sparkle from a man’s eyes. But this fades, as the reality of the ruins of today’s West Indian cricket dawns on him.

Brian Lara, master batsman and captain by rotation, asserted: “I feel if we perform as a team, we are capable of overhauling them (India).” He later told a press conference: “History is in our favour”. After three years in the one-day wilderness, wicket-keeper and local boy, Carlton Baugh Junior replaced 21-year-old Denesh Ramdin in the 14.

Happily, a wider tussle for a place in the sun — as opposed to the bench — characterises the Indians, who will wait till the morning of the match to announce their XI. But Mohammed Kaif, whose batting failures caused him to be overlooked recently, is likely to get an opportunity to re-establish himself in the middle order, with skipper Rahul Dravid hinting that he might open the innings. Five specialist bowlers is perfectly justified against the West Indies, whose performance of late has been inferior to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England — the three outfits India have comfortably overcome in the past six months.

More so, since Irfan Pathan is now virtually an all-rounder; and Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh can both be expected to contribute with the bat. A pitch with some pace and bounce — as compared to Indian wickets — could greet the Indians here at Sabina Park.

A five-man attack would necessitate Mahendra Dhoni batting at number six and reflect a remarkably young middle order in Yuvraj Singh, Kaif and Suresh Raina or Venugopala Rao — a reflection of the revolution coach Greg Chappell has brought about. The question is: who will carry the drinks among S. Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Rudra Pratap Singh? The senior off-spinner Harbhajhan Singh, with Ramesh Powar snapping at his heels, has lately improved his line and length and also been delivering his straighter or arm balls with an element of surprise. He is almost certain to get the nod, with the portly Maharashtrian nursing a twisted ankle.

The satisfactory workout in the solitary warm-up game at Montego Bay on Tuesday is indication of the Indians being on the road to adapting to the conditions and the ten and a half hour time difference. But disposing off a Jamaica XI is one thing, repeating the feat against a full strength West Indian side — no matter how wooden they are at present as compared to the past — quite another. India need to most vigilant when acclimatisation is still, arguably, incomplete.

But the Jamaica jinx is again circling over India. Four years ago, both ODIs at Sabina Park were abandoned because of heavy downpours. The forecast for Thursday is “mostly cloudy”. This may aid Pathan’s swing, as long as it doesn’t rain.

Teams: India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Venugopala Rao, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel and Robin Uthappa.

West Indies: Brian Lara (capt), Chris Gayle, Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh (wk), Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Dave Mohammad.

Hours of play (IST): 8 pm to 11.30 pm, 12.10 am till close of play. 

Dravid unperturbed by injuries to players 

Kingston, May 17
Indian captain Rahul Dravid says his side has enough talent to cushion the loss of off-spinner Ramesh Powar and paceman S Sreesanth for the first cricket one-dayer against the West Indies here tomorrow.

"Romesh Powar's injury is disappointing since he was being greatly utilised in recent months. As for Sreesanth, he is being monitored constantly. But it gives somebody else an opportunity to show his value," Dravid said ahead of tomorrow's game at Sabina Park.

Powar twisted his ankle while fielding in a simulated practice session earlier this week while Sreesanth is carrying a bruised heel from the games in Abu Dhabi last month.

"The thing is you don't want to risk young players, especially when they get injured. You cannot play people with injuries, especially if they have a long tour ahead," the skipper said.

Dravid was disappointed that the team did not get an opportunity to practise at Sabina Park but he said he did not want it to be an excuse if his team did not perform well.

"Ideally you would like to practice on the ground where you are playing but at the end of the day, it is a ground where we have played in the past.

He acknowledged that the Caribbeans were competitive in home conditions but did not want to dwell on their strengths.

"Instead of the opposition, we prefer to look after our own performance, own squad, plan, tactics etc. That is what we are focusing upon," Dravid added. — PTI

Players must abide by BCCI’s guidelines, says Sehwag

New Delhi, May 17
After being reprimanded by the BCCI for his comments on player burnout and Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag has said cricketers should abide by the guidelines of the BCCI on such issues.

“There has been a BCCI law (on speaking to Press) from the beginning. The BCCI is supporting the players so much, providing them all the facilities, I don’t think any player should break this law,” Sehwag said.

“We started (speaking to the Press) in between which was against the law. Whenever the BCCI gives us permission, we will write columns and give interviews. Until then we will not speak,” the Delhi batsman told India TV in a programme.

Sehwag said when the BCCI was doing so much for the players, the players must also respect its guidelines.

“If BCCI tells a player something, the player must accept it, considering it is a part of his contract.”

The dashing batsman had earned a reprimand from the BCCI for his comments on burnout and Ganguly in an interview to PTI recently. 
— PTI 

India send warning in tour opener

Montego Bay , May 17
Mahendra Singh Dhoni served early warning to the bowlers in the Caribbean with a swashbuckling knock in India’s tour opening practice match against Jamaica Eleven at Jarrett Park here.

The wicketkeeper-batsman smashed four fours and three sixes in his 45 from 23 balls as the Indians notched up 289 runs for the loss of seven wickets before bowling out the hosts for 173 in 45 overs.

Dhoni had a comfortable platform to unleash his powerful strokes when he arrived at the crease in the final 10 overs.

Openers Virender Sehwag (33) and Rahul Dravid (31) had put on 65 for the first wicket followed by Suresh Raina (50) and Mohammad Kaif (49) who built on the solid platform.

Dhoni didn’t fail to provide a flourish in the end with all three of his sixes deserving mention. His first was a low flat which hit the fence like a whistle. He then drove a six off Daren Powell which cleared the ground and landed on top of a three-storey building across the street.

The Jharkhand lad’s last pick-up from an off-spinner also kept travelling in a line parallel to the ground.

Sehwag played a contrasting knock but just when he seemed to be hitting straps with two successive fours, he dabbed a catch to wicketkeeper off the hard-working Daren Powell.

Skipper Dravid was done in by umpire Cecil Fletcher and made his point by glancing at the umpire more than once while trudging back.

Scoreboard

India

Sehwag c Hibbert b Powell 33

Dravid lbw Richardson 31

Raina retired 50

Yuvraj c Hibbert b Lawson 18

Kaif b Richardson 49

Rao not out 15

Dhoni b Powell 45

Pathan c Lambert b Richardson 6

Agarkar not out 12

Extras (w-13, nb-3, lb-10, b-4) 30

Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 289

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-76, 3-114, 4-207, 5-209, 6-264, 7-273.

Bowling: Lawson 10-0-60-1, Powell 10-1-53-2, Richardson 9.3-0-47-3, Brown 10-0-45-0, Sinclair 6-0-29-0, Lambert 4-0-36-0, Hyatt 0.3-0-5-0.

Jamaica

Ebanks c Harbhajan b R.P. Singh 21

Hyatt c&b Pathan 10

Pagon c Dravid b Munaf 4

Lambert c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 33

Hinds lbw Agarkar 12

Sinclair c Agarkar b Yuvraj 2

Morgan not out 19

Hibbert lbw Harbhajan 0

Powell c Pathan b Sehwag 24

Brown c Dhoni b Munaf 22

Lawson c Yuvraj b Patel 6

Extras (lb-3, b-4, w-13) 20

Total (all out, 45 overs) 173

Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-39, 3-50, 4-71, 5-84, 6-99, 7-103, 8-133, 9-162.

Bowling: Pathan 6-2-23-1, Patel 9-2-30-3, R.P. Singh 6-2-18-1, Agarkar 6-2-18-1, Harbhajan 5-0-14-2, Yuvraj 4-0-7-1, Sehwag 4-1-22-1, Raina 3-0-14-0, Rao 2-0-17-0. — PTI

SC declines to take up HPCA dispute
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, May 17
The dispute between rival factions of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) fighting for control of the body was again tossed up to the HP High Court by the Supreme Court today as it declined to entertain petitions for transfer of the matter to itself.

The transfer petitions were filed by the BCCI and the HPCA faction, headed by Rajinder Zar, which has been recognised as an official state body by the Himachal Pradesh Government.

After a Bench of Mr Justice B. P. Singh and Mr Justice R. V. Raveendran refused to entertain the transfer petitions, both the BCCI and Zar’s faction sought to withdraw them and pleaded that they be allowed to address arguments in the HP High Court on the validity of a legislation on registration of sports bodies in the state.

Dispute arose after HPCA faction headed by Anurag Thakur had challenged the legislation passed by the Virbhadra Singh Government in 2005, bringing under its ambit all sports bodies in the state to grant recognition to them.

As a consequence, the state government had recognised Zar’s faction as an official body controlling cricket in the state, while the rival faction of Thakur, had challenged the legislation by terming it as “arbitrary”.

World record amended for Gatlin

Paris, May 17
Justin Gatlin’s world record time in the men’s 100m has been amended from 9.76 secs to 9.77 secs equalling but not bettering the previous mark, the IAAF announced today.

Gatlin was timed at 9.76 secs at a IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Doha on May 12, a mark which was one-hundredths of a second faster than the existing world record set by Jamaica’s Asafa Powell in 2005.

But in a statement, the IAAF said the actual timing for the American was 9.766 secs, which meant it should have been rounded up to 9.77 and not 9.76.

“Therefore, Gatlin’s time will now be adjusted to 9.77, and pending ratification, will equal the previous 100m world record of Asafa Powell set in 2005,” the IAAF statement said. — AFP

Asia’s reputation is on the line, says AFC chief

Singapore, May 17
Asia’s standing as a reputable footballing continent will be on the line at the World Cup, and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed bin Hammam today rallied regional teams to stand up and be counted.

Five Asian Football Confederation teams will be in action — Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, with plenty at stake.

“In the context of Asian football’s profile on the world stage, this is the reputation and credibility of Asia,” bin Hammam told AFP in an interview.

“We say that ‘the future is Asia, and in the past we have claimed that Asia has never been fairly represented in terms of the FIFA World Cup and other international football activities.

“Therefore, the 2006 FIFA World Cup is the time for us to show what we have in our hands.” Japan and South Korea successfully joint-hosted the last World Cup in 2002 and both teams performed well in front of home fans, but whether they can repeat the feat in hostile territory remains to be seen.

If they flop, their 2002 efforts may go down as a fluke.

Australia, meanwhile, are playing in their first World Cup in 32 years, while Iran has never progressed beyond the group stages.

Saudi Arabia’s best effort was in 1994 in the United States when it tore through the group stage to reach the round of 16, where it fell to Sweden.

Bin Hammam said how Asian teams fare will determine how the region as a whole is regarded by FIFA, world football’s governing body.

“Obviously there are two scenarios: based on a positive performance, new facts will need to be presented to FIFA to review AFC’s ranking on the world stage,” he said.

“Likewise, should we have a negative performance, this is contrary to what we are claiming and we will need to review ourselves. Hopefully this will not happen.

“All I can say at this stage is that I hope our Asian teams perform in a way to honour the fans in Asia, and to make us proud of our sporting achievements.” Asian champions Japan start their World Cup campaign against Australia on June 12 in the tough Group F which also includes Brazil and Croatia.

South Korea, semi-finalists at the last World Cup, open their Group G account against African debutants Togo in Frankfurt on June 13. They will also play 1998 champions France and Switzerland.

Iran are grouped with Mexico, Portugal and Angola while the Saudis take on Tunisia, Ukraine and Spain.

Bin Hammam said that whatever happened, the popularity of football in Asia would be boosted by the June 9-July 9 extravaganza.

“In terms of our fans, we already know that football is Asia’s number one sport,” he said.

“Saying that, I do think that the popularity and impact of the World Cup will have a positive commercial effect on AFC competitions and on domestic football in Asia in making football more attractive to the commercial sector.

“This is in terms of both interest and contribution from broadcasters and sponsors.” — AFP

Sasikiran draws, finishes 5th

Sarajevo, May 17
Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran had to be content with a fifth place finish after drawing his 10th and final round game with German GM Arkadij Naiditsch in the Bosnia 2006 international Grandmasters chess tournament.

Needing a little more than 50 per cent score from the tournament to break even, Sasikiran finished with 4.5 points out of a possible 10 and will lose some Elo rating points from the event.

However on the brighter side, Sasikiran can take this event as his preparations before the 37th chess Olympiad that starts in a few days time in Turin, Italy, in which the ONGC employee is likely to play on the second board for the country.

The last round of high category event did not have much for the enthusiastic fans as top seeded Romanian Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu played it safe as white against Vladimir Malakhov of Russia and Magnus Carlsen did not succeed in breaking the defence of home contender Borki Predojevic.

As a result, Nisipeanu, Carlsen and Malakhov finished tied first on 5.5 points apiece while Predojevic finished fourth on five points.

Sasikiran was next on 4.5 points while Dortmund champion Naiditsch finished last in the six-players double round robin event. — PTI 

Compiled by Pankaj Vasudeva; Graphic: Gaurav Sood