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All set for crucial BCCI meeting
No Caribbean cruise for board members
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Gavaskar writes
Lalu bowls a googly
Rajput secures Olympic berth
Prabhjot called for camp
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All set for crucial BCCI meeting
Mumbai, April 5 The first day would be devoted to fact-finding. Chappell, captain Rahul Dravid, manager Sanjay Jagdale and selection panel chief Dilip Vengsarkar will be involved in the Cup review meeting with office-bearers of the BCCI headed by president Sharad Pawar. Chappell, who yesterday put an end to his tempestuous and controversy-ridden 22-month stint by intimating Pawar of his intention not to seek renewal of his expired contract, and Jagdale are to submit their tour reports to the board’s mandarins during this meeting. It is open to conjecture what these reports may contain. But more than Chappell’s report, it would be Jagdale’s account which could carry a bit more weight. Jagdale, the Indore-based national selector, is considered to be a neutral observer to the sorry goings-on in the West Indies that led to the disastrous first-round exit of the team. However, being an administrator and office-bearer of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, it remains to be seen whether he puts in anything critical on individual players in his written report. More significantly, these reports may not see the light of day in public as BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has already said that the entire reports would not be tabled in next day’s Working Committee even for the board members’ perusal as they are “confidential”. Only relevant portion of the reports, if they deal with cases of discipline of the players, would be shown to the members, Shah said a few days ago. However, selective “leaks” of these reports to a section of the media cannot be ruled in the light of what’s been the general trend vis-a-vis the team over the past few months. Later on the same day, the office-bearers are to meet seven former captains, including India’s only World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev, to seek out means and ways out of the morass that the team has plunged into of late. Apart from Kapil, those invited to attend the meeting are Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Chandu Borde, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar, Kris Srikkanth and Ravi Shastri. Sure to come up at this interaction is the choice of a new coach — particularly his nationality. Some of these former captains have aired their views about their preference for an Indian to guide the team in its hour of difficulty. The choice of the captain could also be raised at this meeting, though it’s the selectors’ exclusive preserve. Ad contracts to be scrutinised
In the wake of former board presidents’ concern over the player-agent nexus, the individual endorsement contracts of cricketers are set to come under the BCCI scanner, board sources said today. “The associations playing Ranji Trophy would be asked to provide details of the clauses governing all individual endorsement and advertising contracts signed by the players affiliated to them,” they said. The matter is expected to come up for discussion at the BCCI’s Working Committee meeting here, the sources added. Three former BCCI presidents, requesting anonymity, had told PTI that the player-agent nexus regarding endorsements was ruining Indian cricket and called for stern measures to check the menace in the wake of the team’s World Cup debacle.
— PTI
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No Caribbean cruise for board members
Mumbai, April 5 The officials were to be taken to the West Indies on a special chartered flight from New Delhi to watch the World Cup semifinals and the final in the exotic Caribbean islands. “The offer has now been cancelled following the team’s first-round exit from the World Cup,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI secretary, told IANS here today. “Luckily, we had not bought the tickets. But now no one is going,” he said at the BCCI headquarters here. The BCCI was to bear the entire cost, at the rate of Rs 400,000 per unit, for the 30 members. Never before has BCCI offered free trips during a World Cup, said a veteran BCCI official. India’s unexpected ouster has cost the BCCI officials the free jaunt. “I have been associated with the board for more than 25 years and I don’t remember BCCI ever coming out with a scheme like this. It was certainly not there during the 1999 World Cup in England and the 2003 tournament in South Africa,” a state association official told IANS. This offer followed some surprise “gifts” that the BCCI had sent to its affiliated units, a move that had set tongues in the rival group wagging. Experts were also asking if this was part of reconciliatory steps by the Sharad Pawar-led BCCI set-up with the Jagmohan Dalmiya-headed rival group. “The BCCI had sent to all its affiliated units invitations for a 12-day free trip to the West Indies,” a top official of a BCCI-affiliated association who got the invite disclosed. “The programme included stay on cruise ships, hospitality and seats for the two semifinals and the final,” said the official associated with the Dalmiya group. Now the officials will not be able to avail of the free trip. The official, a well-known Dalmiya supporter, said he had been surprised to receive a hefty gift packet. The packets, along with a formal letter listing the contents in the packet, were sent to all 30 BCCI associations. The most surprising part of the packet, containing six items, were three copies of a book, “A Social History of Indian Cricket: 22 Yards to Freedom”, which lauds Dalmiya’s role in Indian cricket. “I was extremely surprised to receive the book. Ironically, they are giving Dalmiya some free publicity,” he said. Dalmiya commissioned this book as part of the board’s platinum jubilee a few years ago. The other items in the gift packet included bats bearing signatures of India’s World Cup members, a group photograph of the Indian team that went for the World Cup, a silver salver, two Mont Blanc pens and replicas of the 1996 Cup plate.
— IANS
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Bob Woolmer’s death influenced Greg’s decision?
New Delhi, April 5 Ian, a former Australian captain elder to Greg, wrote in Mumbai’s Mid-Day newspaper that if there was any chance of his brother continuing his tenure, it probably disappeared when Woolmer died during the World Cup. “Such an ugly incident is sure to focus your concentration on life’s priorities. As much as it would seem that Greg is probably better off without all the angst that comes with one of the most demanding jobs in cricket, I doubt he will feel completely fulfilled,” Ian said. “A perfectionist, even one who has mellowed, is never going to be happy with under-achieving on his expectations,” he said. Ian also said that Greg had not questioned Sachin Tendulkar’s attitude, but had challenged him to resurrect his batting. “Improvement doesn’t come without constantly challenging yourself and also responding to the demands of your team-mates, something that happened regularly in the Australian team,” Ian wrote. “Having seen Tendulkar struggle in recent times, Greg would accept it as part of his job to challenge the master batsman to resurrect his batting in order to help India win matches. That is not questioning a player’s attitude. That is called striving for improvement.” Ian said his brother did the right thing by asking the board not to renew his contract as the job had taken a toll on his peace of mind. “Greg is a respectful person but there is no point in trying to be like an Indian when you have been employed because of your knowledge and experience as an Australian cricketer,” he added. Ian said his brother always strived for the betterment of Indian cricket, but was forced to give up his job as no one was willing to accept the radical changes he wanted to bring about. “Greg’s only rationale for playing cricket was to win. I can guarantee that, because we had the same tutor — our father Martin. Greg’s approach in his latest role would have been exactly the same — to do everything he could to help India win,” he said. “To see senior players just going through the motions in the field would have been enough to send Greg off on a search for young players who could field,” he added. Ian said Greg’s resignation gave an indication as to how the Indian system had failed to produce youngsters of world-class ability. “The fact that his tenure as India’s coach was less than satisfactory for both Greg and the team is probably a good indication that the system producing young cricketers needs more than just a bit of fine-tuning,” he said.
— PTI
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Ex-SA players salute Bob
Cape Town, April 5 Allan Donald, Gary Kirsten, Paul Adams and Nicky Boje, all former members of the South African team, were among those who gathered to honour Woolmer, whose death during the World Cup last month has shaken the cricket world. Solemn music filled the hall at the Wynberg Boys’ High School where Woolmer had for long shared his cricket expertise. An enlarged picture of Woolmer, who lived in the Cape Town area with his family, wife Gill and sons Dale and Russell, was pinned to the dais, bearing the words “He will never be forgotten.” Former South African cricket chief Ali Bacher and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf also attended the service along with some 300 persons. Adams, a South Africa Test bowler, said Woolmer had played a vital role in taking the game to poor communities in and around Cape Town. “He was very instrumental in going into disadvantaged areas and worked with a lot of players, myself included. He had a great passion for the game,” Adams said.
— Reuters
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Whatmore’s offer irks B’desh board
Dhaka, April 5 The BCB is annoyed that Whatmore put his hand up for the Indian job while his current charges are still involved in the World Cup campaign in the Caribbean. “We are in the middle of a very high-profile tournament. At this stage any such interest of the coach would certainly distract our team,” Riazuddin Al Mamun, a joint-secretary of the BCB, told Reuters. “He should not have said so, when we have a contract with him.” The Sri-Lankan born Whatmore confirmed his interest in taking over the reins in India after Chappell handed in his resignation yesterday, two weeks after the 1983 champions’ first-round exit from the World Cup. “If the opportunity comes along, surely any person who is a professional coach and prides himself in doing a good job would be interested in coaching the Indian team,” Whatmore had told an Indian news channel. Whatmore coached Sri Lanka to World Cup success in 1996 and has worked wonders with the Bangladesh team, who effectively condemned India to an early flight home from the Caribbean after a surprise victory in the group phase of the competition. Whatmore’s present contract with the BCB ends in May. He took charge of the team after the 2003 World Cup, where Bangladesh failed to win any of their six matches, including those against Canada and Kenya. ECB snubs Moody
Sydney: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has snubbed former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody’s contention to coach England and reposed its faith in Duncan Fletcher, stating that the Zimbabwean may continue on the $1 million-a-year job “as long as he wants”. Laying to rest all speculation, the ECB spokesman Colin Gibson said Moody had not been approached to replace Fletcher as coach. “We’ve got a very fine coach in Fletcher,” Gibson was quoted as saying by The Australian. “He’s got a year-to-year rolling contract. He’s got the job with England for as long as he wishes.”
— Agencies
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England in a tight spot
What a great game of cricket! It was a crucial game for both England and Sri Lanka, more so for the Lankans, for if they had lost, then they would have had to beat Australia and New Zealand to stay in the tournament and that we know is going to be extremely tough. The Lankans have shown throughout this tournament that they are made of sterner stuff and held their nerve, even as England closed in on their meagre total. That total could have been richer by at least 50 runs if well-set batsmen Upul Tharanga and skipper Mahela Jayawardene had not got out when they did. When a batsman has done all the hard work and got to his fifty, that’s when he has to take a deep breath and carry on, for that’s what his side needs, but often we see that the tiredness that comes with doing the hard yards can lead a batsman to play a casual shot after his fifty, as if his job was done. That said, the Lankans must be praised for the manner in which they fought back. They have a good new-ball attack in Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga. The former may have dropped in pace, but still bowls a mean line around the right-hander’s off-stump, getting the ball to swing in or hold its line, and gets plenty of wickets lbw, because at his pace, the ball invariably hits the batsman below the knee-roll of his leg-guards. With Malinga, it takes batsmen some time before they can pick his line, and in limited-overs cricket, where every ball is important, sometimes these dot balls are a big plus for the Lankans. Malinga also has a clever slower delivery with which he deceives the batsman, and so it’s a lethal new ball which has to be watched all the time by the batsmen. Then there’s Dilhara Fernando, who, too, has overcome to a great extent his nervousness in tense situations and bowls with great thought, mixing his deliveries well. What more can be said of Muttiah Muralitharan? He is truly a magician who can get wickets when they are most needed by his team, and he gets the big fish, which is why he is such a huge player in the team. Sri Lanka also have the advantage of Sanath Jayasuriya coming on and taking a few wickets, and that adds balance to the attack. It was Fernando’s wickets that turned the game Sri Lanka’s way, for after Bell’s run-out, he grabbed the important wickets of Collingwood and Flintoff, who could have taken England home, and later, just when it looked like Ravi Bopara may do the last-minute heroics, Fernando clean-bowled him to give the Lankans a narrow two-run win. The relief on the faces of the Lankans told the story of how they knew it was important to win this game That puts enormous pressure on England to get to the semifinals. Yes, they have a relatively easy game in hand against Bangladesh, but seeing how Ireland made it tough for them, the Bangladeshis may also spring a surprise. Their big man Andrew Flintoff bowled splendidly against the Lankans, but he hasn’t got going with the bat, and maybe it might be a good idea for England to look at him opening the batting rather than wasting his big-hitting talent down the order. Michael Vaughan was brilliantly caught down the leg-side by Kumar Sangakkara, but looks woefully out of touch. England will need to take tough decisions now, for they might otherwise miss the World Cup boat once again. — PMG
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Lalu bowls a googly
Lucknow, April 5 “I have specific information that bookies had at stake Rs 6,000 crore on this match which India lost and which ultimately caused their ouster from the World Cup,” he claimed. Addressing a press conference here, Lalu, who is also the president of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), said the Indian cricket administration required a complete overhaul and a high-level probe should be ordered into the irregularities. Blaming the cricketers for lacking team spirit, he said the faulty selection procedure has added insult to the injury. When asked about the resignation of Greg Chappell, Lalu said: “Why only Greg, sack the entire team.”
— UNI
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Rajput secures Olympic berth
New Delhi, April 5 Although Rajput put up his best effort so far by firing 1,170 out of 1,200 (prone 395, standing 384, kneeling 391), he failed to make it to the final but was awarded the quota place because the top 10 finishers had already qualified for Olympics. The 26-year-old marksman also set a national record in the process. He shot his personal best score so far, his previous best being 1,165 at the World Cup in China last year. “I am extremely happy to be able to win the Olympic quota for India with a personal best score,” Rajput said after the competition. “I could have easily managed two to three points more had I not been troubled by the winds during my last series in the kneeling position. Two points more would have also ensured me a place in the final,” he said. Rajput was a part of the bronze-medal-winning air rifle team at the Doha Asian Games and had recently won four gold medals at the National Games in Guwahati. Gagan Narang, struggling with a knee injury, finished 38th with a score of 1,154 (prone 395, standing 384, kneeling 375), while another Indian, Imran Hassan Khan, was 46th at 1,151 (prone 388, standing 380, kneeling 383). Narang, Abhinav Bindra, Anjali Bhagwat and Avneet Kaur Sidhu in rifle events and Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Manavjeet Singh in the double trap and trap shotgun events have already qualified for the Olympics. Artem Khadjibekov of Russia won the gold medal with a score of 1,276.2 (1,175+101.2), Zhambo Jia of China bagged silver with 1,272.0 (1174+98.0) and Artur Aivaziam of Ukraine claimed the bronze for his effort of 1271.6 (1,174+97.6). In the women’s 50m rifle 3 position event, Meena Kumari finished 22nd with a score of 575 (prone 199, standing 186 and kneeling 190), Deepali Deshpande carded 572 (prone 198, standing 185, kneeling 189) to end up 30th, while Tejaswini Sawant was 53rd with an effort of 561 (prone 189, standing 185, kneeling 187). Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany top-scored with 685.6 (585+100.6) to win the gold medal. The silver went to Yin Wen of China, who scored 685.1 (584+101.1), while Germany’s Barbara Lechner bagged the bronze with a total of 683.3 (586+97.3).
— PTI
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Prabhjot called for camp
The Indian Hockey Federation had announced the names of the probables for ongoing camp, which started from April 2. Prabhjot’s name had not figured in the 24-member list of the probables. It was exactly one year ago when this Indian Oil forward from Batala was dropped from the
Indian squad during the national camp for the same tournament. After that despite being in good form, the federation failed to call him for any camp or international tournament. Confirming the call, Prabhjot said he had received a call from team’s chief coach Joaquim Carvalho asking him to join the camp as soon as possible. “From the past one hear I was praying very hard for the comeback in the Indian squad. Finally the prayers have been heard. Despite being out of the national team for almost one year, I was maintaining a good form and also played a quite well in the domestic tournaments,” said Prabhjot who would be flying to Bangalore tomorrow. “I was very disappointed when I was dropped from the squad last year, without any reason being assigned for the same by the federation. May be they felt that I was out of form during that time. Every player does have an ‘out of form season’ at some point in his life. But now that I have been called for the camp I would prove my best to make it in the final team,” said Prabhjot.
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Rohan, Rastogi to play singles
New Delhi, April 5 India’s top-ranked player will take on Dmitry Makeyev in the opening singles in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 relegation playoff to be played on an indoor hardcourt. The 26-year-old from Coorg will then pair up with captain Leander Paes in Saturday’s doubles before playing the first reverse singles on Sunday. Karan Rastogi will play the hosts’ number one player Alexei Kedriouk in the second singles, as per the draw held today in Almaty. In doubles, Bopanna and Paes are up against Kedriouk and Makeyev. Bopanna will then take on Kedriouk in the first reverse singles and Rastogi plays Makeyev in the second on Sunday. This is the first tie between the two teams in the history of the men’s team tennis competition. The winner stays in Group 1 for the next season, while the loser will be pushed to a final round of playoff later this year. India were forced into the playoff after a 1-4 away loss to Uzbekistan in February. — PTI
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Jalandhar, April 5