Bangalore, June 3
The dice seems to be loaded in favour of Dav Whatmore to succeed fellow Australian Greg Chappell as the new cricket coach of the Indian team ahead of their tour to England and Ireland later this month.

The Sri Lanka-born former batsman, who toured India with the team led by Kim Hughes in 1979, looks all set to get the nod from the seven-member Coach Selection Committee of the Cricket Board headed by BCCI Chief Sharad Pawar when it meets here tomorrow night, according to BCCI sources.

“Whatmore can be said to be the front-runner to take up the job. But let’s see what other names the members of the committee come up with,” the sources told PTI today.

The sources were especially referring to former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, among the three former captains forming the special committee, who is reportedly not in favour of the Australian to take up the mantle.

Gavaskar has been severe in his indirect criticism of the Australian in his syndicated column, referring to the way in which Bangladesh did not make an effort to chase the target set by India in the opening Test at Chittagong and for opting to field after winning the toss in the second and final Test at Mirpur.

Bangladesh slid to a humiliating innings defeat in the second Test and lost the series 0-1 after succumbing 0-2 in the best-of-three ODI series held earlier.

Whatmore, who quit as the coach of Bangladesh at the end of the tour to their eastern neighbours by the Rahul Dravid-led Indian team, however has good credentials as coach to support his claims.

Whatmore was the coach when Arjuna Ranatunga-led Sri Lanka to their first and only World Cup triumph in 1996 and guided Bangladesh into the second stage of the last tournament in the West Indies at the cost of India.

Apart from Gavaskar the special committee also comprises two other ex-cricketers - Ravi Shastri, who was the interim cricket manager on the successful tour of Bangladesh, and retired ICC Elite Panel umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

Pawar, Shah, BCCI Joint Secretary M. P. Pandove and treasurer N. Srinivasan are the other members of the seven-member coach selection panel.

“It will be a consensus decision and there would be no voting on the matter,” the board sources said.

The Coach Selection Committee’s meeting has been fixed for 8.30 pm at a five star hotel here since Pawar is expected to arrive here only tomorrow evening.

The BCCI has already got Whatmore’s green signal to be considered for the job when Secretary Niranjan Shah went across to Bangladesh during the Test series at the invitation of the Bangladesh Cricket Board along with BCCI President Pawar.

“Whatmore indicated his willingness to take up the job when he spoke briefly to Shah in Bangladesh,” the BCCI sources said, an indication of what the cricket administrators’ line of thinking is on the highly contentious issue.

The players too seem to be inclined towards a foreign coach, as per indications.

Whatmore, if selected for the job, would become the third foreigner to take up the job after New Zealander John Wright (2001-2005) and Chappell (2005-2007). — PTI

Chennai, June 3
Former South African coach Graham Ford and his Ashes-winning England counterpart Duncan Fletcher have emerged as last-minute contenders for the Indian job.

A BCCI source said although Australian Dav Whatmore was the only person to have formally applied for the job, the seven-member committee appointed to find a successor to Greg Chappell might look beyond.

“The only application that lies with the board is that of Whatmore. The committee will have to decide first whether put out an advertisement or decide on the application on hand,” the BCCI source said.

Ford was the coach of South African team between 1999 and 2001 and oversaw the immediate difficult period after the match-fixing scandal.

The 46-year-old Ford has the credit of guiding the Natal team which featured many of the current and recent South African players, like Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes, besides the late West Indian fast bowling legend Malcolm Marshall.

Ford was also the Director of Coaching with the Kent County Cricket Club between 2001 and 2004 before returning to his homeland to join the Dolphins team.

Fletcher quit as England coach after the World Cup in the Caribbean in March-April. The former Zimbabwe captain helped Michael Vaughan’s men beat Australia 2-1 in 2005 and win back the Ashes urn after a gap of 16 years. — PTI

New Delhi, June 3
A strong advocate of having an Indian coach for Team India, former captain Kapil Dev has lambasted senior cricketers for reportedly lobbying for a foreigner.

Kapil was apparently baffled by the fact that though they had never worked with Australian Dav Whatmore, the senior players threw their weight behind him after he opted against an extension of his contract with the Bangladesh team following the World Cup.

“The players have never worked with Whatmore, how can they recommend his name,” a miffed Kapil told Aaj Tak.

“Ravi Shastri is the best option for the job. The board and Shastri himself should take the initiative in this regard,” Kapil said, adding that it would be in the best interest of Indian cricket.

He was against the preference for a foreign coach and if the trend continued, he said, “One day, things will be such than Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly will be in contention for the coach’s job but would never get it.”

During the recent Bangladesh tour, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Anil Kumble reportedly met BCCI president Sharad Pawar and requested him to get a foreigner to take over as the new coach.

Kapil felt projecting Whatmore as the front-runner for the job undermined the authority of the seven-member committee which meets in Bangalore tomorrow.

Headed by Pawar, the committee includes former captains S Venkataraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.

“The committee has several greats in it and the selection of the coach should be left entirely to them. If the BCCI has already made up its mind on someone, then what is the purpose of having this committee?” Kapil said.

Two other former players, Madan Lal and Anshuman Gaekwad - who have served as the coach of the national team - too came down heavily on the BCCI for the selection process to pick the new coach.

Madan echoed Kapil’s views and said if the board opted for a foreign coach, it would be an insult to former Indian players like him.

“But it seems the current players don’t want an Indian coach. It’s a one-horse race, so no prize for guessing who will win,” he remarked.

The former all-rounder reiterated that he too wanted to be in the race and said, “Ideally, the board should have called at least four or five candidates. I’m aggressive as a coach and also competent enough for the job.”

Gaekwad was also unhappy with the entire selection process and said, “This is clearly not the right way to do the job.” — PTI

New Delhi, June 3
Former India pace bowler Venkatesh Prasad believes injuries “cannot be prevented” and a “transparent” rotation policy was the best way to guard against player burnout.

Prasad, who was the Indian team’s bowling coach on the recent tour to Bangladesh, said there could not be a water-tight theory when it came to injury management and keeping the player concerned well informed of the reasons behind selection decisions was key to the issue.

“It is debatable, I would say. I would not stick to one particular way,” Prasad told PTI from Mysore, where he will be helping the bowlers at the fitness camp starting tomorrow.

“A lot depends on how one is feeling. If somebody (player) is really important and it is not a highly competitive match, then he may be rested.

“But there has to be transparency, proper communication. The player has to know why he is sitting out. He should be having the positive emotion to comeback and do well in the next match.” Prasad, who played in 33 Tests and claimed 96 wickets, besides 196 scalps in 161 one-day internationals, said a specialised coach had become a basic requirement in modern cricket.

“In a player’s career, particularly a fast bowler’s, you cannot prevent injuries. No matter how smooth an action you have and how fit you are, you go through injuries," the 37-year-old Bangalorean said.

“To put it scientifically, when a fast bowler lands on his backfoot, the momentum created by the run-up and the jump before landing makes him bring down 10 times his body weight.

Imagine doing that time and again! “So we need to manage the bowlers correctly. We have to monitor the amount of physical fitness and the amount of bowling at the nets he does.

“It is the coach’s job to keep the bowlers fresh. And this is where I think a specialised coach can be handy.” Prasad was all praise for the team’s decision to play five bowlers in Bangladesh but said it was not a combination for all seasons.

“It will depend on the nature of the pitch and the conditions. If needed, we will play six batsmen and a wicketkeeper. It will be horses for courses,” he said.

“In Bangladesh, the wickets were very flat and the weather was extreme. It would have put a lot of strain and pressure on four bowlers. I think Ravi (Shastri) and Rahul (Dravid) did an excellent job.”

Prasad said Indian seamers had the combination of pace and swing, which was a rare commodity, but they “have to work on their discipline”.

“Our bowlers’ strength is that they have pace, when I say pace I don’t mean express pace, and swing,” he said. Other bowlers can swing at 128 kmph, but our bowlers do it at 135 or 136 kmph.

“But it is human nature to experiment. So they have to work on their discipline.” Prasad was of the opinion that “a good coach was one who went to the root cause of a player’s problem,” he said cryptically.

“Let me explain. Suppose a bowler’s head is falling away at the time of delivery, you don’t need a coach to tell you that. You can see that yourself.

“But you expect the coach to tell you why it is happening, the cause, and what should be done to rectify it. “I am not having any thoughts like just because I have played for India I am qualified to be the fast bowling coach.

“But I have the experience of playing at the highest level and to go with that I have worked with the junior players.” — PTI

London, June 3
England named an unchanged squad today for the third Test against the West Indies as they aim to win the series at Old Trafford.

The hosts had few options but to retain the same XI that triumphed by an innings and 283 runs at Headingley, the West Indies’ biggest innings defeat in Tests, where they went 1-0 up in the four-match series after the drawn Lord’s opener.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff, seamer Matthew Hoggard and the likes of pace bowlers Sajid Mahmood and Stuart Broad have all been ruled out through injury.

Squad: Michael Vaughan (capt), Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matthew Prior, Liam Plunkett, Stephen Harmison, Ryan Sidebottom and Monty Panesar. — AFP

Swiss Roger Federer serves to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia during their fourth-round match at the French Open in Paris on Sunday. Federer won 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. — AFP

Paris, June 3
Serena Williams reached the 19th Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career today with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Dinara Safina.

The sole American player left in either singles draw surged to a 4-0 lead and never looked back as she stormed through for an eagerly-anticipated clash with Belgian top seed Justin Henin.

Henin’s relentless progress towards a third straight French Open title continued when the Belgian beat Austria’s Sybille Bammer 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth round.

The 25-year-old top seed has now won 29 consecutive sets at Roland Garros stretching back to 2005.

Eighteen-year-old Czech prodigy Nicole Vaidisova reached the last eight for a second straight year with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 win over Italy’s Tathiana Garbin.

Last year’s losing finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova followed with an impressive 6-4, 6-3 win over Israeli Shahar Peer.

World number five Jelena Jankovic ended the host nation’s presence at the French Open when she sent Marion Bartoli packing with a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing in a fourth-round match today.

Serbia’s Jankovic, the women’s tour sensation this year with three titles, needed just 64 minutes to brush aside Bartoli and set up a quarterfinal meeting with Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova.

World number 21 Bartoli, who had stunned former finalist Elena Dementieva of Russia in the previous round, was hampered by lower back pain for which she received treatment after the first round and was never in contention.

Bartoli’s exit means there will be no French player in either draw in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1999.

Serbian Ana Ivanovic reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of gritty Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues.

The 19-year-old, seeded seventh here after cracking the world’s top 10 this year, needed more than two hours to quell the challenge of Garrigues who came through a three-hour clash with Daniela Hantuchova yesterday.

Ivanovic will face Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, hoping to go further than in 2005 when she fell in the last eight.

In the men’s section, Roger Federer matched John McEnroe’s record streak of 11 straight-set wins in Grand Slam matches by beating Mikhail Youzhny 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 today to reach the French Open quarterfinals.

World number one Federer, whose run dates back to the first round of this year’s Australian Open, equals the best mark in the Open era set by McEnroe in 1984 from the second round at Wimbledon through to the US Open quarterfinals.

The 25-year-old Swiss, bidding to become the third man after Don Budge and Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, next meets Spaniard Tommy Robredo, seeded ninth.

Robredo beat 29th seed Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 in the fourth round.

Earlier, defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain reached the last 16 yesterday with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 demolition of compatriot Albert Montanes. The world number two, who turned 21 today, has not dropped a set so far but could be challenged in the next round when he meets former world number one Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

Celtic Manor, June 3
Jyoti Randhawa recovered from a poor start to return a one-under 68 and move up to the tied 29th position, while Shiv Kapur had another disappointing day as he carded a two-over 71 to slip to the tied 61st spot after the penultimate round of the Celtic Manor Wales Open here.

Jyoti’s 68 took his three-day total to four-under 203, but Shiv stood one-over 208 after the disappointing show.

Jyoti made a bad start with bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes. A birdie on the sixth hole was followed by a bogey on the eighth as he made the tun two-over.

He then staged a remarkable comeback, playing out a flawless back nine studded with birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th.

In contrast, Shiv had another testing day with four bogeys, two on either side of the turn, and two birdies on back nine for a two-over 71 that put him in tied 61st place, down from overnight 58th.

Jaipur, June 3
Anthony Amalraj emerged the star of round one of the singles main draw as he played an all-aggressive game to upset Monday Merotohun of Nigeria in the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship here today.

The 20-year-old Chennai boy, who had to qualify for the main draw, earned his greatest career victory as he downed eighth seed Monday 11-7, 11-9, 11-5, 5-11, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9 in a marathon encounter at the Sawai Mansingh stadium here today.

India was well on way to record two more upsets of enormous proportion but qualifier Jubin Kumar and Anirban Nandi fell just short of converting their excellent run into a match winning wonder against Yang Zi and Xiao Cai Li of Singapore.

While Jubin made second seed Singaporean Yang Zi look ordinary and vulnerable, Nandi too fought bravely against fifth seed Cai Li.

Jubin's inspired play could not bore the fruits of his desire as he went down 10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-2, 4-11, 11-7 and Nandi made Li sweat before losing the match by a whisker at 11-1, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 9-11, 11-8 in a encounter that was poised on knife's edge.

Defending champion Achanta Sharath Kamal easily sailed through the first round with a 11-8, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 win over Stewart Crawford of Scotland.

India's other two stalwart Soumyadeep Roy and Shubhajit Saha also cleared their second round.

Soumyadeep stuttered a bit as he got the better of Abbaz Salim of Pakistan 11-9, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9 while Saha was flawless as he trounced 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.

In the women's section, Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das also cleared the first round hurdle with ease.

Poulomi thrashed Catherine Symonds of Scotland 11-2, 11-7, 11-1, 11-4 while Mouma eased past Owen Naomi of Wales 11-9, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 to make a place in the second round.

In the women's section, Mousumi Paul lost to Chiu Soo Jin of Malaysia 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 while Kasturi Chakraborty went down to Yuen Sara of Canada 11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8.

Shubhajit Saha easily made a place in the round of 16 with a 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7, win over Tim Yarnall of England.

Top seed Gao Ning of Singapore registered a 11-3, 11-1, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8 win over Asim Qureshi of Pakistan.

Among other Indian’s in men's draw, Pathik Mehta went down fighting to Kyle Davis of Australia 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6. Jitender Kumar went down to Malaysia’s Shahkirin Ibrahim 4-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5.

Devesh Karia lost to Kazeem Nosiru 11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-10.

Shibaji Dutta went down to Seun Ajetunmobi of Nigeria 11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9.

In other matches of women's section, K Shamini toppled the fifth seed Zhang Mo of Canada 11-7, 12-10, 16-18, 10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6.

Madhurika Patkar also gave a tough fight to Australian Stephanie Xu Sang before giving up 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 5-11, 6-11.

Mamta Prabhu lost to Miao Miao of Australia 11-4, 13-11, 11-3, 11-4.

Achanta Sharath Kamal and Poulomi Ghatak fought tooth and nail to enter the pre-quarterfinal of the mixed doubles at the 17th Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship here today.

The experienced Indian duo were stretched to the limit by the Canadian pair of Andre Ho and Qi Tang but the local favourites prevailed 4-11, 11-7, 7-11, 13-11, 11-3 in a thrilling encounter at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here.

Of the eight Indian pairs in mixed doubles, half of them managed to reach the third round of the 64-player draw.

Soumyadeep Roy and Mouma Das faced no such problems as they thrashed New Zealand’s Simon Wallace and Chi Wen Hung 12-10, 11-6, 11-6.

Srinagar, June 3
Bihar won the first Inter-State Golf Championship pushing hosts Jammu and Kashmir to the runners-up position here today.

Amid cloudy weather and morning fog, the day-long tournament was played at the Royal Springs Golf Course on the foothills of Zabarwan hills and banks of the famed Dal Lake.

While the Patna Golf Club represented Bihar team, Jammu and Kashmir had players drawn from the administration, judiciary and the Army.

The championship, sponsored by Jamkash Vehicleades, was teed off by Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt-Gen SK Sinha (retd) along with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Speaking at the end of the championship, Lt-Gen Sinha said this was the first of the series and other states would also be invited for taking part in the tournament in future.

“I feel elated to join Azad in representing Jammu and Kashmir against my home state,” the Governor said in a lighter vein.

Azad said the 18-hole golf course at Royal Springs would be further developed to meet international standards.

Tourism minister Mohammad Dilawar Mir dwelt on measures being taken for upgrading tourism infrastructure across the state. Two major golf courses at Gulmarg and Pahalgam were being developed at a cost of Rs 5 crore each, he added.

The minister said the second phase of the Pahalgam golf course will cost another Rs 5 crore.

Lt-Gen Sinha later gave away the winners cup to the Patna Golf Club team, while Mr Azad presented trophies to golfers in various individual categories. The winners included Premini Sinha, the Governor’s wife, and Rachita for putting.

Azad also presented trophies to Shabir Ahmad Bhat as the grass winner, Capt BP Sinha (grass runner-up), AG Malik (nett category winner), and Ghulam Rasool Guru (nett runner-up). — UNI