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Harbhajan bats for Dravid, Chappell
Boycott’s testimony did the trick: media
Haq’s gesture had upset
Hair: report
Younis Khan to lead Pakistan
Walter Hadlee dead
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Mohammad
Nisar Trophy
Gurmit Hockey PSB, BPCL sail into semis
Hockey eves
go down to Germany
Randhawa trails Woods by three strokes
Mayo College, Ashoka Hall to clash in final
Karnataka move into quarters
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Harbhajan bats for Dravid, Chappell
New Delhi, September 29 Reacting to former captain Ravi Shastri’s criticism about the frequent shuffling in the batting order, Harbhajan said cryptically, “Everyone has his opinion. I am sure Rahul and Greg have been doing a great job for the team. We played good cricket in the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur. It was a very good tournament, though we did not play to our potential”. The ace spinner, who signed a four-year sponsorship deal with Harish Krishnamachar of ICONIX India here today — the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to do so with ICONIX — said whatever the captain and coach was doing was for the overall good of the team. He said batsmen were promoted and demoted to try them out in different positions to draw out the best in them and to make them perform with confidence in whatever position the team management thought it fit for them to be slotted. “Dravid and Greg want to try out the players in difficult positions, different situations to see whether they can play effectively in the new role given to them”, elaborated the spinner, who believes in the credo that “the players should concentrate and excel in whatever job assigned to them in the overall interest of the team”. He said though there was criticism about the experiments, all permutations and combinations being worked out by the captain and the coach were aimed at getting the right balance in the team. “They want the team to do well in the World Cup, and they have done well in shaping up the team so far”, he observed. Talking about his own performance, particularly about his pleasing display in the limited-overs tournament in Kuala Lumpur both with the ball and the bat, Harbhajan said, “I am very happy with my bowling and batting for the past one and a half years, not just in Malaysia. I am happy that I am doing well in one-day cricket. If I am bowling, I gain in confidence by bowling well, and not just taking wickets. And good batting is a bonus”. The spinner said India, as a team, did not do that well in Malaysia. “We are all disappointed about it. But you can’t ruminate over the past. There is no need to get panicky. We are all looking forward to the Challenger Trophy and the Champions Trophy. If we can play to our potential, we can really do well in the Champions Trophy”, Harbhajan said. He said the Challenger Trophy would offer an ideal opportunity for the players to get into their groove, as it would offer stiff competition. The off-spinner, noting that he was not averse to bowling with any brand of the ball, said there were lots of young spinners who had shown promise and would contribute to the pool of spinners in the coming years. He particularly mentioned the rapid strides being made by Piyush Chawla “who can be a very good bowler in the next couple of years”. Harbhajan, commenting about the changes in the Selection Committee, said he was not bothered about who all constituted the panel. “When I am out on the field, I try to focus on my cricket. If I do well, I will be there in the team,” he said. When asked about the prospects of bowling on slow wickets in the West Indies for the World Cup, Harbhajan said he did not know what sort of wickets would be on offer there. “I have been to the West Indies twice and I look forward to playing in the World Cup there”, he added. He said the composition of the bowling line-up in the Indian team depended on the conditions of the wickets, even if it meant tilting the balance in favour of pacers. He was all praise for young pace bowlers like S. Sreesanth and Munaf Patel “who really did well in the West Indies. We have got very good fast bowlers in them, very hard working and very positive. They got us vital breakthroughs in the West Indies and I wish they continue to do well for the country in the coming years”. He said the recent slump in form of Irfan Pathan was just a passing phase. “He has done very well for the country. He is a very good player and the kind of bowler he is, he is bound to bounce back”, he noted.
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Boycott’s testimony did the trick: media
London, September 29 The testimony of the former England captain and Channel Five TV analyst, Simon Hughes, proved sufficiently convincing for ICC adjudicator Ranjan Madugalle to arrive at the conclusion that the Pakistan team had not altered the condition of the ball, The Guardian stated. “Boycott in particular delivered a veritable tour de force. At one point, he took the infamous match ball in his hand, held it up and said: “That’s a good ball, not just a playable ball,” it said. Boycott also took exception to the idea that an accusation of cheating should be tolerated. “If me or any of my friends were ever called a cheat,” he told the hearing, the accuser would be “decked with a bunch of fives.” The former England opener “invoked the spirit of the game” with passion while Hughes, a former county player, gave evidence in support of Boycott’s position that the ball had not been tampered with. Hughes was enlisted as a witness by the Pakistan team’s lawyers for his distinguished expertise on condition of cricket balls. In spectacular fashion, and to the consternation of many, Hughes produced two other balls bearing remarkably similar traces of wear and tear to the match ball from the fourth Test. There was nothing about the ball that should excite suspicion, he argued. Hughes then presented a deliberately tampered ball, replete with scuff marks and abrasions, to demonstrate the distinction. The report said although both umpires, Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove, appeared well rehearsed and furnished rigorous evidence, there were appreciable discrepancies in their accounts, in particular regarding what was said to the England batsmen on the fourth day at the Oval. Under cross-examination, Hair was asked at length about the procedure he had followed in changing the ball when he suspected it had been altered. The evidence was important in so far as it made plain whether the umpires followed proper protocol. Trevor Jesty, the fourth umpire and former Hampshire all-rounder, was summoned next and offered brief details on the condition of the ball and what happened on and off the field. The prosecution concluded its presentation of evidence with Doug Cowie, the ICC umpires and referees manager. It was then the turn of the legal team representing the Pakistan Cricket Board from the elite law firm, DLA Piper, to call their expert witnesses. Shaharyar Khan, the Chairman of PCB, initiated the evidence for the defence.
— PTI
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Haq’s gesture had upset
Hair: report
London, September 29 The meeting had been convened by the match referee Mike Procter to rescue the match and reduce the damaging impact of one of the biggest controversies in the history of Test cricket. “Hair was incensed by a gesture made towards him by the Pakistan captain. It is believed that attempts were made to persuade Hair to stay, but he departed with the words: “I am leaving and he knows why,” indicating
Inzamam,” according to a report in the English daily The Independent. The meeting took place despite the fact that the umpires had awarded the match to England after Pakistan had failed to meet their deadline to return to the field protesting charges of ball tampering for which Hair and Doctrove deducted five penalty runs from their score. “Inzamam made a waving gesture to which Hair took great exception and walked out. One explanation is that the umpire felt the gesture was insulting to anyone who knew anything about Pakistani culture,” the report said.
— PTI
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan vice-captain Younis Khan will lead his country in next month’s Champions Trophy in India after regular skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq was banned for four one-day internationals on Thursday. “I have been told that I have to captain the side,” Younis told Reuters on Friday. A Pakistan Cricket Board official said Younis would be formally confirmed as captain in the next few days. “We are going to miss Inzamam in the Champions Trophy and we want to win it for him because he took a stand for us and the country,” Younis said. “It is not going to be easy as the players are comfortable with his style of captaincy and he is our best batsman.” — Reuters
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Walter Hadlee dead
Wellington, September 29 He was a popular captain with a keen strategic sense in an era when New Zealand had yet to win a Test. The tall, bespectacled batsman Hadlee played 19 innings, scoring 543 runs at an average of 30.16. He was never dismissed for single figures, although he scored only one Test century. His career peaked with the 1949 away series against England when New Zealand under his captaincy drew all four Tests with a line-up which included batting stars Bert Sutcliffe and Martin Donelly, and all-rounder John Reid. “Hadlee was a courageous and enterprising batsman, a popular and successful captain who played his cricket in the sporting manner usually associated with his country,” English writer John Woodcock said. After retiring from Test and first-class cricket, Hadlee turned to administration. He was a national selector, a New Zealand team manager, and a leading cricket board member until 1983. Three of his five sons — Barry, Dayle and Richard — represented New Zealand. Richard Hadlee retired in 1990 with 431 Test wickets.
— AFP
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Rizwan puts UP in command
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, September 29 Even as there was no sting in the Sialkot bowling attack with their ace bowler Mohammad Asif out of action with injury, man-in-form Rizwan Shamshad struck 88 runs, complementing his last innings’ knock of 84. Resuming play from their overnight score of 14, Uttar Pradesh played effortlessly and the two openers got to their thirties. But it was skipper Suresh Raina, who took the charge and completed his half-century in 72 balls. Raina had a valuable partnership with Ravikant Shukla, before Abdul Rehman bowled him on the last delivery before lunch for 55. Ravikant Shukla, who was dropped by Sarfraz Ahmed in the very first over after lunch, was finally caught by Alafiz Majid off Tahir at 64. He played a sensible inning by keeping the scoreboard ticking and completed his half-century in 102 balls, despite facing some problems playing Sarfraz. Meanwhile, Sialkot team was plagued by injuries. Nazir, who hit a brilliant 123 yesterday, hurt his wrist with his shoe spike last evening and had to be given two stitches and advised rest. With the wicket keeper of the Sialkot team also injured, two players of HPCA - Siddharth Minhas of Palampur and Satwinder Singh of Jwali - were asked to field for the Sialkot team. Scoreboard UP (1st innings) 316 Sialkot (1st innings) 261 UP (2nd innings) Srivastava c Yousuf b Jahangir 33 Shiv Shukla c Yousuf b Mughal 36 Raina b Rehman 55 Ravikant Shukla c Jahangir b Mughal 64Rizwan c Atiq b Amjad 88 Yadav not out 47 Praveen c Inam b Mughal 1 Chawla c&b Jahangir 8 Extras (b-9, lb-3, nb-17) 29 Total (7 wkts, 97.4 overs) 361 FoW: 1-57, 2-95, 3-165, 4-238, 5-326, 6-336, 7-361. Bowling: Asif 4-1-7-0, Ahmed 22-4-68-0, Mughal 22-1-96-3, Jahangir 8.4-0-28-2, Rehman 27-1-108-1, Shoaib Malik 7-1-23-0, Amjad 5-1-16-1, Shehzad Malik 2-0-3-0.
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Hockey eves
go down to Germany Chandigarh, September 29 Germany took the lead through Anke Kuehn, who converted a penalty corner in the 21st minute. Surinder Kaur equalised for India in the 34th minute by deflecting the ball into the net off a free hit. This was Surinder’s third goal in the ongoing World Cup as she had scored a brace against the Netherlands. The two teams were locked 1-1 at half-time. India made it 2-1 when Mamta Kharab scored a field goal in the 62nd minute. However, Germany drew parity in the next minute through Mandy Haase. A field goal by Natascha Keller made it 3-2 in Germany’s favour. India will play their next match against England on Sunday. In other Pool A matches, the Netherlands beat England 1-0, while hosts Spain edged out Asian Games champions China 1-0.
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Gurmit Hockey PSB, BPCL sail into semis
Chandigarh, September 29 Belying all expectations of a close contest after their promising show against Central Railway yesterday, Indian Air Force surrendered meekly to their much superior opponents, who commenced the proceedings in whirlwind fashion, slamming in two goals in the first two minutes. Such was the bank men’s domination that the IAF had to requisition the services of their substitute goalkeeper with the goal glut assuming alarming proportions. The lead increased to 3-0 by the seventh minute and then to 5-0 in the 27th minute when the goalkeeper was replaced. Led by international Davinder Pal, Punjab and Sind Bank displayed perfect understanding to overwhelm their opponents in the first half. Olympian Baljit Singh Saini lent strength to the midfield as the attack spearheaded by Baljit Singh Chandi, Parminder Singh, and Mandeep Singh kept IAF on the tenterhooks. Parminder Singh, who scored three goals, was later declared man of the match. Indian Air Force, who remained at the receiving end in the first half, showed some promise in the second session but stout defence put up Sharanjit Singh and Davinder Pal coupled with intelligent goalkeeping by international Teja Singh frustrated their designs. The match had hardly commenced when PSB’s Parminder Singh capitalised on a pass by Baljit Singh Chandi to score the first goal in the opening minute. In the very next minute the lead increased to 2-0 when Kuljinder’s drag flick off a penalty corner brooked no resistance. Five minutes later, Mandeep put Parminder in possession and the latter’s hard hit saw the ball landing in the net (3-0). Parminder boosted the tally to 4-0 when he found the target once again in the 23rd minute off a pass by Kulwinder. The fifth goal followed in the 27th minute when substitute Major Singh found the target from a difficult angle (5-0). It was at this stage that the IAF custodian was replaced. In the second half, IAF reorganised themselves and forced as many as six penalty corners in rapid succession but a goal eluded them. On one occasion, a powerful reverse hit by Sanwar was saved by PSB custodian Teja Singh in the nick of time. Again, a back pass received by Balbir from the goal-line went waste as he only managed to scoop the ball over the horizontal. A minute before the end, PSB scored their sixth goal when Olympian Baljit Singh Saini’s rasping hit from just inside the D left the goalkeeper flummoxed (6-0). In the second quarterfinal, BPCL rallied to down ONGC 4-2 after having conceded a goal in the 13th minute through Anurag who scored off a short corner. The equaliser by Joginder in the 23rd minute brought BPCL back on even terms after which international Sabu Varkey put BPCL ahead with a field goal in the 27th minute. However, ONGC restored parity through Aftab Ahmed who converted a short corner at the stroke of half time. Thereafter BPCL swung the match in their favour through successive strikes by P. Bellary and Amar Aiyamma in the 42nd and 49th minutes, respectively, to end ONGC’s campaign in the tournament. Prabhdeep Singh of BPCL was declared man-of-the-match. Saturday’s fixtures (q-finals): Punjab Police v Namdhari XI: 4.15 pm; Ropar Hawks v IOC: 6 pm.
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Sania bows out of Korea Open
Seoul, September 29 The 19-year-old Indian, who had shocked top seed Martina Hingis in the second round, lost to doubles specialist Pascual 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 at the Olympic Park tennis centre. The final set, which the Indian lost 7-3 in tie-break, was marred with a series of chair over-rules. The Indian averted two match points but eventually succumbed to the guiles of 33-year old Pascual. Sania said she gave her best but her 72nd ranked rival proved to be the better player in the near three-hour contest. “Losing the deciding set in tie-break is tough. I don’t think anyone can ask for more than that,” she said. Pascual, who has three WTA Tour singles to her credit besides 33 in doubles, played a steady game and capitalised on the unforced errors by Hyderabadi girl. The former world No.1 doubles player would play either Ai Sugiyama of Japan or Paola Suarez of Argentina in the semifinal tomorrow.
— PTI
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Randhawa trails Woods by three strokes
Hertfordshire, September 29 Woods, the defending champion, had a sensational eight-under 63 with an eagle on the closing hole, seven other birdies and just one bogey, preceding the eagle. Randhawa, who finished fifth at this tournament in 2002, the year he was Asia No.1, shot an eagle, four birdies and just one bogey in his fine round. Irishman Padraig Harrington and England’s Ian Poulter lie in second place at 64 each, while South African star Ernie Els and Stewart Cink of the US share fourth place at 65 each. Randhawa, who has five Asian Tour titles and one on Japan Tour, started on the 10th tee on the first day. He flew high with an eagle at the par five 15th hole and followed that up with a birdie at the next. Randhawa, who has four top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour this season, dropped his only shot of the day at the 17th hole before firing three more birdies on the inward nine. His birdies came on the second, fifth and seventh. Randhawa, who has made some adjustments to his swing this season, needed just 26 putt. Asian Tour member Simon Dyson, who has won twice this season and is due to play in the hero Honda Indian Open next month, carded a 67 and was tied at eighth spot. Woods gave himself ideal start in his sixth successive stroke play tournament win when moved into the top slot at the end of the first round. He soared on an eagle three at the 18th to go past his two nearest challengers, Harrington, who birdied five of his first seven holes. Woods, who has won four of the six WGC American Express Championships, had just one bogey on the day at the 17th. But he recovered in sensational fashion at the 18th, a superb drive and a three wood finding the centre of the green before he holed from 20 feet to set a new course record. Atwal tied 11th
Madison (USA): Arjun Atwal boosted his chances of retaining a card for 2007 with a fine three-under 69 on the opening day of the $3 million Southern Farm Bureau Classic at the Annandale Golf Club yesterday. Atwal, who needs at least a couple of good top-10 finishes to secure his card in the remaining four events, had a roller-coaster of round to finish four stroke behind leader D J Trahan. Atwal is tied for 11th with five others, the 50-year-old Fred Funk, Bo Van Pelt, Robert Damron, Shigeki Maruyama and John Huston at 69 each.
— PTI
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Indian Open golf
New Delhi, September 29
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Mayo College, Ashoka Hall to clash in final
Dharampur, September 29 The latter won the toss and elected to bat. They scored 112 runs for five in stipulated 20 overs. Padmini top scored with 24 runs followed by Paridhi who scored 23. Mayo girls achieved the target in 18 overs. Pankhuri scored 31 while Pragati hit 28. Pankhuri of Mayo College was adjudged the player of the match. Ashoka Hall, Nainital, defeated Pinegrove School, Subathu. Batting first, Pinegrove girls were out on meager 44 runs in 11.1 overs. Ashoka Hall achieved the target in just eight overs for the loss of two wickets. Sonal and Ashwarya took three wickets each for Nanital school. Sonal was adjudged as the player of the match.
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Karnataka move into quarters
Gurgaon, September 29 In an entertaining pre-quarterfinal match, Karnataka missed several sitters and the two teams were locked 1-1 in regulation time and extra time. For Karnataka, J. Murli, Xavier Vijay Kumar, B. Prakash and D. Raju found the target in penalty shoot-out.
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