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All set for big league
South Africa not haunted by the past
Bond ready to fire
The battle between Shane Bond (above) and Sanath Jayasuriya will be decisive. Jayasuriya has been in fine nick and if he gets going, Sri Lanka will have a good chance of putting up a healthy score. Bond will look to cut-off that blood supplying artery. — AFP
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Miandad writes Coaching problems
Windies coach King quits
India to host u-21 snooker meet
Time to tame Punjab Police players
King the queen for US
Karate training camp ends
Renu lifts bronze
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All set for big league
Sri Lanka, however, would seek a psychological boost from their Super Eights dominating win over the Kiwis. Eyeing to emulate their 1996 title victory feat, Sri Lanka have potent weapons in their armoury who can demolish any formidable batting line-up. The experienced Chaminda Vaas, the quirky and express-fast Lasith Malinga and the pacy Dilhara Fernando - all are capable of making life miserable for the willowers with their variety. Having recovered from the injuries, Malinga and Fernando are returning to the side after a brief rest. Vaas, on the other hand, excels in the nagging accuracy in pace bowling and is useful at any stage of the game. But the trump card is Muttiah Muralitharan, the ace off-spinner, who can turn the momentum of the game at any stage with his extraordinary abilities. So far, Sri Lanka have rarely conceded in excess of 250 runs in the competition and same was the case with New Zealand till they ran into Australia in Grenada last week. In batting, the former champions have experience as well as depth. Old warhorse Sanath Jayasuriya, skipper Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara have all fired in the World Cup so far. However, Sri Lanka is fretting over the form of its lower-order batting. The team has suffered some incredible collapses in the competition - against South Africa their last five wickets went for 15 runs and against Australia, the last five were wiped out for 17. On both occasions, the early losses had been repaired by the middle order. The key perhaps is for a set batsman to anchor the innings, something which Sangakkara had done so successfully against New Zealand. Perennial under-achievers New Zealand would not want to spoil another chance to be in their first final ever in the World Cup. The Kiwis, who were thoroughly outclassed in their last Super Eight game by the mighty Australians, would have surely plugged the chinks that surfaced during their drubbing. Black Caps coach John Bracewell dashed straight from the airport to the ground to have an assessment of the pitch, which is hard and must help pace and bounce. The regular rain in last few days and clouds hanging around the blue mountains around Sabina Park suggest humidity and a certain help to swing as well. New Zealand will surely be boosted by the return of the most potent force in the bowling armoury - Shane Bond, who did not play against Australia. And in these conditions, the return of Bond express and all-rounder Jacob Oram would help restore the balance for the Kiwis while James Franklin could prove destructive for the rivals in early overs. Besides, the combination of left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and offie Jeetan Patel makes the Kiwis' bowling attack complete and healthy. Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming believes his side has batsmen who are better suited to these conditions than Sri Lankans, who are bred on low and slow sub-continental pitches. Fleming along with Peter Fulton will be key for the Kiwis at the top of the batting order while Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan and Oram will be important members in the middle order. The key for both sides will be to make the new ball count. Vaas and Malinga for the Lankans and Bond and Franklin for the Kiwis are worthy operators with the new ball, but it must hold good when it mattered the most. Considering the seeming advantage for pacers early on the day, both sides would prefer to chase and hence toss becomes important.
Teams (from): Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumara Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Ferveez Maharoof, Muthiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando. New Zealand:
Stephen Fleming (capt), Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Jeetan Patel, Shane Bond and James Franklin. Procter, Crowe are match referees
South African Mike Procter and New Zealand’s Jeff Crowe have been named match referees for the semifinals of the ongoing cricket World Cup. Procter will oversee the first semifinal between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Sabina Park tomorrow. Another South African Rudi Koertzen and Australian Simon Taufel will be the on-field umpires for this match. The TV umpire will be Australia’s Daryl Harper with Asad Rauf of Pakistan as the fourth umpire. Crowe will referee the second semifinal between Australia and South Africa at St Lucia, with Pakistan’s Aleem Dar and West Indian Steve Bucknor as on-field umpires. Kiwi Billy Bowden has been appointed the TV umpire and the fourth umpire will be England’s Mark Benson. Appointments for the final will be made later.
— PTI
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South Africa not haunted by the past
Bridgetown, April 23 Proteas batsman Herschelle Gibbs, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and all-rounders Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis, members of the 2007 side, were involved in the semis eight years ago which finished in a dramatic tie. Australia qualified for the final because they beat South Africa in a previous game. Australia went on to beat Pakistan in the final at Lord’s. South Africa again face Australia, who are eyeing an unprecedented hat-trick of back-to-back titles, in the second semifinal in St Lucia on Wednesday, a day after New Zealand play 1996 winners Sri Lanka in Jamaica. “Irrespective of what past we have against each other (or) records there might be, it comes down to the game on Wednesday,” Gibbs told reporters on Saturday. “Whoever holds their nerve best on that day should come out on top. We’ve played our best cricket when our backs are against the wall,” he said. Before that memorable semi encounter, Australia’s all-important second-round victory in 1999 came after skipper Steve Waugh, dropped by Gibbs while celebrating prematurely, hit a match-winning 120 not out. Gibbs made some amends against Australia last year when he smashed 175 to achieve a world record run chase, scoring 438 in the end, for a thrilling one-wicket win in Johannesburg. Gibbs said that series-clinching win at Wanderers in 2006 showed South Africa no longer had a mental block against Australia. “Last year’s win proved something to the whole team,” he said. “Hopefully, something similar can happen on Wednesday but this is a bigger stage and obviously to come back and win you need to outplay the opposition.” “We’ve had some very close encounters,” Pollock said. “We’ve learnt a lot against Australia from the games we’ve played. I hope our experience will play a part.” Pollock joked a tie would not be enough for Australia this time despite having won the group match between the two teams by 83 runs. In case the semifinals or final end in a tie this time, the matches would be decided by a “bowl-out” where players would bowl at open stumps in a sort of penalty shootout. — Reuters
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Bond ready to fire
Sabina Park, April 23 “He (Jayasuriya) is the kind of cricketer who gives them early momentum. If he gets going then they are able to raise 250 on the board. My job is to ensure that it does not happen,” Bond said. The battle between the two will certainly have a bearing on the game. Jayasuriya has been in fine nick in the tournament and if he gets going, then Sri Lanka will have a good chance of putting up a healthy score and allow its bowlers to take a good shot at the Kiwis. And Bond will look to cut-off that blood supplying artery. But Bond’s record against the veteran is not very impressive. He has played against Sri Lanka in nine matches and claimed Jayasuriya in only one of them. In the last five matches, Jayasuriya has scores of 101, 1, 0, 71 and 64 against the Black Caps and Sri Lanka has emerged winners in three of them. The present World Cup has been an outstanding one for both of them. With an average of 12.83, Bond is the best among the bowlers while Jayasuriya, with 403 runs from nine matches at 50.37, is clearly a key batsman for Sri Lanka. Bond expects the Sabina Park pitch to be his ally in this battle for supremacy against the veteran Lankan. “I have spoken to a few players and happened to chat up with Darren Powell (West Indian fast bowler) on the flight. The Sabina pitch generally gives good carry to fast bowlers and when there is humidity, as it is here, the ball would swing.” “There would be an attempt to keep the pitch flat, but I suspect the humidity would allow the ball to swing. We somehow back ourselves to do better in such conditions,” Bond said. Bond expects Sri Lankan bowlers, especially Vaas, to make things difficult for his side as well. “Vaas has been a class act and he has got the better of Stephen (Fleming) on occasions. The conditions here would suit him as well. Bond generally means trouble for the opposition top-order and everyone, including Australia, gives him respect.
— PTI
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Lanka have the edge
I remember watching Brian Lara in the early 1990s and being as captivated as several others were. He had everything; talent, technique and temperament. Bowlers did not know where to land the ball when up against him. He bore the brunt of the expectations of West Indian supporters for a number of years, and I think he did his best. His performances had slipped a bit of late, and I think it was the right time to go. The spotlight now shifts from the King of the Caribbean to the knockout stage of the competition. I believe Sri Lanka will start the semifinal against New Zealand as favourites. Mahela Jayawardene’s team is a band of contributors, all of whom have played their assigned roles to perfection in the tournament so far. Of course, New Zealand’s success can be attributed to precisely the same reason, in that Stephen Fleming’s men do not subscribe to the policy of ‘leaving it to the others.’ But Sri Lanka in my opinion are just a wee bit ahead. They will be helped by the fact that a few members of the side know what it feels to win a World Cup final. New Zealand have been a consistent side since the first World Cup in 1975, but they have never got beyond the semifinals. The bigger a side, the better it performs in crunch games. Both sides were expected to reach the semifinals in any case. They need to capitalise on every single opportunity offered to them once the match gets underway. Although New Zealand will be an underdog of sorts, the Sri Lankans will be under greater pressure. Remember, when a cricket team from Asia takes the field, it is much more than eleven opponents that it has to contend with. Cricket fans in this part of the world aren’t particularly known for accepting poor performances philosophically. On the other hand, if New Zealand lose, their supporters will surely be disappointed, but they won’t take too long to move on. There might well be no need to have a toss. I think New Zealand will prefer to bowl first, for the wicket will be relatively fresh and assist the pacemen in the initial overs. Shane Bond will be fit and raring to go, and he will welcome the opportunity to bowl first up. New Zealand will aim to strike early and restrict the Lankans to a gettable score. If they manage to do that, then they will be able to adopt a cautious approach against the slow bowlers in the second half. The wicket will help the slow bowlers later on, which is why Sri Lanka will look to bat first. Jayasuriya and of course Muralitharan will be relied upon to choke the batsmen in the middle overs. The ‘Murali factor’ will weigh on the minds of the New Zealand batsmen. But it is certainly not impossible to thwart him. During my tenure as coach of the Pakistani team, I told the boys to ensure that they didn’t get out to the off-spinner, and focus instead on survival. It was an elementary logic: It is very, very easy to milk a spinner, regardless of how good or great he is, for 3-4 runs an over in one-day cricket. If a bowler like Murali finishes with figures of 0-40 instead of say 2-60, it is a tremendous achievement for an opposing side. The other bowlers are bound to feel the heat if their mainstay fails to strike. Vaas, Malinga and Jayasuriya, to name just three, are competent performers in their own right, but they are human, and will definitely not be in the best frame of mind if Murali does not take wickets. Both sides have played a lot of cricket against each other. Each team knows what the other is capable of. The team that executes its plans more effectively will come out on top. — PMG
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BCCI forms 7-member panel
New Delhi, April 23 Besides Pawar, the “special committee” will consist of three former captains — Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S. Venkataraghavan — as well as N. Srinivasan and M.P. Pandove, BCCI treasurer and joint secretary, respectively. Board secretary Niranjan Shah will be the committee’s convenor. An official announcement from the BCCI said Pawar had appointed the committee to advise the board in the selection of a cricket manager or coach for the team, which means that the successor to Greg Chappell, who resigned recently, could be given either designation. The committee is to meet at the earliest and convey its recommendations to the board, the statement said. Shastri, who has been appointed the cricket manager for next month’s tour of Bangladesh, is said to have told the Board that he would not be available for the coach’s job after this assignment. Whatmore, who is currently Bangladesh’s coach, has publicly shown his interest in the job, which Chappell described as the “toughest cricket assignment in the world”. Moody, who has done an excellent job with the Sri Lankan team, is also said to be in the reckoning. The three former captains were also in the panel, which had selected Chappell as the coach in May 2005. Moody, Mohinder Amarnath and Desmond Haynes were the other candidates who had appeared for the interview in New Delhi. Although no date has been fixed for the first meeting of the committee, a top source in the Board indicated that a meeting could be convened in the first week of May. The source declined to comment on the possible candidates for the job but gave enough indications that the team could have another foreign coach. “Shastri will not be available after the Bangladesh tour. We will shortlist a few names in the first meeting and then begin the process of selecting the new coach,” the source said. Chappell quit the job in a blaze of controversy following the Indian team’s World Cup debacle, prompting the Board for a makeshift arrangement which saw Shastri taking over as cricket manager only for the Bangladesh tour. Apart from Shastri, the Board also appointed former Test paceman Venkatesh Prasad as bowling coach and another former player Robin Singh as the fielding coach for the tour starting on May 7. Responding to the Board’s diktat to pick a “young team” in the wake of the World Cup debacle, the national selectors dropped veterans Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly from the one-day squad and dumped Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar from both the one day and Test teams. The Indians are scheduled to play three one dayers and two Test matches during the Bangladesh tour. — PTI
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Windies coach King quits
King, the Australian coach of the West Indies, became the fourth coach to step down after his team’s failure to advance to the semi final of the game’s premier event while medium fast bowler Ian Bradshaw also announced his retirement from international cricket. “He gave up his job as coach. He has offered to stay on for a month to help with the setting up of the academy,” president of the Jamaica Cricket Association, Jackie Hendriks, was quoted as saying by The Jamaica Gleaner. With the West Indies set for a summer tour of England, King has recommended that his assistant David Moore take over. “I have heard that he recommended his assistant David Moore to take the team to England,” Hendriks said. West Indies suffered a string of poor results under King since 2005, highlighting more than a decade of decline in the West Indies cricket since the halcyon days of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. Hendriks said Bradshaw announced his retirement from international cricket. Bradshaw, who joined Brian Lara as one of several players retiring after the World Cup, has played 62 one-day internationals and took 78 wickets. He played five Tests. There were rumours that West Indies Cricket Board President Ken Gordon had also resigned. “My understanding is that he (King) is the only person to resign,” Hendriks said, in response to questions about Gordon.
— PTI
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India to host u-21 snooker meet
New Delhi, April 23 The event, the dates for which are still to be finalised, will be spread over 10 days, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India President captain Mohan said. Besides, the national championships would be held at Jharkhand in January next year, he said in a press release issued by the BSFI. The BSFI President said Goa and Jharkhand were selected as the venues to popularise the game beyond metropolitan cities. The Federation also said that former world billiard champion Manoj Kothari would be the coach for India’s 15-day tour of Shiraz, Iran beginning April 27. Sania clings
to 49th
Bracing up for a comeback after a seven-week injury layoff, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza remained static at 49th in the latest WTA rankings issued today. Sania, who is aiming for a May 7 return to action in the German Open, has 503 ranking points in a list topped by Belgian Justine Henin Hardenne with 3859 points. Sania, who has recuperated from last month’s knee injury, started practising last week.
— PTI
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Time to tame Punjab Police players
Jalandhar, April 23 In a recent incident that took place during the semifinal match between Air India and Punjab Police at the ongoing 45th Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament at Mumbai, Javid Ahmed of Air India was abused by Kanwalpreet Singh and later on pushed by Jugraj Singh of Punjab Police. The incident took place immediately after the match which saw the entry of Air India in the final. Kanwalpreet told Javid not to come out of the ground while Jugraj said he would beat Javid and swung his hockey stick at the victim’s face. This incident is not new in the black history of Punjab police who have often found themselves on the wrong foot especially in the matches wherein they have faced humiliating defeats. Such incidents clearly indicate the high level of indiscipline in the team. During the final match between Punjab Police and Indian Oil at the Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament held in 2005, Kanwalpreet had hit Indian Oil’s Deepak Thakur with his hockey stick on his nose which resulted in a serious injury to the latter. Following the incident, Kanwalpreet was banned for two years from participating in any domestic or international tournament. During the 61st National Senior hockey meet at Hyderabad, Gagan Ajit and Daljit Dhillon of Punjab Police had beaten up Vikramjit and Deepak Thakur in the rest room after losing the match. Subsequently, Gagan Ajit was banned for three months and Daljit Dhillon for six months. One such incident took place during the final of the Ramesh Chander Memorial Hockey Tournament (2005) between Punjab Police and Punjab and Sind Bank wherein the former faced defeat at the hands of their arch rivals. The incident occurred immediately after the match got over when a group of Punjab Police players started thrashing the winners with their hockey sticks. In yet another embarrassing incident, where the policemen were not involved, it was not the players but the coach of a team that came into limelight. The incident occurred during the Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament (2006) after the match between Indian Oil (IO) and Namdhari XI wherein the latter lost. On their way back some players indulged in a fight with IO players who were practising. As the fight went out of control, Namdhari-XI coach Didar Singh bit Deepak Thakur on the nose. Tejbir, Kamaldeep and Maninder are facing a three-year ban after the trio manhandled umpire Satinder Sharma after the final match between Sher-e-Jalandhar and Orissa Steelers during the much acclaimed Premier Hockey League.
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Delray Beach, April 22 Venus Williams then cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yanine Wickmayer before teenager King teamed up with Lisa Raymond to complete a 5-0 whitewash with a 6-1, 6-2 doubles triumph against Tamaryn Hendler and Caroline Maes in the final rubber. In an unexpected turn of events, it was the 83rd-ranked King who was handed the job of clinching the tie. The 18-year-old was called into the singles in place of Serena Williams, who was sidelined with an inflammation of her right knee earlier in the day. “The whole atmosphere, clinching the tie was just a dream come true,” said King, who waved an American flag as she led her team on a victory lap around the court. Other countries, which made into the last four are defending champions Italy, France and the US. Italy beat world group debutantes China 5-0, thanks primarily to Tathiana Garbin who overcame a shaky start to beat late stand-in Zhang Shuai 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. With French number one Amelie Mauresmo recovering from appendicitis, Tatiana Golovin admirably filled her shoes, beating Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 7-6, 6-0 on Sunday as France headed towards a 5-0 win to earn a place in the July 14-15 semi-final in Italy. — Reuters
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Chopra finishes tied 15th
Avondale, April 23 Nick Watney (69) recovered from a couple of early bogeys to win his maiden PGA Tour title. Watney aggregated 15-under 273 while Ken Duke (70) was second at 12-under 276. Watney’s previous best finish was a fifth-place tie last season at both the Reno-Tahoe Open and the FUNAI Classic. Chopra, a former Asian Tour regular, carded five birdies against three bogeys and then added an ace at the par three 17th hole. Chopra started in a brilliant way with birdies on second, fourth and fifth and a fourth birdie on 10th put him four-under. But he lost shots on 12th, 15th and 16th. However, a birdie on 14th and then the ace saw him total 68. Earlier in the tournament, Arjun Atwal had missed the cut and Jeev Milkha Singh has taken two weeks off and will next play the Bryon Nelson Classic.
—
PTI
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Karate training camp ends Ambala, April 23 The camp was held under the guidance of chief instructor (Haryana) Hemant Sharma. The camp was held at DAV Riverside School. Students from Ambala Cantt and Ambala City participated in the camp. The students belonged to Kharga Nursery School, Army School, Bharatiya Public School, DAV Riverside School, Major R.N. Kapoor DAV School, Cecil Convent, Kidzee, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Springfield School, Ambala Public School and Guru Nanak Public School. Belt grading test was held at the camp. The participants who qualified the test are: Yellow belt (junior): Aryan, Pooja, Shalini, Lovepreet, Kashni, Manpreet, Kajal Rana, Maninder, Neeraj, Vipin Saluja and Aman; Yellow belt (senior): Priya Rani, Akshat, Parminder Singh and Neeraj; Green belt: Utkarsh Das and Ashwin Tiwari; Brown belt (senior): Shubham Singh Solanki.
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Renu lifts bronze
New Delhi, April 23 The Manipuri girl, who had won the gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006, lifted an overall 204 kg to finish third in the event in which she also won the bronze
in snatch. The gold was won by China’s Qiu Hongmei with a world record score of 141kg in the clean and jerk. Hongmei finished with a total of 241 kg, followed by Thongsuk Sureeat of Thailand who lifted 214 kg for the silver. Earlier, Sanamacha Chanu ended up fifth in the 53 kg category. Chanu, competing in her first international competition after serving out a two-year ban, lifted an overall 175 kg, 75 kg through snatch and 100 in clean and jerk position yesterday. Chanu was slapped the ban by the International Weightlifting Federation following her positive dope test at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Other Indians in the
fray in China were Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geeta Rani (+75kg) and Soma Rani (63kg). Sarvajeet will take part in the 38th Asian Men’s Championships being held simultaneously.
— PTI
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New Zealand speedster Shane Bond will target veteran Sanath Jayasuriya early on to stop Sri Lanka from getting a flying start in tomorrow's World Cup semifinal clash here.
Sabina Park, April 23
Kingston, April 23