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Malinga rues lost cause
Gavaskar writes
Miandad writes
Fallen idols sneak in
Maradona hospitalised
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts against Rafael Nadal of Spain during the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Wednesday. Djokovic won 6-3, 6-4. — AFP
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Anand is Amber rapid king
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St John’s, March 29 All-rounder Jacob Oram, spinner Daniel Vettori and pace bowler Shane Bond grabbed three wickets each to skittle the hosts for 177 before the Kiwis overhauled the target with more than 10 overs to spare. Earlier, All-rounder Jacob Oram, who joked about amputating a finger on his left hand if it meant playing in the World Cup, put New Zealand in control of the match. Oram took three top-order wickets in the space of six overs with his deceptive bounce and late movement off the seam. The tournament hosts did not recover and eventually succumbed for 177 from 44.4 overs. Captain Brian Lara did his best to shore up his team's fragile batting for the second time in two days after the opening second-round game against Australia spilled over into the reserve day. But when he was caught behind by Brendon McCullum from a Scott Styris off-cutter for 37 any hope of West Indies posting a competitive total disappeared. After Stephen Fleming had asked West Indies to bat following a morning shower, Shane Bond made the new ball swing extravagantly away from left-handed openers Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He was soon rewarded when the latter was caught by Styris at second slip for four. Gayle on seven smashed a ball through Peter Fulton's fingertips diving to his right at square-leg and then took three fours in a row off James Franklin's straight-forward left-arm medium pace. The introduction of Oram, who said he would have the ring finger he broke taking a catch against Australia this year cut off if necessary to play in the tournament, was the turning point. Oram had Ramnaresh Sarwan (19) brilliantly caught by the diving McCullum who took an inside edge in his left glove. Marlon Samuels (9) gloved a catch to the wicketkeeper and the dangerous Gayle, who had scored 44 from 56 balls with eight fours, dragged a ball on to his stumps. Lara's dismissal to Styris's clever medium-pace spelled the end of West Indies' prospects and two wickets in as many balls by left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori hastened the end. Scoreboard West Indies Gayle b Oram 44 Chanderpaul c Styris b Bond 4 Sarwan c McCullum b Oram 19 Samuels c McCullum b Oram 9 Lara c McCullum b Styris 37 Bravo c McCullum b Bond 18 Ramdin c Oram b Vettori 15 Simmons not out 14 Smith b Vettori 8 Powell lbw Vettori 0 Collymore b Bond 0 Extras
(b-1, lb-5, w-3) 9 Total (all out; 44.4 overs) 177 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-66, 3-78, 4-81, 5-128, 6-150, 7-158, 8-176, 9-176. Bowling: Mason 6-2-14-0, Bond 8.4-0-31-3, Franklin 3-0-29-0, Oram 8-2-23-3, Styris 10-1-35-1, Vettori 9-1-39-3. New Zealand Fulton b Powell 0 Fleming run out 45 Marshall c Lara b Powell 15 Styris not out 80 McMillan not out 33 Extras (lb-1, w-3, nb-2) 6 Total (3 wkts; 39.2 overs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-36, 3-77. Bowling:
Powell 10-2-39-2, Smith 5-0-24-0, Collymore 9-0-43-0, Bravo 8-0-32-0, Gayle 6.2-0-35-0, Sarwan 1-0-5-0.
— Reuters
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England look to Joyce factor
Georgetown, March 29 Joyce, who helped Ireland qualify for this World Cup before changing allegiance, has passed useful information on to England as to how to tame Ireland who have upset the calculations by reaching the second round. “I have told team analyst Mark Garaway a little bit. I know 11 or 12 of the Irish guys pretty well but there are couple who have come in who I haven’t seen very much of,” said Joyce, who made his England debut against Ireland last year. “I will be able to help out with a few tips but you have to keep things pretty basic against most teams whether you are playing against Australia or against Ireland so I think we’re going to be keeping it pretty simple.” “Ireland play as a unit very well, they field very well, they bowl as a unit and they’ve got a lot of medium-pacers and spinners who bowl very straight. They bat all the way down to number 10,” said the 28-year-old Joyce. Ireland, making their World Cup debut, silenced all those who criticised minnows’ participation in the event with a three-wicket upset win over former champions Pakistan in their crucial Group D match. They tied their match against Zimbabwe before losing to the west Indies — but still qualified for the Super Eights with three points in as many matches. Joyce hoped England take the opportunity to peak for tougher matches. You want to peak at the right time in these tournaments and we’d like to think we are getting there after the first match,” said Joyce, who hit 66 and 75 in England’s wins over Canada and Kenya in the first round. England, who qualified from Group C without carrying two points, know it’s important to achieve a win tomorrow, to press for a semifinal place. After Ireland, England face Sri Lanka and Australia in Antigua in the space of four days, a task coach Duncan Fletcher had realised once the team qualified, the first time they cleared the first round since 1996 World Cup. “We’ve got to go and win four games starting with that first one. At previous World Cups we’ve stumbled early on in the tournament and it’s important we’ve gone through to the Super Eights,” Fletcher said. Irish coach Adrian Birrell disagreed Joyce passing the information would play a lead role. “I am sure he (Joyce) knows all our players, but we also know their players and other players from all the countries. I think with a lot of video available on all teams it’s not a huge advantage, it certainly does help,” said Birrell, 47. “We have played some good cricket, so we must keep the momentum against all teams,” stressed Birrell who played first-class cricket for Eastern Province in South Africa and is Irish coach for the last four years. “ We know all the pressure is on England, they need to beat us to get to the semis, you know they are not carrying any points and if they don’t pick two against us then they are under pressure.” “We owe a big thank to Joyce for helping us through to the World Cup and look forward to playing against him.” — AFP
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Malinga rues lost cause
Malinga grabbed four wickets off as many balls, the first bowler to do so in international cricket, to revive Sri Lanka’s hopes in the Super Eight tie at the newly-built Province stadium. After scuttling out the Lankans for a modest 209, South Africa were cruising at 206 for five when the speedster with painted locks rocked their boat. “The old ball was reverse swinging. I tried to get that one wicket but they needed only three runs to score,” the 23-year old right-arm pacer with sling-shot action said after the match on Wednesday. “I am feeling bad. I am happy with the hat-trick but the team lost ... There were not enough runs (to defend). A total of 220 would have been a good target.” Malinga became the fifth bowler after Chetan Sharma, Saqlain Mushtaq, Chaminda Vaas and Brett Lee to take a hat-trick in World Cup. He is the 24th bowler ever in limited overs cricket to perform the feat but no bowler has taken four wickets off successive deliveries in a World Cup match.
— PTI
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Sachin: Nation’s charm goes cold
Antigua, March 29 Since he first made it to local Mumbai newspapers in the mid 1980s, Tendulkar has been pretty much the reigning deity of Indian cricket. His one snap could trigger a stampede among press photographers; his one quote, however banal, would make front-page headlines. Media respected his privacy like they did with no one else. It was the same with his own mates. Tendulkar always got the spot he wanted in the team bus. It was also the same in the dressing room where his mates didn’t dare to put even a towel on his chair. He was always accorded the space, grown up men always walked a step behind him. Andrew Leipus, former physio of Indian team, once described the rest of the team’s dilemma whenever they attended a public function. “What you do is to try and stay away from Sachin in public places. The crowd would come in droves and leave you gasping for breath. A quiet drink is never possible with him around.” Every passing day only served to add to his aura. If Steve Waugh termed him second only to Bradman, the ‘Don’ himself likened him to his own image. Shane Warne talked of ‘nightmare’, Viv Richards about his fascination with the little genius. The monarchs of the game, including Brian Lara, took a bow to the Indian emperor. On the other hand, voices of dissent faced national disapproval. Sanjay Manjrekar, who questioned his authority, faced national censure. Sachin’s cheap dismissal against England, which provoked a boo from the stands of Wankhede Stadium last year, was a front-page news. In the background, of course, were whispers, which questioned his ability to win key games. But frankly it never came to a stage when Tendulkar’s charisma dimmed in front of a Sehwag, Dravid or even Ganguly. Lately, much has changed though. The new India is intolerant of failure. It doesn’t give in to respect easily, past laurels mean little to it. In everyday battle of recognition and honour, the Indians want to take on the world. There is a generational change and past heroes are viewed in modern prism with frankness, even brutally. In many ways, it is the biggest challenge for Tendulkar yet. Despite his mountain of runs and centuries, he feels unfulfilled. Normally, it should be a cause of celebration for Indian cricket except that his failures are now unlikely to be glossed over. Revisionists truly are at work. Tendulkar has not only been a part of Indian cricket dynasty, he has even presided over it. He is still among the top batsmen of the land but it wouldn’t help explain away his failures. He has stoked the demons of success and he is now obliged to keep feeding it. Of course he has the option to turn his back on it all. But he wouldn’t do it. A few would term it is failure to read the sign of times; others would admire him for his courage to take on the world.
— PTI
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Woolmer murder linked to Dawood: Report
London/Kingston, March 29 The mild-mannered coach had a hot argument with the man, said to be a Pakistan-based bookie who was at the world cup with Dawood’s bother Anees Ibrahim, according to a report in The Sun. Jamaican government officials said two Pakistan players had told police of the row between the coach and the bookie. The two players were said to have spoken of a furious bust-up in their statements to cops. “Bob Woolmer said he had thrown a bookie out of his room. He didn’t give a reason,” an official was quoted as saying by the tabloid. Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields, who is leading the inquiry, refused to confirm the incident, but said police would be investigating it. “This issue has come up before but we have so far been unable to substantiate it,” Shields said. “But we are prepared to consider it further now we have names and more details. We will be investigating,” he added. Meanwhile, Shields refused to give clean chit to Pakistan players in the Bob Woolmer murder case and described team spokesman Pevez Mir’s comment as “pretty inaccurate” that Inzamam-ul Haq and Co. were not suspects anymore.
— UNI
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Lanka fought back well
Australia have shown in a most emphatic way that they are still the team to beat. Their win over the West Indies was a brutal one, wherein their batsmen, led by Matthew Hayden, clobbered the bowlers all over the ground, and then their bowlers bowled so well that once the West Indies had lost their openers, the Aussie foot was never off the neck. Brian Lara, the West Indies skipper, tried his best, it was pretty much a solo show, unlike the Australian effort, which was a ‘team’ one. This is where the Australians are above their rivals. They seem to have a man for every occasion, and that person invariably comes up with a superlative performance. Australia and New Zealand are two teams that not only carry the two points and net run-rate from their group stage into the Super Eight stage, but will also feel confident of picking points and their NRR against Ireland and Bangladesh. Not that one is writing these two teams off, but Bangladesh have in the past flattered to deceive, and Ireland may just find the Super Eight stage a step too steep to climb. The weather can be a factor, and that’s why the stronger teams will try and finish off these matches quicker, so as not to be under any pressure because of rain-stoppages and delays. This is where the matches between the other teams become so crucial, for the West Indies and Sri Lanka will not play Ireland and Bangladesh, respectively, again in the Super Eight, and so have to look for their points against other teams. South Africa and England too go into the Super Eight with no points because they lost to Australia and New Zealand, respectively, and so they cannot afford to take any match lightly. Sri Lanka fought back well against South Africa, but just did not have enough runs on the board. Malinga bowled like the wind, but he wasn’t able to deliver the coup de grace, and South Africa snatched a victory literally with a streaky edge to the boundary. What Australia and South Africa have shown is how good fielding can add up the pressure as batsmen are unable to steal the singles, even as the loose deliveries are not on offer. The West Indies and Sri Lanka will now have to win four of their remaining five matches to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the semifinals, and that’s a tough ask. By winning their game against Lanka, South Africa have opened their ‘points account’ and will believe that the ‘chokers’ tag is a thing of the past, for it was just the kind of situation where they had lost in the past. Time of course will tell. In the meanwhile, England, who too are on ‘nil’ points, will want to show that they are serious contenders for the Cup, especially Andrew Flintoff, who would want to make up for his escapades with a team-lifting performance. If he does that, the World Cup will be a real scorcher, even without India and Pakistan. — PMG
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Aussies too hot to handle
Australia’s victory over the West Indies provided yet another indication of the fact that the six other teams in the fray have an ominous task ahead of them. How they are going to prevent Ponting’s side from completing a hat-trick of World Cup wins, only they know. But then, it is not impossible. The hosts were bound to find the going tough against the seasoned Australian bowling and fielding. Lara and Chanderpaul apart, the other members of the side are not very experienced, and they felt the heat once Australia batted first and amassed a huge score. The best thing about this Australian team is that it just doesn’t seem to be under any pressure, irrespective of the situation it is in. This attitude of the players ensures that they are rarely under pressure. They play as a team, and every player’s brief is pretty straightforward – he knows that he has to perform, period. The Aussies always pick their teams on merit, keeping mind the present and future. Anyone who believes in this line of thinking will end up winning eight or nine times out of ten. The Australians do not select any player who is ‘incomplete’. It is only when they are convinced about his versatility that they consider him for selection. This is in sharp contrast to the Indian and Pakistan mentality. We will select a batsman who might be good, but unfortunately, we will take into account only his batting abilities. He may be a mediocre fielder, but that won’t stop us from pushing him into the team. The Australians will never do that. They bowl steadily, field splendidly and bat brilliantly. I haven’t come across many batting sides who consciously try to put the bowlers under pressure. It’s usually the other way round. Their batsmen play every ball on merit. A fuller delivery is played off the front foot and a short one off the back foot. Their methods are thus quite basic. But no other side follows the basics as diligently as they do. The South Africans are not too far behind the Australians, but they are not as effective at ‘reading’ the ball once it leaves the bowler’s hand. Lasith Malinga almost pulled off a miraculous win for Sri Lanka, but the Proteas wouldn’t have made it as difficult for themselves had they simply played straight. The batsmen surely knew that the bowler would have wanted to bowl fuller, and they should have accordingly played forward. When you come up against a bowler with an action as unusual as Malinga’s, your first priority should be to play out a few balls and assess him. That is what I used to do against a bowler like Jeff Thomson, who had a similar action. In fact, that is exactly what Langeveldt, South Africa’s no. 11, did. I have come to the conclusion that batsmen the world over are forgetting the art of ‘reading’ the bowler. Things were different previously. You would have never seen Sunil Gavaskar attempting to sweep a bouncer. But the batters of today are prone to trying anything and everything, and the results are mostly disastrous. Are Australia beatable? My answer is ‘Yes.’ Most of the Australian batsmen are tentative when they are new to the wicket, and are therefore susceptible if the field is set to a plan and the bowling done accordingly. The Australians look to achieve a rate of five runs per over, regardless of whether they are playing in a Test or an ODI. They don’t like it when a bowling side tries their patience. Doing the little things right, like bowling on one side of the wicket, can yield rich dividends. There are times when you have to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses, but there are also times when you need to feed your opponent’s strengths. The Australian batters like to drive and cut, and they can be undone if you place the right men in the right positions and get your bowlers to maintain a disciplined line. An effective strategy, if executed well, can bring about a victory over Australia. Refer to the England and New Zealand teams for further details! — PMG
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Fallen idols sneak in
Mumbai, March 29 Security was tight at the Mumbai airport as the state government pressed in extra police personnel to prevent angry fans from taking their ire out on the Men in Blue. But they didn’t have bothered. Days after India’s exit, much of the public anger has disappeared and no one really bothered to turn up to ‘welcome’ their ‘heroes’. Rather than let the cricketers come out through the main gates at the Sahara International Terminal, the authorities chose to whisk them away from the cargo terminal building at Santa Cruz more than an hour after their flight landed. The cricketers and officials who landed in Mumbai on board a British Airways flight — Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, team manager Sanjay Jagdale and coach Greg Chappell were received by BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah and Prof Ratnakar Shetty before they exited quietly. Eyewitnesses said Agarkar drove away in his own car while Tendulkar’s brother, Ajit and wife Anjali drove away with the star batsman. Only television camerapersons were waiting for Tendulkar at his home in suburban Bandra. Obeying orders from Bal Thackeray, a handful of Shiv Sainiks thronged the place presumably to prevent angry fans from venting their anger on Tendulkar. The out-of-town cricketers like Pathan and Munaf Patel, captain Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Robin Utthapa left for their respective homes later in the day. BCCI officials said Virender Sehwag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni took another flight to Delhi where they were whisked away by security personnel. Sourav Ganguly did not return with the team and is expected to stay on in London for a few
more days. — PTI
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Maradona hospitalised
The life of the 46-year-old former Barcelona and Napoli star was not in danger, doctor Alfredo Cahe told reporters, but Maradona will stay in Guemes Hospital where he was taken late yesterday for “several days.” “He didn’t have a very consistent lifestyle, in his eating habits, his drinking and the amount of cigars he smoked,” Cahe said, adding “it was not cocaine.” “This, in addition to stress, was a logical reason to hospitalise him, and against his will,” Cahe said, adding that Maradona was not suffering heart or brain ailments. In April 2000 Maradona had a heart attack in Uruguay following a cocaine overdose. Four years later, another heart attack followed another overdose. After spending weeks in intensive care, his weight ballooned to alarming levels, prompting him to undergo gastric bypass surgery in 2005. Earlier, the hospital said the former Argentina star was taken by ambulance to the hospital “to undergo an examination after having suffered a decompensation,” it said in a statement, while not explaining any details. However, the hospital said, “It does not have any relation to the consumption of dangerous drugs.” Maradona, who led Argentina to a 1986 World Cup trophy, was taken to the hospital after feeling ill at his parents’ house, Argentine television said. His ex-wife Claudia Villafane, his daughters Dalma and Giannina, and Cahe, arrived at the facility later. Outside a team of police guards lined up and dozens of fans stood around anxiously waiting for news about the former football star’s health. Maradona shares the FIFA title of the 20th century’s best player with Brazil’s Pele after a sparkling career with Boca Juniors, Barcelona and Napoli, the Argentinian national side. But his career was dogged by controversy over misbehaviour on and off the field, including several suspensions for drug use. Since he stopped playing he has undergone treatment for substance abuse and also for weight gain. But newspaper photographs early this month appeared to show he had regained many of the 50 kilograms (110 pounds) lost in his crash weight-loss treatment, and one showed him in a Buenos Aires nightclub with an injured nose after a fall off his chair. Also, early this month, tax authorities instructed the Argentine central bank to collect information about Maradona’s bank accounts, suggesting he was under investigation for financial irregularities. On Saturday Cahe told reporters that Maradona was considering going to Switzerland to deal with a new surge in his weight, following his stomach reduction surgery in Colombia. Born October 30, 1960 just outside Buenos Aires, Maradona amassed a fortune during 21 years in football. He proved his genius in the crucible of the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico, with a series of brilliant displays, which led Argentina to the title.
— AFP
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Djokovic sends Nadal packing
Miami, March 29 Djokovic, the 10th seed, avenged his loss to Nadal in the final of the ATP Masters Series tournament at Indian Wells earlier this month with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph that he called the most important of his career. He booked a clash with his fellow 19-year-old Murray, the 12th seed from Scotland who moved on when Roddick retired late in the first set. Nadal, 20, was philosophical. “The world is not just Federer and me,” he said. “There’s a lot of good players.” Murray, who was nursing a sore ankle when he lost to Djokovic in the semifinals at Indian Wells, led 5-3 after 29 minutes when Roddick pulled out. On the women’s side, 13th seed Serena Williams followed up one shockingly easy victory with another as she dispatched eighth-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-4. Williams cruised through the first set, but faced triple break point at 3-4 in the second. She stormed back to win five straight points, three with aces, to hold serve and got the break she needed in the next game. Williams, who had reprised her Australian Open finals rout of Russian Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, booked a semifinal clash with Israel’s Shahar Peer. Peer, the 14th seed, defeated Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-0, 6-3 to reach her first career tier I semifinal.
— AFP
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Monaco, March 29 After splitting point in the bilndfold game earlier in the day, Anand played it safe, giving Leko a taste of his own medicine in the Marshall Gambit and drew to annex the rapid title on eight points out of a possible 10. Anand’s domination in his favourite variant of the game was excellent as he still has two points lead over nearest rivals world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine going into the last round. Kramnik stamped his authority in the bilndfold section and also won with a round to spare. The Russian is also all set to annex the crown in the combined standings as well for the sixt time for which he only needs one draw in the two remaining games of the final round. For the records, Kramnik has 14.5 points in his kitty and he remained two points clear of Anand and Ivanchuk in the combined standings. Russian Peter Svidler, who played two draws with Kramnik in the penultimate round, is sole fourth on 11 points and the interest now lies in who will finish second as Kramnik’s victory looks like a forgone conclusion in the combined standings. Interestingly, the lead positions remained unchanged after the 10th round as all three players vying for the top slot played out draws. Anand failed to break Leko’s defences in both the games, Kramnik decided against pressing hard against Svidler while Ivanchuk, even as he tried, found Israeli Boris Gelfand a tough nut to crack. The game lasted just 23 moves when Anand proposed a draw.
— PTI
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World record No. 3 for Phelps
Melbourne, March 29 The American swimming marvel chopped 0.86 seconds off his own mark to win the medley final in one minute 54.98 seconds to beat home American team-mate Ryan Lochte (1:56.19). Phelps is now halfway to his ambitious target of winning eight gold medals at the world titles in his build-up to an assault on Mark Spitz’s record seven gold medals at next year’s Beijing Olympics. “I am just happy to swim fast again and have my training work,” Phelps said. “I went out there and went after it. That is what I have been doing for every race. Why stop something that works?” It was 21-year-old Phelps’ third consecutive win in the event at the worlds and his sixth world record in the medley he has made his own. The Olympic champion is the only swimmer to win three back-to-back 200m medley world titles. He has now won gold in the 200m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 200m medley, all in the record time along with his role in America’s winning 4X100m freestyle relay team on Sunday. — AFP
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French GP in doubt
Paris, March 29 It left the door open for a possible reprieve later in the year, however, by adding: “The panel will re-examine the situation during its next session in July.”
— Reuters
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