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Aussie govt bans tour to Zimbabwe
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Jyoti reigns supreme
Zee denies signing stalwarts
for league
Sasikiran up to joint 2nd
Paes-Damm crash out
NCA to have summer venue
EME lift Him Gold Cup
Punjab boys
win b’ball title
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Aussie govt bans tour to Zimbabwe
Try for neutral venue: ICC Dubai: Terming the Australian government’s decision to ban their national team’s tour of Zimbabwe as “unfortunate”, the International Cricket Council today asked the two Boards to explore the possibility of holding the series at a neutral venue. ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said today that the ICC hoped the three-match one-day series could now be played somewhere else. Speed assured that the ICC would continue to support Zimbabwe cricket and work towards its further development.
— PTI
Melbourne, May 13 Justifying the ban, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said allowing the team to play in Zimbabwe would give an “enormous propaganda boost” to the Robert Mugabe regime, which is “ behaving like the Gestapo towards its political opponents”. “The government through the foreign minister has written to Cricket Australia instructing that the tour not go ahead,” Howard told ABC Television. “We don’t do this lightly, but we are convinced that for the tour to go ahead there would be an enormous propaganda boost for the Mugabe regime and whilst it pains me both as a cricket lover and as somebody, who genuinely believes that these things should be left to sporting organisations...it leaves me with no alternative,” he added. Cricket Australia later confirmed that it has received the government directive to cancel the tour, in which the world champions were scheduled to play three one-dayers. CA chief executive officer James Sutherland said, “We accept that the Australian Government has the responsibility for making decisions about our nation’s international relationships. Sutherland, however, revealed that the series might be played at a neutral venue. “Given our commitment to help Zimbabwe cricket develop, we will now explore the possibility of playing the three ODIs we are due to play against Zimbabwe in September at a neutral venue outside Zimbabwe,” he said. Cricket Australia has intimated the government’s decision to both the ICC and the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. Meanwhile, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting supported the ban but also made it clear that the country’s cricketers were committed to helping the game develop in the African nation. The ICC may impose a $2 million fine on CA for cancelling the tour but the Australian government has offered to reimburse the amount in such a situation. Earlier, in a last ditch attempt to prevent the tour’s cancellation, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Australia Alexander Chiketa had urged CA to keep politics out of sports. Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed reservations about playing against Zimbabwe at all, even on neutral territory. “I think it’s best not to play against Zimbabwe for the time being if that can be avoided,” he said. This is not the first time a cricket match tour was cancelled. New Zealand also cancelled a tour of Zimbabwe in December 2005.
Racist decision, says Zimbabwe
Harare: The Zimbabwean government today denounced Australia’s decision to ban its team’s tour of Harare over the country’s political and economic crisis as “desperate” and “racist”. “The Australians are mixing politics with sport and the decision shows how desperate the Howard government is to isolate Zimbabwe,” junior information minister Bright Matonga told AFP. “Australia is one of the worst human rights violators in this whole world. Look what they have done to the aborigines and yet they have the audacity to stand up and claim to have the moral authority to condemn us.”
— PTI, AFP
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Back to square one Kingston/London, May 13 The Sunday Gleaner newspaper said that according to a pathology report submitted by the Scotland Yard team, Woolmer died of natural causes and not manual strangulation as was initially reported by Jamaican Police Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields. The natural death theory comes on top of various other possibilities that have been speculated ever since Woolmer
was found dead in his room on March 18, hours after Pakistan’s shock defeat at the hands of Ireland. Apart from strangulation, the possibility of Woolmer having consumed a drink laced with weed-killer or aconite has also been speculated all along. The Gleaner quoted its sources in London as saying that “the Scotland Yard report specifically said Woolmer died of heart failure, contradicting earlier reports by the investigative arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and local pathologist Dr Ere Seshiah, who had conducted a post-mortem.” The report said the Scotland Yard findings were disclosed last week during a meeting with Shields and Superintendent Colin Pinnace, who stopped over in London en route to South Africa. Earlier, two Pakistani detectives, who had travelled to Jamaica to assist in the investigations, had also informed their Interior Ministry that the Jamaican Police was yet to find conclusive evidence that Woolmer had been strangled. British paper Sunday Telegraph said the Jamaican Police was “very interested” in Woolmer’s “last” e-mail, which was said to be his resignation sent to Pakistan Cricket Board chief Naseem Ashraf. The paper said Woolmer’s friends suspect that the e-mail could have been sent by his murderers because the language was not familiar to what Woolmer used. In a part of the e-mail, Woolmer reportedly wrote, “I would like to praise my association with the Pakistan team but now I would like to announce my retirement after the World Cup, to live the rest of my life in Cape Town. I have no lust for the job and I will not like others to make personal remarks at me.” “I have received hundreds of e-mails from him over the years and this is not his style - not the sort of words and phrases that he would use,” said a South African journalist Neil Manthorp, also a close friend of Woolmer. His friends say the wording was clearly not of someone whose first language was
English. Former Australian captain Ian Chappell echoed the view and said, “I can’t believe it was written by a man whose first language was English.” The e-mail was reportedly sent around 6 am on March 18, just hours before Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room. Meanwhile, Jamaica’s deputy commissioner of police Mark Shields, who is heading the investigations into the case, flew to Cape Town to meet Woolmer’s widow Gill, who is also “deeply dismissive” about the authenticity of the e-mail.
— PTI
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Oz clinch Azlan Shah Cup
Player of the final: Edward
Ockenden Top scorer: Yi Song, China (6 goals) Best goalkeeper: Kumar Subramaniam, Malaysia
Fairplay trophy: Argentina
Ipoh, May 13 Goals by Edward Ockenden (39th, 41st minutes) and Russell Ford (53rd) set up the Australian victory, while the Malaysians drew some consolation from Jiwa Mohan’s penalty corner in the last minute of the game. It was Australia’s third title triumph in four years and their fifth overall, as they proved far too superior for the Malaysians, who did a lot of running but precious little else. For Malaysia, it was second-time unlucky in the final. They had lost to India in 1985, the only other time the hosts had entered the final of this tournament. A two-goal blitz in two-minutes early in the second half effectively closed the game in Australia’s favour. Grant Schubert came up with a superb diagonal run from left to right on top of the circle and passed to Liam Deyoung. From the ensuing goalmouth scramble, Ockenden flicked home for the first Aussie goal. Within minutes, the Aussies made it 2-0, this time Ockenden getting a touch to Bevan George’s quickly taken free-hit at the top of the circle. The Malaysians then made a few concerted bids at the Aussie goal, but could not beat goalkeeper Stephen Lambert who easily parried the attempts. The Aussies then stepped up their onslaughts and the beleaguered Malaysian defence caved in, leaving Ford free to cap a three-touch move from the left. The Australians sustained the pace and attacked their rivals from all sides, but the Malaysians just about survived the onslaught. Seconds before the final whistle, the Malaysians earned their only penalty corner of the match and Mohan drag-flicked to boards much to the jubilation of the capacity crowd. It was a fitting climax to Australia’s campaign that had begun so sluggishly with a defeat to Argentina. However, they picked up momentum and finished off in style. Sultan Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak, gave away the trophy. — PTI
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India pip Korea for bronze
Ipoh, May 13 The scoreline did not reflect India’s total dominance, and but for some sitters that the forwards missed, they could have won the playoff for 3-4 positions by a bigger margin. After a lacklustre first-half performance, the Indians picked up the pace in the second and showcased their talent to earn the approbation of the capacity crowd. The Indians also owe the victory to goalkeeper Bharat Kumar Chhetri, playing in his first match of the tournament, who brought off three brilliant saves from penalty corners in the second-half. An insipid first-half saw the Indians controlling the pace and exchanges without really looking sharp enough to breach the Korean defence that, barring conceding two penalty corners, hardly put a foot wrong. The winning goal came in the second half with Roshan Minz bulldozing his way from the left and found Sardara Singh unmarked on top of the circle. The pass completely foxed the Korean defence and Sardara had enough time to trap the ball before sending it crashing to the board. Raghunath’s two attempts with his drag-flicks did not have the power or variety to beat the Korean runners who literally put their lives on the line while charging at Raghunath to deny him the angles. That apart, the Indians had just two clear looks at the Korean goal, but on both occasions, goalkeeper Lee Myung Ho brought off fine saves to deny Sardara Singh and Tushar Khandkar, in the fifth and 15th minutes, respectively.
— PTI
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Jyoti reigns supreme
Gurgaon, May 13 The Indian ace had three bogeys in the front nine to shoot two-under 70 in the final round that gave him a 15-under 273 overall and his third title of the season. Shiv Kapur, Randhawa’s nearest rival at a distance of six-strokes going into the day, faded out after a brilliant start and ended up with two-over 74. The Busan Asian Games gold medallist began with three birdies in the front nine and reduced his deficit to three strokes after the fifth hole. But five bogeys in the back nine, four of them on the trot, wrecked his chances. Randhawa was a relieved man after the win. “It feels great. Everybody expects, sometimes too much, when you come back and play on your home turf. But it has helped me get focussed and play well,” he said. Randhawa pocketed Rs 10.53 lakh as winner’s purse, which adds on to the cheques of Rs 9.7 lakh and Rs 11.34 lakh he won by clinching the AIS Open and BILT Open earlier on the inaugural PGTI Tour. Although it was his home course, the 35-year-old had to master it as the fairways had grown and changed in his absence. And the pin positions tested his putting skills. That he remained unchallenged throughout the week would then prove that Randhawa has truly come leaps and bounds in recent years but the other side of the coin is that the domestic pros have a lot of catching up to do. “I have raised the bar. Yes, I would say that. But it is also time that Indian golf came up,” the champion said. Both Randhawa and Kapur will be playing next on the European Tour in Ireland, Wentworth and Wales. Chopra slumps to tied 64th
Ponte Vedra: A nightmarish front-nine put paid to Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra’s hopes of a decent finish in the Players Championship as he shot a four-over 76 to slide to the tied 64th spot after the penultimate round here. Chopra, who was tied 26th overnight, stumbled to four bogeys and a double-bogey against just two birdies to take his total to five-over 221 for 54 holes. American Sean O’Hair took the lead after three rounds when he shot a brilliant six-under 66 to take his total to nine-under 207.
— PTI
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Asha keen to sing with Sachin
New Delhi, May 13 Asha, who is singing with celebrities from different walks of life, including Australian speedster Brett Lee in her latest album “Asha and friends”, said Tendulkar would be the one Indian cricketer she would like to sing with. “I would love to sing with Sachin, but I don’t know whether he sings. I’ve never asked him about it,” Asha told PTI in an exclusive interview. “I have heard that Sanjay Manjrekar is a good singer. I knew his father very well too,” said the versatile singer, whose career spans over six decades. While Australian cricketers are generally perceived as arrogant, the septuagenarian lavished praise on Lee for his good behaviour during the shooting of their album. “Lee is a very sweet boy. He has so much respect for elders and that was evident. He was calm, cool and composed as he had come to shoot the video a day before the final of the Champions Trophy,” said Asha, who is said to have sung over 12,000 songs in 14 languages, including English, Russian, Nepali and Malay.
— PTI
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Zee denies signing stalwarts
for league
New Delhi, May 13 Zee Sports business head Himanshu Modi said no such deal had materialised so far. “Nothing like this happened. This is all false news,” he told PTI from Singapore. Asked if Zee could sign mega cricket stars in future, Modi said, “We cannot say anything at this moment, but I can assure you that we have not signed anyone as yet.” A report in Spin magazine said some of the biggest names in world cricket, like Lara, Warne and McGrath, who all have recently retired from international cricket, and Inzamam, who has quit ODIs, have been signed up for the breakaway league in Indian cricket. Zee TV chairman Subhash Chandra recently announced the league offering a winner’s purse of $1 million. It will be launched with a Twenty20 championship shortly after the Twenty20 World Championship in September.
— PTI
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Sasikiran up to joint 2nd
Sofia, May 13 After two draws in contrasting fashion in the category-20 super tournament, Sasikiran’s day of reckoning came with some fine endgame technique that left Kamsky defenceless. Sasikiran now stands joint second along with Englishman Michael Adams on two points while former European champion Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania is in sole fourth spot on 1.5 points. Meanwhile, former world champion Veselin Topalov once again struggled as he was outdone by Azerbaijan’s second son in chess Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the other game of the day Nisipeanu found his nemesis in Adams.
— PTI
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Massa steals Alonso’s thunder
Barcelona, May 13 Double world champion Alonso finished third, eclipsed before his 140,000 strong home crowd by Brazilian Massa and the extraordinary Hamilton. Hamilton, already the first driver in Formula One history to finish his first three races on the podium, has yet to win but now leads the standings with 30 points to Alonso’s 28 and Massa’s 27. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, level on 22 points with Alonso and Hamilton before the start, retired after 10 laps with a mechanical problem.
— Reuters
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Paes-Damm crash out
Rome, May 13 The French-Serbian pair of Santoro and Zimonjic needed 59 minutes to pack off Paes and Damm, who won the Indian Wells Masters and were finalist at Miami Masters this year.
— PTI
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Dharamsala, May 13 “The BCCI has shortlisted Dharamsala and Ooty as possible options,” Sunil Dev, sports secretary of the Delhi and District Cricket Association and also a member of the NCA, told reporters here today. The NCA is currently headquartered in Bangalore. Sunil said reputed all-rounder and chairman of the NCA, Kapil Dev, had also advocated shifting of the academy to Dharamsala in the summer season. He said the cricket stadium at Dharamsala was like the centres in England and New Zealand, where conditions were suited for fast and swing bowling. The drainage system at the stadium built by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) was perfect, Sunil said, adding that he had recommended its adoption for the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi. — PTI
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EME lift Him Gold Cup
Solan, May 13 Mahesh of EME scored the first goal for his team in 29th minute when he successfully converted a penalty corner. Rajbir Singh scored second goal for EME in 48th minute while A.K. Bhatti scored the third in the 56th minute of the match. Shahid Rabbani scored the lone goal for the Shadnam Club in the 68th minute. Shoaib Iqbal Raja and Shunny of Shadnam Club were declared best players of the tournament.
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Basketball meet
Chandigarh, May 13 In another match, Meerut Public Girls’ School
(MPGS) beat Lawrence School 49-30. Shivani Chaudhary was the best scorer for the MPGS side with 18 points, while Rinchen scored 10 points for the losing side.
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Chandigarh, May 13 Punjab boys beat Chhattisgarh 55-19 in the final, while Chhattisgarh eves prevailed over Uttar Pradesh 71-30. Rajasthan boys stood third by beating MP 46-17, while Haryana girls defeated Maharashtra 52-49 to finish third. — UNI
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