Bangalore, August 1 Indian vice-captain Virender Sehwag today rebutted John Wright’s charge that there was zonal bias in team selection, saying five men are involved in picking a player and talent cannot be hidden for long.
Irfan Pathan (right) enjoys a light moment with team-mates Suresh Raina (centre) and Wasim Jaffar during a practice session at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on Tuesday. — AFP photo

Dressing rooms are not churches: Wright
Sees no big deal even if players abused him
Christchurch, August 1
“Dressing rooms are not churches”, says the former Indian cricket coach John Wright, dismissing Sunil Gavaskar’s claim that he was abused by Indian players. Gavaskar, who was batting consultant with the Indian team towards the end of Wright’s four-year tenure as the coach, had written in a column that the players abused the New Zealander.

SA regroup after Murali assault
Colombo, August 1
South Africa today tried to unravel the mystery that has confounded the cricket world for years — how to stop Muttiah Muralitharan from taking wickets. The search drew a blank although Proteas’ coach Mickey Arthur insisted his batsmen had started to play the Sri Lankan spin wizard “better and better.” Arthur’s comment came after Muralitharan completed a match haul of 10-172 on Monday to send South Africa crashing to an innings and 153-run defeat in the first Test at the Sinhalese sports club ground.

Bangalore, August 1
Indian vice-captain Virender Sehwag today rebutted John Wright’s charge that there was zonal bias in team selection, saying five men are involved in picking a player and talent cannot be hidden for long.

“Talented players get picked whether he is from west or north zone,” Sehwag said at a press conference.

“Obviously when you have a north zone selector in the committee, he will make a mention about players who have been performing well at the meeting. The player does not get selected because he is from north zone. Ultimately it is the decision of the five selectors,” the Delhi batsman said on the final day of the fitness camp here.

“If you want more details you speak to John Wright as he had attended all meetings in his five-year stint,” he added.

Wright, the former coach, had said in his recently published book ‘Indian Summers’, that India’s selection system was based on zonal quota.

Sehwag welcomed the return of Sachin Tendulkar to the team after an injury layoff and confirmed that the duo will open the innings in the tri-series in Sri Lanka.

Asked to react on eight or nine different players with whom he has opened the innings during the last one year, Sehwag said it did not affect him. “It depends on what combination we use and require. Obviously, if Tendulkar is there, he and I will open,” he said.

“Winning matches is more important and keeping the same batting order does not mean anything to me. All teams in the world experiment in one-day matches.” Sehwag said the team was keen to set its one-day record in Sri Lanka straight.

“We have been going there and getting into the final without success. This time we want to win the cup,” he said of the tri-series to be held from August 14 to 29.

Sehwag said South Africa, the third team in the fray, were a top one-day side but the conditions would be in favour of the subcontinent teams.

“As for South Africa, they have some exciting young players. But the weather conditions and the slower wickets will be of advantage to us.” Sehwag was appreciative of the idea to use kookaburra balls during the cricket-specific camp to be held from August 5 here.

“When we go abroad, we play with kookaburra balls. It swings more but does not help spinners as the seam goes in after about 30 or 40 overs.”

Sehwag praised the idea to let the team train in an Army camp involving military drills. “It was more challenging mentally than physically. We were training in groups,” he said.

“The boys enjoyed shooting mostly. We were made to do some drills that the troops do on our borders. The situation was one has to save his partner and himself. In a sense, it was important because in cricket while running between the wickets it is all about taking good calls as well.

“Tai Chi is about balancing. It was our first experience. Body balance is important in cricket as well.”

Team trainer Gregory Allan King gave top marks for the way the players took to the novel concept. “The boys enjoyed every bit of the schedule. We had lot of tactical and technical simulations,” he said. “All in all it was new experience for the players. They have all gained a lot from this camp.” — PTI 

Christchurch, August 1
“Dressing rooms are not churches”, says the former Indian cricket coach John Wright, dismissing Sunil Gavaskar’s claim that he was abused by Indian players.

Gavaskar, who was batting consultant with the Indian team towards the end of Wright’s four-year tenure as the coach, had written in a column that the players abused the New Zealander.

“If it happened, it was done in Hindi and behind my back, which is exactly what I would have expected,” Wright says in his just-published book Indian Summers.

“When they trooped in after a sloppy session, I didn’t pat them on the back and say ‘well done lads’. I asked them where the bloody effort was,” he writes.

The normally shy ex-New Zealand captain puts it bluntly thus: “If some of them called me a grumpy old bastard when I left them to think about it, so what? It wasn’t beach cricket, and dressing room aren’t churches.” Wright said he always encouraged the boys to be honest and upfront.

“If a player thought I was stuffing up, he had every right to say so, either in private or in front of the team.

I wasn’t backward in letting them know what I thought of their performances, and I had no problem with them doing the same to me.” The former cricketer says his intention was to create an honest and open environment where everyone could speak their minds without any fear.

“Most disagreements tended to be one-on-one behind closed doors, but if hard things had to be said in front of the entire group, so be it. We wanted an open and honest environment, and you only get that if everyone feels they can speak their mind without being jumped on and without people getting precious and taking offence.” Wright has also rubbished criticism that he was too soft with players.

“From time to time outsiders who read too much into my public persona suggested that maybe I was too soft for the job, but I don't think that view held sway on the other side of the dressing room,” he says.

The sweet-sour relationship Wright enjoyed with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly comes through in the book with the ex-coach acknowledging that this relationship was the subject of “as much media speculation and gossip as a Bollywood marriage. And like any marriage, there was a honeymoon period, then reality set in and we settled down for the long haul.” Ganguly’s “high-handedness” often annoyed Wright but he also secretly admired his “rebellious streak”.

“His high-handedness often annoyed me, but I secretly admired his rebellious streak because it gave the team some pepper and it got up opposition noses, most famously Steve Waugh’s.” Talking about Ganguly’s penchant to rub the authority the wrong way, Wright says he had made it a “habit of getting offside with match referees”.

“He and I have probably spent more time in disciplinary hearings than any other captain and coach. It must have been a combination of my flawed messages and Ganguly’s blithe refusal to take the slightest notice of what anyone told him to do.” Wright says he began with the basics as far as dealing with the Prince of Kolkata was concerned.

“I thought I could help him tactically, but I began with the basics, suggesting that he get a new watch as it was important the captain was on time.” But there were issues on which Wright and Ganguly completely agreed.

“The players had grown up in a culture of seniors and juniors... Ganguly and I were as one on this: it had to change. He was determined to create a new culture and did an admirable job of making the younger players feel that they belonged.” Wright also credits Ganguly for giving the youngsters in the team the “licence to bite and snarl and set a maverick and defiant tone”.

“He didn’t give a stuff about convention, other people’s expectations, niceties or officialdom — especially match referees. On the face of it, we weren’t a natural fit.

“It was never going to be sweetness and light, but in the end the issues that divided us — and there were a few — were insubstantial compared to the cause in which we were united: to create a new team culture and give the most passionate nation in the world the team they deserved.” — PTI

Colombo, August 1
South Africa today tried to unravel the mystery that has confounded the cricket world for years — how to stop Muttiah Muralitharan from taking wickets.

The search drew a blank although Proteas’ coach Mickey Arthur insisted his batsmen had started to play the Sri Lankan spin wizard “better and better.” Arthur’s comment came after Muralitharan completed a match haul of 10-172 on Monday to send South Africa crashing to an innings and 153-run defeat in the first Test at the Sinhalese sports club ground.

Arthur conceded that the 34-year-old off-spinner was the “best bowler in the world” but remained confident his team will fight back when the second and final Test starts at the Sara Oval here on Friday.

“Murali is the best bowler in the world, there is no doubt about it,” said Arthur. “Our guys have played him a lot, we have developed game plans against him and the guys know what he offers.

“We have started to play him better and better but in these conditions he is just phenomenal.” Muralitharan’s 17th 10-wicket haul gave him 645 wickets in 107 Tests, second in the all-time list behind Australian Shane Warne’s record tally of 685 in 140 matches.

The South Africans were amazed, as Muralitharan sent down 64 overs in energy-sapping conditions in the second innings, finishing with 6-131 after taking 4-41 in the first innings.

“It was the slowest wicket I have come across in a long time but the guy just went on and on,” said Arthur. “He just loves to bowl and take wickets. I am convinced Australia and Sri Lanka are the toughest tours in world cricket at the moment. It’s not easy for even a moment.”

South Africa can take heart from the fact they held out for 157.2 overs in the second innings to score 434 after collapsing for a meagre 169 on the opening day.

Stand-in captain Ashwell Prince insisted all was not lost for his team. “It’s not the idea situation, but we have improved,” he said. “We can’t win the series any more, but we can draw it and bounce back after this defeat.

“The longer the game went on, the better the bowlers started to bowl and the batsmen adapted to the conditions very well in the second innings.

“It’s the 169 in the first innings that cost us dearly. We have done some tough talking about that performance. The pitch could not be blamed for even a single wicket we lost. There was hardly any sideways movement, nor uneven bounce. The guys threw away their wickets.”

Veteran all-rounder Shaun Pollock, South Africa’s most successful Test bowler with 394 wickets, will return for the second Test after missing the first following the birth of his second daughter. — AFP

London, August 1
In an obvious reference to coach Duncan Fletcher, talismanic allrounder of the yesteryears Ian Botham said Monty Panesar is the answer to England’s quest for a match-winning spinner and people should stop asking him to improve his batting and fielding.

In his Daily Mirror column, the former England captain threw his weight behind Panesar, whose match-winning effort in the Old Trafford Test against Pakistan failed to convince coach Fletcher who insists the youngster’s poor batting and fielding make him an uncertainty for the Ashes series.

“It’s time to stop patronising Monty Panesar about the need to improve his batting or fielding and accept him for what he is — the match-winning spinner we’ve craved for years,” Botham asserted.

“To think that England were even toying with the idea of leaving out Panesar at Old Trafford beggars belief, but now he has taken two five-wicket hauls in the last three Tests he should be undroppable,” said “Beefy”, as Botham is known as, in his inimitable style.

Botham also made it clear that he doesn’t quite subscribe to Fletcher’s notion that cricketers have to be multi-dimensional.

“Coach Duncan Fletcher was restrained in his praise of Monty’s performance, recycling his view that international cricketers need to be multi-dimensional.

“Of course you don’t want liabilities in the field or tail-endears who can barely hold a bat, but to win Test matches it’s often helpful if bowlers take wickets — and eight in one match is pretty handy by any stretch of the imagination,” he reasoned.

He, in fact, was amazed at the turn Panesar generated in Old Trafford and said, “Panesar turned the ball more on Saturday than any England spinner since Derek Underwood.” He pointed out to Panesar’s rich haul in the match and the stature of his victims.

“And to gauge the value of his contribution you only need to look at the calibre of the batsmen he dismissed. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan are ranked in the world’s top 10 batsmen and have 53 Test tons between them.

“Yet Monty winkled them all out, and accounted for five of Pakistan’s top six, in 27 overs of high-class spin bowling,” he argued.

“His 25 Test victims to date also include Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

“Here is a bowler who does not just shore up one end and keep it tight while the quicks have a breather — Panesar is an attacking option,” Botham said.

Panesar and Steve Harmison, who took 11 wickets in the Test, could prove a deadly spin-pace combination, like the Shane Warne-Glenn McGrath duo, he felt.

“His double act with Steve Harmison was one of the best pace-and-spin combinations I’ve seen for some time and it reminded me of the way Australia use Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in tandem when they are going for the jugular,” Botham elaborated. — UNI

Vadodara, August 1
Sourav Ganguly, cold-shouldered since returning from Pakistan in January, is likely to be considered when the selectors pick 30 probables for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in India.

According to sources in the BCCI, the 34-year-old former Indian captain is likely to get a call-up when the list is finalised.

“Why not? Not only Ganguly, but quite a few others (currently out of favour) are also expected to be considered for the probables list,” the sources said.

The left-handed Ganguly had lost his captaincy first and then his place in the team following a bitter spat with coach Greg Chappell.

If picked among the probables, it will be the first step towards rehabilitation for the Bengal stylist, who has over 10,000 ODI runs under his belt and is fresh from a stint with English county Northamptonshire.

The preliminary list is to be whittled down to a final list of 14 and submitted to the International Cricket Council by all teams participating in the prestigious one-day championship, to be held from October 7-November 5, by September 7. — PTI 

Paks (Hungary), August 1
Top seed Grandmaster P. Harikrishna maintained sole lead in the third Marx Gyorgy Memorial International chess tournament with an easy draw with Hungarian GM Ferenc Berkes in the fourth round here at College of Paks.

On a day when two games provided results, Harikrishna’s match was the only one that ended in a draw and even though defending champion Zoltan Almasi of Hungary came back to winning ways along with Ukrainian Zahar Efimenko, the Indian remained atop the tables with three points after four games.

With six rounds to come in the category-15 double round robin event, both Efimenko and Almasi trail Harikrishna on 2.5 points while Wang Yue of China, who was comprehensively beaten by Almasi in the fourth round, and Berkes are joint fourth with two points apiece.

The nightmare of Peter Acs, a former junior world champion like Harikrishna, continued as he lost his third game in four days going down to Efimenko. — PTI

New Delhi, August 1
Sania Mirza and South African partner Liezel Huber moved into the second round with a facile victory against the Canadian-Slovak pair of Maurin Drake and Tina Krizan at the $ 1.3 million Acura Classic WTA Tour event in San Diego, California.

Sania and Huber, who won the Bangalore Open title earlier this year, defeated their unseeded rivals 6-0, 6-4 in the first round match yesterday.

The Indo-South African duo next plays Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze and Jill Craybas of the US.

Sania had reached the semifinals at Stanford last week with American Barbara Mattek and had made it all the way to the title match at Mason, Ohio, with Poland’s Marta Domashowska. — PTI

New Delhi, August 1
After becoming the first Indian paddler to reach the semifinals of an ITTF pro-tour event, Achanta Sharath Kamal is looking to raise his game a few notches by playing for the elite San Sebastian Club in Madrid.

Sharath Kamal has been roped in by the super division Spanish club for eight months from mid-September. There he would represent his club in Spanish and abroad tournaments.

“It should be a very good experience for me at San Sebastian. I have heard a lot about the club and there are some good players who are playing there. I would get a lot of variety that way and that’s good for my game,” Sharath told PTI from Patiala, where he is undergoing training in the SAF Games camp.

“I am also planning to train in Germany for a short period between mid-December and mid-January when I have a break from the club assignment. Also I would be participating in international tournaments as well. So, it is going to be hectic year for me,” he said.

Following his Commonwealth Games success where Sharath won gold medals in individual and team events, he carried his fine form in Brazil Open and Chile Open last month.

Sharath created history by reaching the semifinals of Brazil Open and then lost to world No 21 Peter Korbel of Czech Republic in the pre-quarterfinals of Chile Open.

The fine show at these events helped Sharath reach his career best ranking of 118 and he is confident of breaking into the top 100 by the year-end. — PTI 

Jalandhar, August 1
A total of 24 fencers have been selected to represent India in the World Fencing Championship to be held in Italy from September 26 as well as the Commonwealth Senior Fencing Championship. Selection trials were held recently at the high-altitude camp at Shilaru, Himachal Pradesh.

The squad: Women: Epee: Ruchi Trikha, Geeta Devi, Reo Rita Devi and Sakhi Devi.

Foil: E. Geeta Devi, Loidam Devi, Usha Rani and Rupaya Devi.

Sabre: Harina Devi, N. Lakshmi, K. Lakshmi and Parneet Kaur.

Men: Epee: Athokpam Sanatomba, Ramneek Singh, Shaolin Singh and Dharmendra Singh.

Sabre: Rupachandra Sharma, L. Surjit, Rashid Chaudhary and Chingsomba.

Foil: Romeo Meiti, Ranjeet Singh, Harpreet Singh and Sobhraj Singh.

Ropar, August 1
Despite protest by teachers, non-teaching staff and students, the municipal council here yesterday passed a resolution to hand over 57.5 kanal from the Government College playing ground to Cricket Association, Ropar, to develop it as a cricket ground with the help of the Punjab Cricket Association.

The students, teachers and non-teaching staff who gathered on the college campus in the morning, carried out a rally against the move of the MC to hand over the college ground land to the Cricket Association. They were carrying banner “Save ground to save college”. Later the protesters also submitted a memorandum to the MC president, Mr Ashok Bahi, and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Alok Shekhar, in this regard.

While passing the resolution to develop a cricket ground in the full House, the municipal council president Mr Ashok Bahi said the land where the cricket ground is to be developed jointly by the Punjab Cricket Association and the MC is lying barren. We have received a proposal from the Punjab Cricket Association to develop it as a cricket ground to promote cricket in the district.

Patiala, August 1
Punjabi University and the Punjab Police played out a 2-2 draw in the 20th Punjab State Super League football match played on the Punjabi University campus here today.

For the cops, Jaspal Singh opened the scoring. The students equalised when midfielder Samuel Masih, who had a good outing, fed attacker Satinder Singh with a measured pass. Satinder Singh entered the danger area after dribbling his way past a couple of defenders before sending the ball into the far side of the netting.

The second half opened with the students looking more dangerous than what they did in the first half. They played aggressively and this move paid dividends when the hard working Samuel Masih scored to hand over a one goal advantage to the hosts. However, their joy was short lived when Jaspal Singh scored the cops' second goal to enable the Punjab Police play out a laboured draw against the hosts. Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Director (Sports), Punjabi University, was the chief guest.