Mumbai, June 19
Hours before embarking on a gruelling tour of Ireland and England, Indian captain Rahul Dravid today send out a warning to his rivals, saying his team could have a “very good series” if it played to its true potential.

Dravid said it was imperative for his players to maintain their performance level right through the England tour which he described as “very special.”

“If we play up to our true potential, I think we can have a very good series. We have to try and play good cricket and maintain the performance right through the length and breadth of the tour,” Dravid said at a pre-departure press conference.

“We have been playing good Test cricket in last 12-14 months. Winning the Test match at Wanderers (South Africa) was a good moment but the next two Test matches were disappointing. So, we will have to be consistent to be successful during an overseas tour,” he said.

Dravid also said that the tour provided an opportunity for the team to bounce back from the disappointment of the World Cup in the West Indies.

The Indian captain also emphasised that newly appointed cricket manager Chandu Borde will be part of the team management and will be involved in strategy making.

Asked specifically what would be Borde’s role during the tour, Dravid said, “Borde will be part of the team management... he will take part in strategies and meetings. He has so much knowledge and experience. In the earlier part of the tour, he will get to know the players and how the team works and get more comfortable with everyone.”

Dravid said that any tour of England was special for the cricketers. “There have been some great performance by Indian teams over the years. It is a country of cricketing history. To play in grounds where great players have played will be special,” he said.

“The crowd always appreciates good cricket. The Test matches are well attended. All the matches that I have played in England so far has had the grounds full,” he said.

On bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, Dravid said, “he had a lot of experience and has been working hard with the youngsters. If given a chance to look at the strengths and weaknesses at the bowlers, he has a big role to play during the tour.”

Dravid also singled out paceman Zaheer Khan, saying he would have to spearhead the bowling attack and play the role of mentor for the young pacemen in the team. “Zaheer has the experience, having played county cricket in England. He also has a big role to play.”

Cricket manager Borde, who was also present at the press conference, described the tour as a challenge and said he was used to handling such situations. “I am used to these things. It’s a challenge for us. I know what is going on in the Indian team,” he said.

Analysing the England team, Borde said, “they have good variety of pace attack and also have a formidable line-up. The team that played at home always do well,” he said.

“I have been watching them on TV. They are doing well against the West Indies. The batting looks comfortable with Pietersen, Cook, Collingwood in their ranks,” he said.

Dravid said that it would be his last tour to England and a victory in the Test series would make it memorable for him.

“Personally this is my last tour to England. I am not going back in four years’ time and I have to win the series which will make it a memorable one for me,” he said.

“The key to winning the series is our experienced batting line-up in putting up enough runs on the board and our bowlers taking 20 wickets. We have got young bowlers to capitalise on if there are enough runs on the board. It will also depend on the boys staying fit,” he said.

“England have experienced bowlers but it does not necessarily mean it is an advantage for them. At the end of the day, performance is what counts. We had a good tour of 2002 and we need those kind of performances,” the middle-order batting mainstay said.

This will be Dravid’s third visit to England for a Test series following his memorable debut at Lord’s in 1996 when he made 96 while team-mate Sourav Ganguly made a century on his Test debut.

The Indians will play a series of four one-day internationals in Ireland against the hosts (a one-off tie) and a three-match series against South Africa. They will then play against Pakistan in Glasgow in a one-off ODI before moving to England for a three-Test rubber to be followed by a seven-match ODI series against the hosts.

About the brief visit to Ireland, Dravid said not many in the team have deep knowledge about the conditions there, though some of the boys had played club cricket there.a“Very few of us have played in Ireland. Some of our boys have played club cricket. It’s a new experience and challenge for us,” the Indian captain said. — PTI 

Durham, June 19
England beat West Indies by seven wickets on the final day of the fourth and final Test today to complete a 3-0 series win.

England, set 110 to win, reached 111 for three with captain Michael Vaughan (48 not out) steering England home in his first Test series in 18 months after injury.

Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar took five wickets while Shivnarine Chanderpaul passed 50 for the sixth time in consecutive innings, scoring 70 in West Indies’ second innings’ 222.

England are now unbeaten in home test series since losing to Australia in 2001.

Earlier, Monty Panesar helped bowl out West Indies in their second innings with five for 46, while fast bowler Steve Harmison cast aside news he that he needs a hernia operation by taking two for 92 including one 17-over spell.

The resilient Chanderpaul was the last man out — bowled by Panesar — for 70. He has passed 50 in his last six test innings and has been West Indies' top scorer the last six times he has batted, dating back to the Pakistan tour in December.

Chanderpaul batted for 17 hours and 38 minutes until his dismissal and is the only batsman ever to have gone unbeaten for more than 1,000 minutes on three occasions.

He holds the world record with an unbeaten sequence of 1,513 minutes in 2002 against India.

The tenacious left-hander scored 116 not out in the second innings of the last test at Old Trafford and made an unbeaten 136 in the first innings of this game. He averaged 148.66 in the series.

West Indies were still hanging on at lunch and harbouring slim hopes of escaping with a draw.

Scoreboard

West Indies (1st innings) 287

England (1st innings) 400

West Indies (2nd innings)

Gayle c Pior b Hoggard 52

Smith lbw Hoggard 0

Ganga c Prior b Hoggard 6

Morton b Panesar 7

Chanderpaul b Panesar 70

Bravo c Sidebottom b Panesar 43

Samuels c Collingwood

b Panesar 2

Ramdin b Panesar 4

Powell c Vaughan b Harmison 4

Edwards b Harmison 0

Collymore not out 16

Extras (b-1, lb-12, w-2, nb-3) 18

Total (all out, 64 overs) 222

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-15, 3-38, 4-94, 5-162, 6-169, 7-175, 8-188, 9-194.

Bowling: Sidebottom 15-4-40-0, Hoggard 11-4-28-3, Harmison 20-2-92-2, Panesar 16-2-46-5, Pietersen 2-0-3-0.

England (2nd innings)

Strauss b Powell 13

Cook c Bravo b Powell 7

Vaughan not out 48

Pietersen c Samuels b Gayle 28

Collingwood not out 5

Extras (b-4, nb-6) 10

Total (3 wkts; 21.4 overs) 111

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-29, 3-105.

Bowling: Edwards 7-0-46-0, Powell 7-0-38-2, Samuels 4-0-12-0, Gayle 3.4-0-11-1. — Reuters

Chester-le-Street, June 19
Michael Vaughan has stepped down from one-day captaincy with immediate effect. But Vaughan, in a statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board after close of play on the fourth day of the fourth Test against the West Indies, said he would continue as a one-day international cricketer.

And the ECB also added he would remain England’s Test captain.

Vaughan’s successor as one-day captain will be announced when the squad for the two forthcoming Twenty20 matches and three limited overs internationals against the West Indies is named on Friday.

However, Vaughan indicated he might miss these matches while the new captain established “his own authority over the team”.

Vaughan, who has struggled to reproduce his Test form in one-day cricket, was England’s captain at the recent World Cup in the Caribbean where they failed to qualify for the semifinals.

The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman said: “I reached this decision some time ago. But due to intense speculation in the media about my future, I feel it is important to make my intentions clear now.

“Our priority is to build a one-day squad able to compete strongly at the next World Cup (in Asia in 2011) and I firmly believe that the interests of the team will be best served if I step down and allow another player to gain additional experience of captaincy in the one-day international arena.”

Vaughan added: “I am committed to continuing as England’s Test captain for as long as I can be successful in the role.”

Vaughan has yet to score a century in his 86 one-day international appearances, averaging a meagre 27.15 compared to a Test mark of 43.44.aHe led England in 60 one-day internationals, winning 32 and losing 22. — AFP

New Delhi, June 19
Sania Mirza has crashed out in the first round of women’s singles event at the $175,000 Ordina Open tennis tournament at Rosmalen, the Netherlands.

The Indian ace lost 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 to Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the close to two-hour battle at the tier III event yesterday.

Sania’s serve was erratic throughout as she committed six double faults in all against Francesca, who got her act together after committing as many as five double faults in the opening set.

Sania was off to a good start and broke Francesca twice in the first set to go 1-0 up but things went haywire for the 20-year-old after that as her opponent staged a comeback.

Francesca broke Sania twice in the second set before making it 1-1 and take the match into a decider.aIn the decider, Francesca broke Sania once besides holding her own serve after saving five break points to come out on top. Francesca will now be up against Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze in the second round. — PTI 

Srinagar, June 19
Jammu and Kashmir will not host Santosh Trophy football tournament this year due to clash of dates with the Amarnath Yatra, state sports minister Babu Singh said here today.

Singh, however, said the tournament would come to the state next year.

Since July 10, the proposed date of inauguration of the Santosh Trophy this year, was coinciding with the Amarnath Yatra, the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to allot the event to Jammu and Kashmir next year, Singh told PTI.

The minister said the deployment of a major chunk of security forces for Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to be held from June 30 to August 30, was the reason behind not holding the football tournament.

“AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi must have talked to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad about the availability of security forces to ensure safe conduct of the tournament. Since the focus of the security apparatus would be on the Amarnath Yatra, it was decided that the Santosh Trophy would be held in the state next year,” Singh said.

Last month, a committee of the AIFF, headed by its vice-president Subroto Dutta, had visited the venues and had given the nod for holding the tournament.

The minister said all arrangements for conducting the tournament this year had been completed. “All the venues are ready and facilities have been put in place as per the guidelines given by the AIFF,” he added.

Singh said it had been decided to hold the premier football event of the country in May next year.

Although Jammu and Kashmir had expressed desire to host the Santosh Trophy in 2006, it was turned down by the AIFF because of security concerns and lack of proper facilities. — PTI

Yalta (Ukraine), June 19
Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran started his campaign in style with a thumping win over GM Alexander Onischuk of the United States in the first round of Aerosvit International chess tournament here.

Sasikiran was a class act with his white pieces as he won a one-sided affair in the Queen’s Indian defence game.

Onischuk was the first to deviate from main variations on his 12th turn and his 16th move was a error-filled that gave Sasikiran an opportunity for a thematic exchange sacrifice leading to complexities favouring the Indian.

Sasikiran slowly increased his advantage in the ensuing middle game leaving Onischuk pieces less mobilised even though the position was open. Banking on his passed pawn on the 6th rank, Sasikiran clinched thee issue in just 35 moves.

It turned out to be an exciting day in general in the 12-players double round robin tournament. Apart from Sasikiran, Lenier Dominguezz of Cuba and Latvian-born Spaniard Alexei Shirov were the other winners while the remaining three games ended in draws.

Dominiguez accounted for Loek Van Wely of Holland while Shirov proved clearly superior than Sergei Rublevsky of Russia.

Russian Peter Svidler signed peace with Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania had a similar result against Russian Dmitry Jakovenko and the all Ukrainian duel between Sergey Karjakin and Vassily Ivanchuk also reached a deadlock. — PTI

New Delhi, June 19
Indian grapplers put up commendable performances at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Ontario, Canada, emerging champions in freestyle men’s team event while becoming runners-up in women’s team and Greco-roman competitions.

The Indians claimed five gold, four silver and a bronze in the men’s freestyle event to win the title. In Greco-roman, India’s haul of five gold and five silver fetched it the silver.

The women’s team bagged a gold, five silver and a bronze to come second.

Of the 27 wrestlers who participated in the event, 25 returned with medals. The team is returning tonight. The tournament, which featured 12 countries, was held from June 15 to 17.

Freestyle: Gold: Kripa Shankar Patel (55 kg), Yogeshwar Dutt (60 kg), Sushil Kumar (66 kg), Anil Kumar Mann (96 kg), Rajiv Tomar (120 kg). Silver: Amit Kumar Dhankar (66 kg), Hardeep Singh (66 kg), Narsingh Pancham Yadav (74 kg), Joginder Kumar (120 kg). Bronze: Amit Kumar (84 kg). Greco-roman (men): Gold: Kanhya Lal Yadav (55 kg), Ravinder Singh (60 kg), Gurbinder Singh (66 kg), Manoj Kumar (84 kg), Atul Kumar Mann (96 kg). Silver: Kripa Shankar Patel (55 kg), Yogeshwar Dutt (60 kg), Sanjay (74 kg), Ashok Kumar (96 kg), Dharmender Dalal (120 kg). Women: Gold: Nirmala Devi (48kg). Silver: Kamini Yadav (51 kg), Manju (55 kg), Geetika Jathar (63 kg), Jyoti (67 kg) Minakshi Devi (72 kg). Bronze: Alka Tomar (59 kg). — PTI

Bangkok, June 19
Sinimol Paulose (1500m) and Sunil Kumar (3000m) won a gold medal each as India bagged 11 medals in the Asian Grand Prix here today.

Sunil ran his personal best of 8:00.76 sec, fractions of seconds ahead of compatriot Surendra Singh, who also clocked his personal best of 8:00.86 sec.

Paulose, who timed 4:12.61 sec, was well ahead of silver winner Svetlana Lukasheva (4:20.98 sec) of Kazakhstan though her effort was below her personal best. Compatriot Sushma was third with a timing of 4:25.51sec.

In men’s discus throw, Vikas Gowda finished second behind Samimi Abbas (62.61m) of Iran with a throw of 60.14m.

Saurabh Vij and Chatholi Hamza collected the two other silver in men’s shot put and men’s 1500m. Hamza ran his personal best of 3:40.19s but missed out the gold to Sajad Moradi (3:39.04s) in a close finish.

Vij’s effort of 17.82m was, however, well behind Kuwaiti gold winner Gholam Ahmed, who cleared 18.56m.

Gold winners: Sunil Kumar (men’s 3000m), Sinimole Paulose (women’s 1500m).

Silver winners: Surendra Singh (men’s 300m), Vikas Gowda (men’s discus throw), Saurabh Vij (men’s shot put), Chathilo Hamza (men’s 1500m).

Bronze winners: K.M. Binu (men’s 400m), M.R. Poovamma (women’s 400m), Sajeesh Joseph (men’s 1500m), Hari Shankar Roy (men’s high jump), Sushma (women’s 1500m). — UNI

Rajib, Namita are Asian jr champs
Kolkata: India’s Rajib Basumatary and Namita Yadav kept the Tricolour flying at the second Asian junior archery championship by winning the individual titles in the boys’ recurve and girls’ compound bow sections, respectively, on Monday.After the penultimate day of competition in the five-day championship in Chinese Taipei, India’s medal haul reads three gold, one silver and two bronze.The other Indian Prabhat Kandir, who lost to Basumatary in the semifinals, took the bronze. — PTI

Women’s cricket
Dubai: The first Asian Cricket Council (ACC) women’s eight-nation tournament will be held in Johor Baru, Malaysia, next month to synchronise the sport among developing ICC members in the region.The teams have been divided into two groups with Group A comprising Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Nepal while UAE, Bangladesh, Singapore and China in Group B. — PTI

Warne, Murali shine
London: Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, Test cricket’s top two leading wicket-takers of all time, bowled their respective sides to victory in the English County Championship.Hampshire captain Warne took five for 50 as Durham were bowled out for 288 in their second innings to give the hosts a 50-run win at the Rose Bowl on Monday.Sri Lanka off-spinner Muralitharan took four for 72 at Old Trafford, in a match return of eight for 145, as Lancashire beat Kent by eight wickets. — AFP