Mumbai, January 11
In a clear indication that the time for experiments was over, Chairman of the Selection Committee Dilip Vengsarkar said today that emphasis would be laid on picking a winning combination for the two upcoming home ODI series in view of the World Cup in March-April.

A day before the committee meeting at Rajkot to choose the Indian squad for the first two ties against the West Indies and 30 probables for the World Cup, the former India captain also said all those who had done well in domestic cricket stood a good chance.

“We are keen to pick a winning combination. We want to win every game before the World Cup. All those who have done well in domestic cricket will be considered for selection,” Vengsarkar said on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the Baskin Robbins seven-a-side tournament for under-17 players.

Vengsarkar refused to comment when asked whether players like Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan would be axed, saying that it would all be decided by the entire Selection Committee, captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell who will attend the meeting.

“These matters would be discussed at the meeting in the presence of the captain and coach and a decision will be taken. Performance and fitness are very important,” he said.

Asked about Pathan, the former middle-order batsman said it was wrong to say that he was sent back home before the end of the Test rubber in South Africa to play domestic cricket without the bowler’s consent.

“We told him it would be in his best interest to go back and bowl more overs in domestic cricket and he agreed,” he said. Elaborating on the Pathan issue, Vengsarkar said he was a very talented player but was struggling to rediscover his bowling form.

“We all thought it was in the interest of his bowling that he goes back and bowls a lot of overs in domestic cricket. He’s a fine player and I am definite he will come back,” he said.

Vengsarkar said Munaf Patel was not 100 per cent fit when playing the last Test at Cape Town and squarely put the blame on the player for not disclosing he was not totally match fit.

“You could see he was not 100 per cent match fit. Match fitness is different from physical fitness and physio John Gloster found him physically fit, but it was up to the player to say whether he’s match fit or not,” the former India skipper said.

Speedster Patel had hurt his ankle during the early part of the one-day series in South Africa and was reduced to being a mere spectator for most of the remainder of the tour before playing the final Test.

Vengsarkar also made it clear that injured batsman Yuvraj Singh, who practised today at the Cricket Club of India under the watchful eyes of BCCI physician Anant Joshi and the selection panel chief, would have to prove his fitness in match situations before he could be considered.

“Yuvraj is a very important player. But he needs to play some matches and prove his fitness in match conditions before he can be considered for selection,” Vengsarkar said.

Asked what he and coach Chappell had discussed with Shashank Manohar, one of the vice-presidents of the BCCI and a vocal advocate of performance-linked pay packet for the players, yesterday at Nagpur, Vengsarkar said the discussion was related to “the future of Indian cricket”.

According to informed sources, the meeting, called at the instance of the coach and selection panel chief, lasted for two hours.
Incidentally, both Chappell and Vengsarkar are part of the committee that will decide on the contracts for the players which are yet to be signed.

Vengsarkar also took the opportunity to spell out the importance of top players taking part in domestic cricket.

“Domestic cricket must get its importance. All players must play in domestic cricket. In their absence it’s difficult to judge the performance of the others.”

The former India batsman and veteran of 116 Tests also felt that in future Twenty20 cricket might sweep the 50-over game off its pedestal. “Twenty20 is the future of cricket. If you want to globalise the game this is the ideal format for spreading it. The 50-over game has become monotonous and I can’t say what its future is following the advent of Twenty20 cricket.”

But the former captain was not convinced that bowlers do not have a role to play in the shortest format of the game. — PTI 

Rajkot, January 11
With the selectors’ patience running out, Virender Sehwag will have to wait till tomorrow to know whether he would get another chance to translate his potential into runs.

Apart from Sehwag, there would be quite a few other cricketers who would be eagerly awaiting their fate as the selection panel meets here tomorrow to pick the squad for India’s first two one-dayers against the West Indies and also draw the 30-member list of probables for the World Cup.

The poor form of the batsmen would be a cause of worry for the selection panel, headed by former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar (West Zone) and comprising Bhupinder Singh Sr (North), Ranjib Biswal (East), Sandip Jagdale (Central) and Venkatpathy Raju (South).

The meeting is expected to discuss in detail Sehwag’s show in the one-day and Test series on the recently concluded tour of South Africa.

But taking a decision on Sehwag would not be easy given his match-winning abilities as well as the fact that he showed signs of returning to form with a fluent century in a Ranji Trophy match against Haryana in Rohtak yesterday.

Sehwag made scores of 0, 18 and 11 in the three of the five one-dayers he played. His dismal run with the bat continued in the Test series where he scored 10, 8 and 44 (both innings put together) in the three Test matches.

The top-scorer in the Test series, Sourav Ganguly is most likely to get a recall to the one-day squad with the two middle-order batsmen Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina not being in great touch in the ongoing Ranji tournament.

Also, injury problems of some players, including key middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh, would come up for discussion.
Pacer Munaf Patel’s ankle injury and Tendulkar’s hamstring injury are also expected to be reviewed by the selectors before they announce the teams.

While Munaf has already been ruled out of the first two ODIs, Tendulkar’s injury is not considered to be serious.

Some of the youngsters who have done well in the Ranji Trophy games are expected to be picked in the 30-member provisional squad for the World Cup.

Topping the list is Karnataka’s opening batsman Robin Uthappa, currently the highest run-getter in the Ranji season with a tally of over 800 runs and an average of over 65.

The names of Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara and Haryana all-rounder Joginder Sharma are also expected to be discussed. Joginder is the highest wicket-taker in this Ranji season with 39 wickets so far and has also struck two tons.

Veteran spinner Anil Kumble is likely to be retained for the one-dayers against the West Indies, while Ramesh Powar also stands a chance of earning a recall. — PTI

Melbourne, January 11
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova were today announced as the top seeds for men’s and women’s singles, respectively, at the Australian Open beginning on January 15.

The field includes eight former world number ones, all of the top 20 men and 18 of the top 20 women competing.

Federer, who finished world No.1 for the third successive year, won 12 titles in 2006, including three Grand Slam titles, four Masters Series crowns and the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

Sharapova tops the women’s seedings for the first time, after claiming five titles in 2006, including the US Open. She has been a semifinalist here for the past two years.

In the men’s section, Spain’s Rafael Nadal is the second seed. He missed the Australian Open last year with a left foot injury.
Greek Cypriot crowd-pleaser Marcos Baghdatis, a surprise Australian Open finalist last year, is seeded 11th.

The men’s seedings also include in-form Serb Novak Djokovic at No.14. and another young star, Britain’s Andy Murray, at No. 15.

Defending women’s champion Amelie Mauresmo of France comes into the 2007 event seeded second after last season’s two Grand Slam titles. Kim Clijsters, embarking on her final year on the WTA Tour, is seeded fourth after being a finalist at the 2004 Australian Open.

Sharapova leads a strong Russian contingent of eight seeds - 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova (3), Nadia Petrova (5), Elena Dementieva (7), Dinara Safina (9), Anna Chakvetadze (12), Vera Zvonareva (22) and Maria Kirilenko (26).

The women seeds could face some dangerous floaters in the draw, with Australia’s Alicia Molik and two-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams unseeded this year.

The Australian Open draw takes place tomorrow. — AFP

Hyderabad, January 11
A composed half-century by skipper VVS Laxman followed by another superb spell of seam bowling by Alfred Absolom gave Hyderabad the edge in the Ranji Trophy Elite Division match against Punjab here today.

Laxman made a fluent 76 to help Hyderabad make 251 in reply to Punjab’s 142 and gain a 109-run first-innings lead on the second day.

Absolom, who had taken seven wickets in the visitors’ first innings, grabbed 3-55 and in combination with MP Arjun (2-27) reduced Punjab to 74 for five.

Skipper Pankaj Dharmani and Uday Kaul then came to the rescue of the visitors and put the innings back on track with an unfinished partnership of 71 runs for the sixth wicket.

At stumps, Punjab were 145 for five with Dharmani unbeaten on 70 and Kaul 28 not out.

Sydney, January 11
Nikolay Davydenko has been fined $ 10,000 for making negative comments about the Sydney International tennis tournament after retiring from his first-round match with a foot problem.

“I’m satisfied that the $ 10,000 fine for Davydenko is the appropriate sanction for the comments that not only damaged the very fine tournament in Sydney but also sully the reputation of our great sport,” ATP chairman Etienne De Villiers said in a statement today.

After retiring from his match yesterday, Davydenko described the Sydney International as a “small tournament” that “nobody cares about.”

No.3-ranked Davydenko, who played more tournaments than any other top-10 player last season, was the fifth high-profile player to withdraw from the Sydney tournament this week. No. 2 Rafael Nadal and Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan pulled out on the men’s side, while Russians Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova retired from their early-round women’s matches.

Women’s No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne withdrew before the tournament, citing personal problems, and former champion Lleyton Hewitt pulled out of the men’s draw with a calf muscle complaint. — AP

Kolkata, January 11
Sourav Ganguly smashed an unbeaten 72 off 73 balls to brighten his chances of returning to the ODI squad as Bengal amassed 465 for four to tighten the noose around Rajasthan on the second day of Ranji Elite Group match here today.

Bengal will now press for an outright win after having secured safe passage to the semifinals with two points on basis of the first-innings lead.

Ganguly was at his elegant best, leaning on to deliveries with fluent cover drives and delectable cuts. A whiplash shot off his legs for a boundary was the shot of the day. His 72 was studded with 14 hits to the fence.

Sixtyone overs into the Bengal innings Abhishek Jhunjhunwala struck a boundary of Mohammad Aslam to take Bengal past Rajasthan’s paltry first-innings score of 193.

The Bengal batsmen made merry in face of an insipid Rajasthan attack. Jhunjhunwala began the day on 40 and went on to notch up his third Ranji century and second of the season before being caught by Khatri of Aslam for 115.

He and Subhomoy Das, who scored a mature 82, took Bengal past the 200-run mark. However, both fell in successive overs with the score on 201, which was also their partnership for the second wicket, triggering a mini collapse.

But that was it. Deep Dasgupta departed for 38 and Manoj Tewari, after being dropped by Rohit Jhalani for 13, went on to hit an unbeaten 152 off 173 balls with 20 hits to the fence. — UNI

Centurion, January 11
Yasir Hameed and Younis Khan shared a century stand to put Pakistan on top on the first day of the first Test against South Africa today.

Pakistan, who won the toss and chose to bat, reached tea at 160 for two.

Hameed was 53 not out with Younis on 55, and their partnership for the unbroken third wicket was worth 110.

South Africa’s only successes came shortly after the first drinks break when fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who took two for 39, removed openers Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez in consecutive overs.

The openers put on 48 before Farhat cut uppishly and was caught by Hashim Amla at point for 26.

In Ntini’s next over Hafeez, who scored 19, attempted to leave an angled delivery and gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. South Africa might have dismissed Farhat for 14 in the 12th over with the total on 26 without loss when he top-edged a hook off fast bowler Andre Nel.

Paul Harris circled under the ball at mid-on, but failed to lay a hand on what seemed a routine catch.

Boucher became the fourth South African after Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Gary Kirsten to earn his 100th Test cap today.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn, who suffered a recurrence of a thing strain in the third Test against India in Cape Town, was replaced by Nel in the only change to the South African team.

Pakistan opted to strengthen their batting, with only four recognised bowlers in the side.

Injured pacer Umar Gul was missing, as was his replacement, Shoaib Akhtar. Mohammad Asif, Shahid Nazir and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan made up Pakistan’s pace attack, backed by leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.

Asif is playing his first match for Pakistan since he and Shoaib were banned in November for doping offences. A tribunal later cleared both players.

Scoreboard

Pakistan (1st innings)

Ludhiana, January 11
Mata Sahib Kaur Hockey Academy, Jarkhar, scored an authentic 5-1 victory over Mithapur Academy, Jalandhar, in the opening match of the Ist Punjab Hockey League being organised by the Punjab Sports Department, which began at the Prithipal Singh Astroturf Stadium on the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today.

Jarkhar lads went into an early lead when Rajbir Singh converted a penalty corner in the 7th minute and in the next minute Amritpal Singh scored a field goal to increase the lead. In the 15th minute, Harvinder Singh found the target to read it 3-0.

After changing ends, Varinder Singh struck twice (47th and 53rd minute) to consolidate the lead 5-0. With just one minute to go for the long whistle, Amritpal Singh of Mithapur Academy scored an opportunistic goal to reduce the margin 1-5.

In the second match of the day, Sahib Dass Academy of Sangrur managed to scrape past Khambra Academy, Jalandhar, 1-0. After the barren first half, Satguru Singh scored he all-important goal in the 48th minute.

The third match was played between Grewal Academy of Kila Raipur and Ferozepore XI, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Kila Raipur players went ahead in the 16th minute through Navjot Singh and Navdeep Singh cemented the lead in the 37th minute.

However, Ferozepore lads bounced into match with Gurpreet Singh striking in the 45th minute. The equaliser came off Paramjeet Singh’s stick in the 47th minute.

In the last match of the day, Amloh Academy prevailed over Khusropur Academy 2-1. It were the Khusropur Academy boys who opened the account. Shubhkarman put his side ahead in the 9th minute.

Two minutes later, Sandeep Singh of Amloh Academy restored the parity and Yadwinder Singh struck in the 45th minute, which sealed Khusropur Academy lads’ fate 2-1.

Four time Olympian, Balbir Singh Sr. inaugurated the league in which 20 teams are taking part. Pargat Singh, Director, Sports, Punjab along with former international hockey stars Sukhvir Grewal, Hardeep Singh Neeta and Ramandeep Singh, officials of Punjab Sports Department were present on this occasion.

New Delhi, January 11
Keen to avoid a clash of dates with the cricket World Cup in March-April, the India-Pakistan hockey Test series has been postponed.

Indian Hockey Federation Secretary K Jothikumaran said the bilateral series, earlier proposed to be held in March and April, was postponed in consultation with the Pakistan Hockey Federation.

“PHF Secretary Akhtarul Islam had called up yesterday to tell me that it would be ideal to hold the series in the latter part of April (because of the World Cup). Also, during the inauguration of the Premier Hockey League, IHF President KPS Gill had said that it would be proper to organise the series after April 10,” Jothikumaran told PTI today.

Both national federations had planned to hold the eight-match Test series on a home-and-away basis during March and April. Pakistan were to host the first four Tests in March followed by the second leg in India in April.

The World Cup would be held in the Caribbean from March 13 to April 28.

Jothikumaran said the two national bodies would finalise dates for the series during the Asian Hockey Confederation Congress later this month. — PTI

Dubai, January 11
India have a lot of catching up to do on the ICC ODI ranking chart. The poor performance in the shorter version against South Africa finds India languishing at the sixth spot behind Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

With 106 points in their kitty, India are ahead of the West Indies by just two points.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is India’s lone batsman in the top10 of the ODI rankings at fifth place, while Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid occupy 14th and 15th places, respectively.

No Indian bowler finds himself in the top-10 list with the first Indian name - Harbhajan Singh - tucked deep on the 14th spot.

Paceman Irfan Pathan’s lack of form is reflected in the rankings as he is further three places down.

India will play four home ODIs each against the West Indies and Sri Lanka before the World Cup. India can move past Sri Lanka to the fifth place if they beats the West Indies 3-0 or 4-0 in the upcoming series.

Australia, who will take on England and New Zealand in the tri-series starting on Monday, have five batsmen in the top 11. Michael Hussey, who retained his place at the top in batting, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke are all in fine form and will be keen to continue as the World Cup countdown begins.

Things are encouraging for New Zealand on the bowling front as Daniel Vettori climbed three rungs to occupy the fifth place.

South Africa’s Shaun Pollock is currently enjoying his highest-ever rating in both the bowling and all-rounder categories. — PTI

Lahore, January 11
After overturning bans on dope-tainted pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) extended its largesse to 10 domestic bowlers with suspect actions by lifting their bans.

The Bowling Action Committee (BAC) of the PCB cleared pacers Zaheer Aslam, Ihsan Sheikh, Nadeem Javed, Agha Sharique and spinners Tariq Mahmood, Ahmed Nasim, Asad Zahid, Munir Ansari, Noor-ul-Amin, and Athar Hussain, who were slapped with a four-week ban.

Bangalore, January 11
Returning to winning ways, former champions East Bengal outplayed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Sports Club 3-1 in a second-round match of the National Football League at BDFA stadium here today.

Scoring twice in the early part of the first half, East Bengal, who were shocked by Air-India in their first match, brought down the high-flying aircraftmen, who had fought well to hold another Kolkata giant Mohun Bagan to a goal-less draw in the first round.

Though HAL reduced the margin after the break, they were never in the hunt as East Bengal increased the margin to 3-1 with just four minutes remaining in the contest.

Ashim Biswas, who recovered in time from a bout of fever, played a dominant role in East Bengal’s win by netting the opener in the fifth minute and set up midfielder Bibiano 17 minutes later to double the score with a neat cross.

HAL, after letting their rivals dominate them in the first half, fought back in the second, reducing the margin just two minutes into the second half through a sizzling goal from Kuttymani. However, substitute striker Izumi Arata took the match beyond the reach of the aircraftmen, scoring the third goal four minutes from time.

East Bengal would now go home to play arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting at Barasat grounds, while HAL would emplane to Mumbai to face Air-India at the Cooperage ground.

HAL could have drawn first blood in the very first minute of the game, but a fine cross from Murali went abegging as both Nanda Kumar and Rajendra Prasad failed to connect the ball from a handshaking distance from East Bengal custodian Rajat Ghosh Dastidar.

Lara does an Imran
Port of Spain: Following the footsteps of Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain Imran Khan, batting great and West Indies skipper Brian Lara lent his name and provided financial help to an eponymous cancer treatment centre here on Thursday. Lara lost his mother Pearl to the dreaded disease. — UNI