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Another controversy hits CAB poll
Dalmiya fails to get reprieve
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Mongia’s selection shows maturity of selectors
10 ducks, 5 runs!
Sania crashes out
Champions Trophy probables by August 8
Eves lose to SA
England down India
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Another controversy hits CAB poll
Kolkata, July 26 The CAB authorities, in the presence of the observer for scrutinising the list, found the relevant papers nominating their representatives by the Bata Sporting Club and Ranger’s Club invalid. As a result, both the clubs had been debarred from participating in the July 30 CAB elections. City police chief Prasun Mukherjee, the presidential candidate against Dalmiya, was also present during the scrutiny along with several others followers. Irregularities were also detected in the papers forwarded by three more clubs — Ballygunge sporting club, Victoria Club and Sir Gurudas Club — and the respective authorities had been asked to be present at the club house to represent their cases. Dispute was also raised by some CAB members on the validity of the papers filed in favour of Snehasish Ganguly, elder brother of Sourav by Barisa Sporting Club. But the observer ignored their objections. Dalmia hoped that final voters’ list would be declared by 5 p.m tomorrow and the election be held as schedule on July 30. Meanwhile, Prasun Mukherjee was involved in a verbal duel with some media persons and the CAB officials over conducting of the joint press meet by the two contestants. Mukherjee soon left the meeting in a hub protesting against the “ill behaviour” of the CAB officials. Though Ajit Kumar Panja, representing the Calcutta High Sports Club, denied that he had filed his nomination paper for contesting in the presidential election, the observer, after scrutinising relevant papers, declared Panja’s nomination valid and it was now left to Panja to decide either to contest or withdraw from the fray. Panja, however, reiterated today that some body else must have filed nomination paper in his name in order to create confusion. He alleged his signature also had been forged. There has been no question of my contesting the election, Panja said adding that they all want a change in the CAB leadership and he personally would be glad to see Mukherjee in the CAB in place of Dalmiya.
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Dalmiya fails to get reprieve
Kolkata, July 26 Chief Judge of the City Civil Court P.K. Sarkar refused to stay the summons issued to Dalmiya by the BCCI disciplinary committee to appear before it at 1 pm today following his alleged failure to reply to a showcause notice. The BCCI has, however, deferred the disciplinary committee’s proceedings against Dalmiya after the former the BCCI chief filed the suit challenging the summons. The court directed the BCCI to file its written objection within two weeks to Dalmiya’s suit challenging the legality and validity of the cricket board’s summons asking him to appear before the disciplinary committee. It gave Dalmiya another one week’s time to file his reply to the written objections by the BCCI and would fix the matter for hearing thereafter. The former BCCI president Dalmiya had yesterday filed the suit before the City Civil Court challenging the summons. In the suit, Dalmiya prayed for an order to the BCCI management not to give effect to his suspension on April 19 from attending BCCI meetings as CAB President and the notice dated July 17, vide which he was asked to appear before the disciplinary committee. The disciplinary committee is headed by BCCI president Sharad Pawar and includes Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin. The BCCI had issued showcause notice to Dalmiya, asking him to furnish details of transfer of Rs 40 crore from an Indian Overseas Bank account in Bhawanipur to Cricket Association of Bengal between 1996 to 2005 when he was the president. After Dalmiya failed to reply to the notice, the BCCI debited the amount to CAB and also decided to withhold all subsidies to it. Earlier, the Board had alleged misappropriation of the 1996 World Cup funds by Dalmiya and filed an FIR at a Mumbai police station a few months ago.
— PTI
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Murali boost for depleted SA
Colombo, July 26 Sri Lanka’s prolific spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said the Proteas will be tough to beat in the two-match series despite being crippled by the absence of three key players, including captain Graeme Smith. Smith and leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis are recovering at home from injuries while veteran Shaun Pollock opted to skip the first Test at the Sinhalese sports club following the birth of his second child. “Lots of people think the series will be a cakewalk for us, but that is not going to happen,” said Muralitharan, whose 635 Test wickets are bettered only by Australian record-holder Shane Warne’s 685. “They are a very competitive side. They may lack two or three key players, but they’ll still push us hard. We can't take them lightly. “We may be the favourites because we are playing at home, but we will have to play very well. England is over. You just can’t keep admiring past performances,” the 34-year-old said. Sri Lanka enjoyed a successful tour of England recently where they fought back to draw the Test series 1-1 and blanked the hosts 5-0 in the one-dayers. Captain Mahela Jayawardena hinted that Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s most successful Test batsman with 6,621 runs in 103 matches, may once again open the innings, displacing young Michael Vandort who opened in England. “We have not finalised anything yet but Sanath is a genuine opener and has been successful,” said Jayawardena, who also led in England in the absence of regular captain Marvan Atapattu. “We will obviously miss our three big players but it’s an opportunity for others to show their worth,” said the left-handed batsman who has played in 21 Tests. “We have had a good outing in the three-day game with most of our batsmen getting runs and the bowlers also had a good work out.” Jacques Rudolph, a late replacement for Smith, hit 157 and 58 in the tour opener against Sri Lanka’s ‘A’ team, Hashim Amla made 150 and Prince and A.B. De Villiers scored half-centuries. Herschelle Gibbs returns as opener to partner Boeta Dippenaar after being dropped from the home series against New Zealand in April-May due to poor form. Paceman Makhaya Ntini, ranked second behind Muralitharan in the International Cricket Council’s Test ratings, spearheads the bowling attack that includes Andre Nel, Andrew Hall and spinner Nicky Boje. Pollock, who arrives tomorrow, will play in the second Test at the Sara stadium here from August 4. Squads (from): South Africa: Ashwell Prince (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Hashim Amla, Jacques Rudolph, A.B. De Villiers, Mark Boucher, Andrew Hall, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Dale Steyn. Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardena (capt), Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Michael Vandort.
— AFP
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Injuries overshadow second England-Pakistan Test
Manchester, July 26 Last week England suffered a major setback when Andrew Flintoff, who missed the drawn series opener at Lord’s, was ruled out for the rest of the reason with an ankle injury. England had hoped the star all-rounder would return to captain them for the second match of the series at his Lancashire home ground. Instead he faces a fresh operation. And their pace bowling resources were further depleted yesterday when Durham quick Liam Plunkett was ruled out of this match, and the third Test at Headingley, with a side strain. Already without Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan (knee), fast bowler Simon Jones (knee) and spinner Ashley Giles (hip), England at least have the consolation of being at home where replacements from the county game are plentiful in number, if not quality. Pakistan though have been equally hard-hit. They remain without the pace trio who were all absent at Lord’s: Shoaib Akhtar (ankle), Mohammad Asif (elbow) and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who has been ruled out of the whole series with a groin problem. Batsmen Younis Khan (knee) and Shoaib Malik (elbow) are, however, available for selection once again. But there was further bad news for Pakistan yesterday when leg-spinning all-rounder Shahid Afridi was hit on his right arm when batting in the nets and seamer Rao Iftikhar Anjum, summoned as a replacement, had to return home for a family bereavement. The loss of Flintoff, however, will be keenly felt by his adoring Manchester crowd, but Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said: “We can’t look at individuals. We must look at the England team as it comes and get on with the game of cricket. We’ll just carry on with the game.”
— AFP
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Mongia’s selection shows maturity of selectors
Twenty to go. This is how the Indian team would be looking at their one-day cricket from now on. Twenty matches to go before the World Cup and when the time comes to play that first World Cup game, India should feel that they have looked at all options available up till now and this is what we think is the best. The best 15 players that give us the best shot at the Cup.
I would like to think that the selectors are still looking and their net is still spread wide out there, to catch players, showing either sparks of talent or strong performances. At the end of the 20 matches, the Indian team should culminate into a unit that has been formed after a genuinely exhausting exercise that has lasted for more than a year, after tapping various alternatives. The team that goes to West Indies for the World Cup then should be a team that has each player worth his salt. Then it does not matter his age, his past or his experience. It should be a player that excites the team management with his promise at the time. Based on these thoughts, I believe there should not be too much scrutiny of the team selected for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. Perhaps that energy of ours could be preserved when the team for the World Cup is announced. Dinesh Mongia, who played in the last World Cup, is back in the Indian team after a long absence. Whatever could be the stories floating around his selection, I look at it as maturity on the part of the selectors. They have showed that although youth is an important consideration in their planning they are not going to be obsessed with it. This selection is on pure performance though on English county performances. Suddenly county cricket performances have become more and more relevant for Indian cricket selections. We even have Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan staking their claims for Indian selection from England. This also means that Indian players who do not play county cricket are somewhat at a disadvantage. Mongia clearly would not have been back in this Indian team if not for his contract with a certain county in England. With India playing around the year and having international commitments now in June, July and August and with our domestic season finishing much before that in April, there are no match opportunities for fringe players to make a strong case for selection, unless he is influential enough to get a county contract. A situation that the BCCI could make note of. So here we have Mongia’s performances in England been rewarded, while Zaheer Khan’s have not. But it seems not for long, as Zaheer keeps sending these strong messages to the Indian selectors, through the only way you should, by outstanding performances. Anil Kumble’s unbelievable perseverance as a bowler has got him back in the reckoning for one-day cricket, a possibility that was almost ruled out two years back as focus had shifted to youth and energy in the field. Though he is not picked in the team for Sri Lanka, you can quite clearly gauge that he is a strong candidate for the Indian team for the World Cup. By not selecting him in the team but keeping him well informed about their long-term plans with him, the selectors have shown the virtue of communication. Importance of a dialogue between players and selectors can never be under-estimated. Kumble today is not in the Indian team but he is not unhappy or hurt, for he has been motivated by the words passed on to him by the men in charge. This contact between players and selectors helps keep the harmony in the dressing room, so vital for winning performances. And really Kumble has reached a stage in his career that he does not need one-day match practice, to excel if he has to, in the more important one day matches later. Kumble, after 16 year of international cricket, is now predictably a good bowler and its just a matter of the team management visualising him bowling the way he does against certain batting oppositions in given match conditions. Finally, needless to say, it is going to be a tough outing for India as they take on South Africa and Sri Lanka in testing weather conditions. Even after that 4-1 loss in the last one-day series in West Indies, there is no denying the fact that India is still a very good one-day team. And unlike West Indies, they would be hoping that this time, they return with some answers and not, more questions.
— PTI
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10 ducks, 5 runs!
London, July 26 It was definitely a day to forget for bottom of the table Goldsborough Second XI in their match against Dishforth. Interestingly, all the 10 wickets fell to catches, each batsman having managed to strike the ball. Undeterred, the team set about defending their meagre total and snapped up two quick wickets without conceding a run. Their hopes were dashed, however, when the third batsman for Dishforth, the home side, earned victory for his team through the only runs to come from the bat in the match. The match is thought to be the lowest scoring game in the 112-year history of the Nidderdale and the District Amateur Cricket League in North Yorkshire. Wisden Almanack, the cricketers’ bible, described Disforth’s feat as very rare. Chris Lane, Wisden’s managing director, said it was also amazing that every Goldsborough batsman had been caught. “Having all put bat to ball, it’s quite extraordinary that they didn’t manage to get a single run,” he said. But records show the batting failure was exceeded in the Midlands in 1931 when Shepstone’s XI were all out for only four extras. Goldsborough’s runs were achieved through four byes and a leg bye in fewer than 12 overs against the division four leaders. Peter Horseman, captain of the losing team, said it was a “surreal and embarrassing experience.”
— PTI
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Abhinav silences critics Chandigarh, July 26 Two years ago, he made it to the final at the Athens Olympics. And he has done it again at the 49th ISSF World Championships at Zagreb, Croatia, where he clinched the gold in the 10 m air rifle event on Monday and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was his sheer determination which prompted him to participate in the world championship, despite the fact that he was down with fever and backache. Abhinav has been suffering from chronic back pain for the past three years. Dr Amit Bhatacharya, Abhinav’s mental trainer and sports doctor accompanied him to Zagreb for mental and psychological support as Abhinav was distressed due to his ailment. Dr Amit showered praises on Abhinav: “I have never seen a person with such a strong mental strength and love for the nation. He was not well before the final round event. Because of his deteriorating physical condition, I advised him to take things lightly and refrain from any kind of mental or physical pressure. He finished his preliminary rounds much before the scheduled time as he couldn’t stand in the same posture for a prolonged period. Before the final round, he complained of backache. He was immediately shifted to his hotel room and was given ‘traction’.” Talking about Abhinav’s ailment, Dr Bhatacharya said, “Due to the hectic practice schedule, he has developed a problem of ‘lumberspine’ and ‘flat foot’ which was not diagnosed properly. The excess pressure which the spine cannot bear is ultimately diverted to the legs. “I along with a team of doctors from Neuro and Physiotherapy wings of PGI worked on his problem and develop a medial arch support and special shoes. We designed a special schedule where there is mental training in early morning followed by spine relaxing exercises for half an hour before going out for shooting practice.” Abhinav’s elated father — A.S. Bindra — said, “What he achieved was more than what we expected as he was not physically fit and was down with fever. I only wanted him to participate and earn a quota place but he made my day when he won the gold.” Dr V S Sachdeva, a Chandigarh-based doctor, who examined Abhinav before he left for the championship, said, “Just twenty minutes before he left for Croatia, Abhinav was down with high fever and had pain in his throat. As their family doctor, I advised him not to travel in these conditions and take complete bed rest. But it was his willpower and grit that, despite his suffering, he performed so well.” But Abhinav would not have time to reflect on his remarkable achievement as immediately after his win he flew to Munich to consult a specialist about his back problem. There have only been two other instances of Indian shooters winning a World championship medal. Dr Karni Singh had won the trap silver in 1962 in Cairo and Lt Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had bagged the bronze in Cyprus in 2003.
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Sania crashes out
New Delhi, July 26 The 42-ranked Sania, who made it into the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open last week, missed the desired consistency required once again and went down to Bardina. She lost the first set without much of a fight and was swept aside in the second. Bardina will play Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who received a bye in the first round, the second round. Sania is partnering American Bethanie Mattek in doubles and will meet the Russian-Ukrainian pair of Alla Kudryavtseva and Tetiana Luzhanska in the first round. US-based Shikha Oberoi and Yelena Jankovic beat top seed pair of Slovak Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-3, 6-4 to sail into the second round of the doubles event.
— PTI
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Champions Trophy probables by August 8
Mumbai, July 26 “The first list of 30 probables needs to be sent to the International Cricket Council on or before August 8. The final 14-member list has to decided not later than September 7 as per the directive from the ICC,” a BCCI source said today. The 10-team tournament, with four of these playing the preliminaries to decide the two teams entering the tournament proper, would be held in four centres — Mumbai (Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium), Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Mohali. The semifinals are to be held on November 1 and 2 at Mohali and Jaipur, respectively, while the final is slated to be held at the Brabourne Stadium here on November 5. All the matches would be day/night affairs.
— PTI
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Eves lose to SA
Durban, July 26 South Africa yesterday took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal by mid-fielder Lenise Marais. India drew level in the 21st minute when Deepika scored from a melee in the penalty area. The South Africans scored the winner in the final stages of the game through captain Marsha Marescia. Team announced
New Delhi: A 17-member Indian women’s hockey team will leave for Singapore on August 1 to participate in a four-nation tournament to be held from August 3-6. The tour is one of the several series being played by the Indian team to assess the performance of the players before declaring probables for the World Cup and Asian Games 2006. The team: Marita Tirkey, Poonam Toppo, Ranjita Barla, Anjana Barla, Sarita Hanuman, Ritu Rani, Sushma Kiran Minz, Reena Kanti Ekka, Eti Shrivastava, Rijuta Mullick, Manjari, Harmanjit Kaur, Kirandeep Kaur, Harpreet Kaur, Binita Xess, Th. Chanchan Devi, Joydeep Kaur.
— PTI
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England down India
New Delhi, July 26 Harinderpal Singh once again came up with a gutsy performance after losing the first game against Joe Lee, but ultimately lost 2-9, 2-9, 10-8, 5-9 in 71 minutes. Singh was 8-2 match ball down in the third before he made a remarkable comeback to win the third game. Both players, especially Joe with his huge reach picked up all that was thrown at him. Joe prevailed in the fourth with some excellent length winners. Sandeep Jangra then lost to Tom Pashley 8-10, 2-9, 6-9 in 33 minutes. Sandeep played some brilliant winners in the first game but was unable to capitalise and keep his momentum losing in straight games.
— PTI
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