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Some heads may roll, warns BCCI
Adding insult to injury |
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Sourav, Sreesanth pick of the lot
Vaughan back in the saddle
MacGill
tipped to replace Warne
Lions devour Sultans
Air-India down East Bengal
Kunwar’s ton props up Punjab
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Some heads may roll, warns BCCI
Mumbai, January 7 “I am going to tell the selectors to have a deep look at the non-performing players when choosing the team. I am talking on behalf of the board’s members who also feel in a similar fashion. They (selectors) have to review the players’ performance,” BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI today. Shah said he could not give a directive to the selectors to drop a particular player but could tell them broadly what they were required to do following the team’s 0-4 loss in ODIs and 1-2 loss in Tests to South Africa. “I cannot say how many players will be dropped. It’s entirely up to the selectors. But I will certainly ask them to have a re-look at the players’ performance,” he said. The selection panel, headed by Dilip Vengsarkar, will choose the 30 probables for the March-April World Cup in the West Indies as well as pick the Indian squad for the first two home ODIs against the West Indies. The first ODI is scheduled at Nagpur on January 21, followed by the second at Cuttack three days later. Shah’s ominous words have come after coach Greg Chappell had expressed similar sentiments over the team’s poor performance yesterday in Cape Town after the Test series loss to South Africa. Coach Chappell had criticised the batsmen for the Test series loss and said quite a few players will be under pressure when the selection committee meets at Rajkot. “Our batting was disappointing in the last two Tests after having won the first game,” the Indian coach said. “There weren’t many gremlins on the wicket on the last day and that made our batting all the more disappointing. “Looking at the tour as a whole, there are more questions than answers. Over the next week or so, when we get back to India and have a chance to digest what happened, discuss and debrief this one and look to the future, we are going to make some decisions on which direction we go and there will be a few guys under a bit of pressure, there is no doubt,” Chappell said. Foremost among the big players who have come under the scanner is Virender Sehwag, who had a miserable tour and failed in both the ODIs and the Test series in which he not only lost his vice-captaincy but also his opening slot to rookie wicket keeper batsman Dinesh Kaarthick. There are other players too whose performance has dipped and the selectors are certain to discuss their value to the team as India approach their last eight ODIs before the World Cup in the West Indies. India are to play four ODIs against the West Indies later this month and four more against Sri Lanka between February 8 and 17 before departing for the Caribbean islands. — PTI
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Adding insult to injury Cape Town, January 7 It is learnt that Gauteng Cricket Association (GCA), the host body, is moving their parent body CSA to seek compensation from the BCCI for the damages done by the players in the dressing room while celebrating their first Test win. As champagne was sprayed and cakes were thrown around with gay abandon, the visitors' dressing room at the Wanderers bore little resemblance to the tidy place that had been handed over to the team for the first Test from December 15-19. The "most damaged" part of the dressing room was the ceiling and the carpet which had "permanent stains" and could not be removed. Gauteng Board first tried to get things in order, but after the dry-cleaners and chemical experts threw their hands up in desperation they moved the CSA. Indian dressing room was a sight to behold after the team had secured their As celebrations grew wilder and became uncontrollable, coach Greg Chappell and media manager Rajan Nair were drenched by the champagne and wine poured on them. Most overjoyed of the lot was Virender Sehwag, whose celebrations knew no bounds, even as Sachin Tendulkar had passingly cautioned that they might not again be welcomed in the dressing room for the mess they were causing to the place. It was not given any serious thought when Tendulkar himself did not hold himself back and Sehwag chirped: "who knows when next we come to the Wanderers and if ever we would win here again." Both Chappell and captain Rahul Dravid too had later mentioned how they wished the boys learnt to "drink and enjoy champagne and wine rather than waste it." In case, the Indian Board receives a bill claiming the loss of property in the dressing room, it remains to be seen whether the BCCI perceives it only as an extension of the win and gladly foots the bill or asks the players to cough up for the damages. — PTI
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Sourav, Sreesanth pick of the lot
New Delhi, January 7 The Bengal left-hander scored 214 runs in six innings at an average of 42.80 and was third in the overall run chart for the series, which the hosts won 2-1. Ganguly, who was out of the Indian team for about 10 months, was called back to add experience to the side, which lost 0-4 in the preceding one-day series. Sachin Tendulkar had the second-best tally among the Indians and fourth overall. He compiled 199 runs in six innings averaging 33.16 with a highest score of 64. Skipper Rahul Dravid was uncharacteristically short of runs as he could contribute only 125 runs with an average of 20.83. Ashwell Prince, who scored 306 at an impressive average of 61.20, topped the batting chart ahead of his captain Graeme Smith, who struck three consecutive fifties to boost his tally to 227 runs at 37.83. Among the bowlers, S. Sreesanth was the most successful with 18 wickets at an average of 21.94. He was followed by South African paceman Makhaya Ntini, who picked up 15 wickets, and Anil Kumble (14). All-rounder Shaun Pollock starred with both bat and ball. He contributed 187 runs at 37.40 and snared 13 wickets at a miserly average of 16. — PTI
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Waqar quits as Pak bowling coach
Karachi, January 7 Waqar's resignation came just a day before he was due to leave for South Africa tomorrow and he conveyed his decision in a message to Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf yesterday. "I told the Board Chairman what I felt and informed him I was stepping down and not going to South Africa. I was not happy with this arrangement," Waqar said. The former star bowler said he had taken the decision to quit at the right time because one-day series in South Africa was their last chance to prepare for the World Cup. "I think this was the right time to quit. I simply could not understand the logic behind sending me to South Africa only for the Test series. I am very disappointed this has happened," he said. "I was very happy getting a chance to help out the other bowlers in the team. It was very satisfying to see them do well. The good performances of bowlers like Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif was a good feeling for someone like me. "But apparently the Board had other ideas. I felt odd being told I would be in South Africa only for the Tests and not for the one-dayers. Which was strange given the one-day series is our last chance to prepare for the World Cup," he said. The Australia-based Waqar, who is coaching the team since last year's tour of India, had a contract till the World Cup in the West Indies. "I was frustrated at the way the Board treated me and I think it is time they learnt to show more respect to former players for their contribution to the country," Waqar said. But a Board official insisted the decision to have Waqar only for the Tests was strictly that of captain Inzamam-ul Haq and coach Bob Woolmer and the Board had nothing to do with it. "If he is not happy with the arrangement we can't do anything about it since the team management decided he should only be with them only for the Tests. We had no problems in him accompanying the team also for the one-dayers," Ehsan Malik told PTI. "In fact, even now we are willing to honour his contract till the World Cup if he wants to continue. But he should not hold the Board responsible for his decision," he said. The development may mean Pakistan cricket starting off the year on the wrong foot as sources in the Board said Waqar's decision had a lot to do with the appointment of former teammate Mushtaq Ahmed as assistant coach for the South Africa tour and World Cup. "Maybe Waqar was looking at a broader coaching role after the World Cup when Bob Woolmer's contract ends with the Board. But certainly it is not as simple a situation that he was just not happy with having to return from South Africa after the Tests," one source said. The source also said that captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had told Waqar while bringing him in as bowling coach that he would not be able to travel with the team for full tours everywhere and that he should try also to take over the post of chief coach in the National cricket Academy. "But apparently Waqar was more interested in working with the team bowlers and getting good results from them," he said. Waqar, who took 373 Test wickets and 416 in one-day internationals, said he was undecided about his future but confirmed New South Wales had shown interest in him although nothing was confirmed as yet. — PTI
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Vaughan back in the saddle
Melbourne, January 7 After Flintoff was stripped of the captaincy following England's 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes series, the first challenge for Vaughan, who was out of action for a year after a knee surgery, would be to instil confidence in the side. "I am sure they will be a little bit affected by what's happened over the last few weeks, but my job as the captain is to challenge them and to try and raise the confidence," Vaughan at a press conference in Sydney today. "I will try to get them to go out on the cricket pitch and express themselves so we can produce some good results," he added. Vaughan, who led England to the 2005 Ashes win, has been in Australia preparing for the tri-series, also involving Australia and New Zealand, and has played some practice games to assess his fitness. "Australia played good cricket and we realise that we have made a few mistakes and not played to the standard of what we expect," Vaughan, who last played an international match in the Lahore Test against Pakistan in November 2005, added.
— PTI
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MacGill
tipped to replace Warne
Sydney, January 7 Having played second-fiddle to Warne throughout his entire career, MacGill has still managed to play 40 Tests and captured an impressive 198 wickets. Andrew
Hilditch, Australia's chairman of selectors, said MacGill had proven himself over a long period of time and was the obvious replacement
for Warne. MacGill will be nearly 37 and won't have played a Test for 19 months when Australia plays their next Test, against Sri Lanka in November.
— Reuters
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Chennai, January 7 After shocking world number two and top seed Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, Malisse carried the same venom to thrash Koubek in the baseline duel, which turned out to be one of the shortest finals in the history of the tournament. The unseeded Koubek (ranked 80), who ousted seventh seed Paradorn Srichaphan, fourth seed Julien Benneteau (France) and fifth seed Carlos Moya (Spain), had no answer to the repertoire of shots and all-court play of 37th-ranked Malisse. Koubek never found his rhythm throughout the match and did not play to his potential as he did yesterday against two-time champion Carlos Moya. More often he dished out soft returns to fall a prey to the hard-hitting Belgian. The Austrian, who made numerous unforced errors and struggled with his serves, opened the match shakily, losing his first service game. Barring the fourth game, in which he allowed himself to be broken back, Malisse was unstoppable in the first set which he wrapped up in just 25 minutes. In the second set, Koubek did a little better, holding his serves but conceded the fourth game, which was enough for the third seed to cruise to the title triumph. The Belgian served out the match on the second deuce after saving a break point. Malisse has stretched the head-to-head against Koubek to 3-0. He had beaten him earlier twice in the Masters Series in 2002 (Madrid and Paris) and once in 2003 (Roland Garros). Malisse, who won his second career title after the Delray Beach event in 2005, said, “It is always the best period to win a title.” Malisse, who walked away with the cash prize of $ 65,850 said, “This is a dream start to the year.” Koubek, who collected the runners-up purse of $ 35,500, said, “Xavier played unbelievable tennis. Started off much better than me, particularly in the last game of the second set. If you start a season like this its awesome. Hope I will keep the level up and play more finals and win some titles during the year,” he said. — PTI
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PHL
Chennai, January 7 The dominance of Lions was complete as they forced eight penalty corners, while the Sultans were not able to earn any. However, the Lions had to wait till the 49th minute their seventh penalty corner to take the lead. They tried a variation after the first six short corners went waste. Gurpreet Singh took a shot at the goal and Rehan Butt struck the rebound into the goal. The Lions doubled their lead with a field goal in the 55th minute. A cross from the right flank was utilised by the Dutch Sander Van Der. The powerful drive left goalkeeper Devesh Chanhan flat-footed. The third goal was a penalty corner conversion by Len Aiyappa in the 64th minute. This was his third strike in the tournament. Hyderabad Sultans had earlier lost their first match to Chennai Veerans. Bangalore Lions claimed three points for the win and lead the table with six points from two matches. Steelers get past Veerans Orissa Steelers defeated Chennai Veerans 2-1 in a thrilling encounter to record their second victory in the PHL here tonight. The crowd was treated to brilliant, dynamic hockey by both teams. Steelers took an early lead with a sixth-minute field goal by Sunil Ekka, who deflected a lovely pass from Prabodh Tirkey. Steelers doubled the lead with a powerful penalty-corner conversion by Dilip Tirkey in the 25th minute. However, the local team forced three penalty corners in the second half and after wasting the first two, converted the third when Raghunath drove the ball powerfully past the goalkeeper. The last seven minutes were frenetic with the Veerans leaving no stone unturned and Steelers defending superbly and counter-attacking whenever possible. — PTI
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NFL
Mumbai, January 7 The duo, who came off the bench early in the second half, combined forces with Uttam effecting a deep throw-in from the right into the box for stopper back AK Martins to head the ball near Samson, who booted home the low volley just inside the left post past East Bengal goalkeeper Naseem Akhtar in the 70th minute of the match. The sucker punch, after East Bengal’s near-overwhelming domination till that time, galvanised the glamour outfit from Kolkata to try and secure the equaliser. But the Mumbai airmen, who had finished seventh in the last edition, soaked up the pressure nicely to come out triumphant in the first NFL match of the season at this venue. East Bengal need to blame themselves as they came close to scoring on a few occasions in the opening half but poor marksmanship cost them dear. Their best chance in the match came in the first half when Boniface Ambani took a shot at the goal, which was blocked by rival team defender Nepoleon Singh and the rebound effort by Izumi Arata was wide of the mark with only Air India custodian Raju Ekka to beat. East Bengal, who finished runners-up to Mumbai’s Mahindra United last season but later won the Super Cup, made a few substitutions in the second half but could not breach the Air-India defence. Alvito D’Cunha came off the bench to give some thrust to the attack for the Kolkata brigade whose Santy Duley’s 25-yard right-footed volley was fisted round the left post just in time by Ekka in the 65th minute. To add to East Bengal’s woes, substitute Fredy Mascarenhas got booked by referee P K Bose for a foul on Martins. Airmen’s Alex Ambrose, for whom Samson came on as substitute, was also shown the yellow card. Tomorrow, holders Mahindra United take on Dempo Sports Club of Goa in their lung opener. Churchill beat Sporting Clube
Duler: Odafa Okonji scored a brace to guide Churchill Brothers to a 2-0 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in their opening NFL encounter at Duler ground, Mapusa, on Sunday. Churchill, who had the lion’s share of exchanges and scoring chances, took the lead at the half-hour mark when Genius Zenith from the right relayed the ball to Nigerian George Ekeh, whose brilliant shot was connected by his compatriot Okonji. After the change of ends, Ekeh and Okonji, who gave a torrid time to Sporting’s defence, increased the lead in the 61st minute with the latter again finding the net when he beat defender Mathew to slot the ball home off a pass by Ekeh. The Sporting midfield failed to combine in the absence of injured Wilton Gomes. Nicholas Rodrigues had to carry the bulk of the load as Harbhajot Kabra failed to impress before being replaced by Jagdish Pappiah. However, they came close to scoring on two occasions but Churchill’s Vinay Singh was alert under the bar, collecting a 30-yard shot from Rodrigues. Okonji was named the man of the match.
— PTI
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Kunwar’s ton props up Punjab
Chennai, January 7 In reply, Uttar Pradesh were 99 for 3 at close, with Umang Sharma (23) and Amit Misra (five) at the crease. Raina made 147 off 399 balls, with the help of 17 fours, and his stand with Anil Sihat (47, 4x4) was worth 105 runs in 24.1 overs. UP’s medium pacers Rizwan Abamed (3-74) and Bhuvanesh Kumar (3-91) were the successful bowlers. UP lost three quick wickets and Bhavni Singh (22) was retired hurt due to cramps in his right leg. In the other semifinal, Delhi were 55 for 3 in reply to Mumbai’s first-innings total of 328 all out.
— PTI
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