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Rain reigns in Glasgow
Glowing tributes paid to Sardesai
B’desh sink to new low
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Assam govt cautions against fake certificates
Hockey Rankings
Chandigarh to host ladies’ pro golf
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Rain reigns in Glasgow
Glasgow, July 3 The handful of fans who had turned up at the Clydesdale Ground returned disappointed as the umpires decided to abandon the game after an inspection at 2 pm (6.30 pm IST) citing “unplayable” ground conditions. “It is absolutely soaking and there is no chance of play,” umpire Mark Benson of England said. There were intermittent showers right through the day and though the sun broke out briefly, it was not enough to dry the soggy outfield. “There was a lot of wind and sun this morning but there cannot possibly be any play,” Benson said. “The problem is that the water table is very high and rain has accumulated on the top. It is very slushy.” The two teams, probably aware of the decision, returned to their hotel at noon. Prince Charles, for whose charity trust the match was to raise funds, visited the dressing room of the two teams and interacted with the players. Later, he also posed for a group photo with them. India, who had arrived here from Belfast where they had defeated South Africa 2-1 in a three-match series, would now proceed to England to play three Tests and seven ODIs. They start their series against England with a four-day fixture against county club Sussex from July 7 at Hove.
— PTI
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Glowing tributes paid to Sardesai
Mumbai, July 3 Cricket board president Sharad Pawar said Sardesai’s death was an irreparable loss to Mumbai and Indian cricket. “Dilip Sardesai was one of the most popular Indian cricketers who served Mumbai for a number of years. One cannot forget his passion for Mumbai cricket, particularly young cricketers and his encouragement to them,” Pawar said in a statement. “Sardesai’s death is a great loss to Mumbai and Indian cricket,” he added. Spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi said Sardesai was one of the most prolific run-getters and recalled his commendable performance in the 1970-71 series. “In the West Indies, he bailed out the team on his own. He is the one who laid the foundation in the first Test at Jamaica. I was fortunate to have shared the last wicket partnership in Barbados,” Bedi said. “Present day Indian cricketers can learn from him. His technique was superb and an average of 40 in 30 Test matches is just fantastic,” Bedi said. Former captain Nari Contractor expressed shock over the death of Sardesai whom he described as a very dear friend. “In fact it was only on Tuesday last that I and Rajbhai (former BCCI chief Raj Singh Dungarpur) had visited him at the Bombay hospital. I later spoke to his wife (Nandini) on Thursday and everything seemed fine,” the former Test opener said. “I have never captained Dilip at the Test level as on the 1961-62 tour of the West Indies I had to return home because of my injury and he played later (under Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi),” he said. Contractor praised Sardesai as a very courageous batsman who “set out to do what was asked of him and did a pretty good job of it”. “In fact he played a very crucial role in India’s Test series win in the West Indies (1971) when the chips were down”, he recalled about Sardesai’s splendid rear-guard action with fellow-Mumbaikar, late Eknath Solkar, in that series which rescued the Indian innings time and again. “He was very outspoken and that’s the reason he could not fit much in cricket management. He was blunt (in his opinion) which was not to the liking of some. But as a Mumbai selector he was the one who used to watch all the matches”, Contractor recalled. Former skipper Ajit Wadekar paid glowing tributes to his ex-Test and first-class team-mate, and said India’s historic wins over the West Indies and England in 1971 was largely due to Sardesai’s stellar form. “It was his double hundred in the first Test (against the West Indies) that gave us tremendous confidence and then he continued in that vein right through. That phase saw him at his best as a batsman. He almost reproduced that in England too,” the ex-India captain said. “It has been one long partnership lasting more than 15 years on the cricket field with Sardya. He used to call me Jitya. If we won the Test series in 1971 in the West Indies, 90 per cent of the credit belongs to Dilip,” Wadekar said. Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said Sardesai’s death was a sad loss for Indian cricket. “It’s really sad. He has scored heavily for India and served the team with distinction for well over a decade,” Vengsarkar said. Spin great EAS Prasanna, a contemporary of Sardesai, mourned his former teammate’s death. “My and my family’s condolence goes to his family. It’s a great loss.” Sardesai’s former teammate Abbas Ali Baig recalled the days when he used to share room with the batsman while playing abroad. “We often shared rooms on tours. He was an excellent company and of course a fabulous batsman. Indian cricket will miss him a lot,” Baig said.
— PTI
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B’desh sink to new low
Colombo, July 3 The tourists, dismissed for 89 in the first Test, were bowled out for just 62 in 25.2 overs as Muralitharan and Malinga took four wickets apiece. Bangladesh’s total was 24 runs less than the 86 they were bowled out for by Sri Lanka in 2005, their previous lowest score. Scoreboard
Bangladesh (1st innings) Omar c P. Jayawardene Nafees lbw Malinga 0 Saleh c M. Jayawardene Bashar c M. Jayawardene Ashraful c Warnapura b Malinga 0 Hossain b Fernando 6 Rahim c P. Jayawardene b Murali 9 Mortaza c M. Jayawardene Rafique c Vaas b Murali 2 Sharif not out 4 Hossain b Murali 1 Extras (lb-1, nb-4, w-1) 6 Total
(all out, 25.2 overs) 62 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-14, 3-22, 4-22, 5-33, 6-45, 7-48, 8-51, 9-56. Bowling: Vaas 5-1-6-0, Malinga 9-1-25-4, Fernando 6-1-16-2, Muralitharan 5.2-1-14-4. Sri Lanka (1st innings) Vandort b Mortaza 14 Warnapura batting 79 Sangakkara batting 51 Extras
(lb-3, nb-7) 10 Total (1 wkt, 45.3 overs) 154 Fall of wicket:
1-41 Bowling: Mortaza 12-1-31-1, Shahadat 9-1-34-0, Sharif 7.3-1-26-0, Rafique 14-1-48-0, Ashraful 3-0-12-0.
— Reuters
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London, July 3 In a match featuring three rain disruptions and a confused umpire who lost his bearings midway through the tussle, 14th seed Vaidisova downed Mauresmo with a barrage of hefty groundstrokes. After an error-riddled performance, the Frenchwoman suffered her earliest exit from the grasscourt Grand Slam since 2001. Mauresmo had lost her two previous meetings against Vaidisova and once again imploded on Centre Court having made a promising start. She was leading 4-2 in the first set when showers first interrupted the match but Vaidisova proved to be a gutsy opponent and roared back to take it 8-6 in a tiebreak. Umpire Kim Craven then looked to have lost the plot when he forgot whose serve it was and at which end the players should start the second set. After much bemusement, the players started the second set and despite levelling the contest, an out-of-sorts Mauresmo bowed out by netting a service return. Meanwhile, fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova came safely through her fourth round meeting with Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-3, 6-2 at Wimbledon. Ana Ivanovic kept her wits about her through four rain disruptions to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win over Russian Nadia Petrova. The French Open runner-up set up a battle of the teenagers with Nicole Vaidisova. A mis-timing serve cost third seed Jelena Jankovic a place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals when Marion Bartoli of France beat her 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a match that was interrupted by rain four times. On the men's side, 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time by beating Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Lleyton Hewitt ended Guillermo Canas's Wimbledon comeback with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat in the third round. On a soaking day at the grasscourt championships, Hewitt managed to survive numerous rain breaks to book his place in the fourth round for the sixth time in his career. Nikolay Davydenko, the sixth seed, of Russia beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to advance. Sania-Peer in 3rd round Sania Mirza and her Israeli partner Sahar Peer sailed into Wimbledon doubles third round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Hunagarian Agnes Szavay and Vladimira Uhlirova of Czech Republic here today. The 16th seeded Indo-Israeli combination now runs into top seeds Lisa Raymond of USA and Samantha Stosur of Australia for a place in the quarterfinals. — Agencies
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Weather testing players’ patience
It has been a very frustrating time for both players as well as spectators as rain has played havoc with the schedules at Wimbledon this summer. This is my seventh year at Wimbledon and I have never seen anything like this before.
I just won my second round doubles against Agnes Szavay and Vladimira Uhlirova after the match was unfinished yesterday. I did manage to get onto court on Monday, but we were unable to complete the match despite the two stints that we had out in the middle. Getting the momentum due to the starts and stoppages needs some amount of mental strength, and all players are struggling to come up with their best tennis to deliver when they need to. The light was not very good while we were playing the second set on Monday evening, and we all struggled to sight the ball well when we were volleying at the net. The conditions of play have not been easy with the black threatening clouds always hovering around menacingly in chilly, blistering weather. Getting courts to practice has been very difficult due to the rain and we have had to practice on indoor courts whenever we could get them although that is not the best way to prepare for the grass court matches. What has amazed me, however, is the fact that the crowds have continued to throng Wimbledon despite the dreadful weather and it only goes to show how revered this tournament is. I hope the sun comes out in all its glory in the next few days to give the tennis-crazy spectators value for their money. We now play the formidable world no. 1 team of Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur for a place in the quarterfinals and though I lost to them in the French Open last month, I'm looking forward to playing them alongside my new partner. Meanwhile, Justine Henin has continued her tremendous form in spite of the weather and may well be on her way to her first Wimbledon title. Venus Williams came from the brink against Morigami to eke out a win and the American sisters remain dangerous contenders despite struggling this past week. Michaella Krajicek and Tamira Paszek are the youngsters, who have had a breakthrough Wimbledon this year with the former making it to the last eight. Of course, the other young gun, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, is already a well-known name at this level. In the men's event, Roger Federer is sitting pretty, with some scintillating tennis as usual and a bit of luck, too. While the rest of the field, including Nadal is battling it out in unfriendly weather conditions amidst stoppages for rain, Roger got a walkover against Tommy Haas in the pre-quarterfinal and is spending time gearing up for his next match. My first round mixed doubles match continues to get postponed and I can just about imagine how frustrating it must be for my partner, Mahesh, who has had to contend with his men's doubles partner having cried off. It is Tuesday of the second week and he is yet to play a match at this year's Wimbledon. That's how wet it has been out here this summer!
— PMG
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Assam govt cautions against fake certificates
Guwahati, July 3 In an apparent damage control exercise, the state government has asked all concerned to verify the veracity of the certificates issued from the data available on the official website of the games. “All the records of the Guwahati games regarding participation and medal winners are available on the website www.33rdnationalgames.nic.in and one should verify these before accepting any certificate related to the sporting event,” said Dhruva Hazarika, director, operations of the National Games secretariat here. “Whenever a certificate of the National Games is issued, the authorities concerned should check the veracity of the same from the games website,” said Hazarika, adding that such certificates shouldn’t be accepted at face value. The call from the Assam government and the National Games secretariat came close on the heels of unearthing of a racket of selling blank but signed certificates of the Guwahati National Games. These certificates may be prized possession for anyone seeking admission to educational institutions, jobs in PSUs or even the government sector under the sports quota. The certificates are signed by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi, secretary-general Randhir Singh, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam National Games Organising Committee secretary-general V. S. Bhaskar. The IOA has ordered an a inquiry into the scandal even as the host of the Games, the Assam government, is groping for clues.
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Hockey Rankings
New Delhi, July 3 Amidst a shake-up in the lower half of the top 10 in the ranking ladder, India remained unaffected thanks to their 4-3 win over England in the third place play-off game in Boom, Belgium, on Sunday. With 1180 points, India are behind seventh-placed Korea, who slipped one spot to allow Champions Challenge winners Argentina climb a notch. England, who were beaten twice by India in the tournament, lost one position to be the 10th ranked team. New Zealand, the runners-up at the Belgium meet, took the ninth spot. Top 10 rankings: 1. Germany (1878), 2. Australia (1845), 3. Spain (1781), 4. Netherlands (1663), 5. Pakistan (1523), 6. Argenina (1284), 7. Korea (1225), 8. India (1180), 9. New Zealand (1065), 10. England (1059).
— PTI
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Chandigarh to host ladies’ pro golf
Chandigarh, July 3 Ambika Sayal, secretary-general of the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI), disclosed this during a telephonic interview today. “We will flag off the national ladies’ pro circuit from Chandigarh”, she said. Chandigarh, Jaipur and the Delhi Golf Club will be the three new venues for this major event as the WGAI has increased the number of events from six to nine this year. The Rs 15 lakh prize money circuit would see top lady golfers taking part in the inaugural event. Ms Sayal was all praise for the Chandigarh Golf Club greens. “ The ambience is very good,” she said. “With the pro circuit being allotted to Chandigarh, it should send a positive signal to the region, particularly Punjab”, said Sayal. She said Chandigarh’s contribution to world golf had been tremendous. “Who can forget the role of Jeev Milkha Singh, Amandeep Johl and Harmeet Kahlon in taking Chandigarh to the international golf map. Now it is our time to repay by bringing the top ladies’ pro event to the City Beautiful”, she added. Sayal said the players were very happy that Chandigarh had been chosen as the inaugural venue this year. Another feedback from the players was that they wanted “only Indian” participation in the pro circuit for at least two years.
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