The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	No coverage of Oz-Lanka first Test Brisbane, November 7 International news agencies said there would be no coverage of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka because of a dispute with Cricket Australia over terms and conditions required for media accreditation. Dave Tomlin, associate general counsel for news for Associated Press (AP), said following a conference call yesterday, each of the news agencies - AP, Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP) - agreed that they would immediately advise their clients and subscribers that they planned no coverage of the first Test beginning tomorrow. Tomlin said among the main issues were Cricket Australia’s insistence that agencies pay CA for the right to license photos of CA events to editorial users, rights to distribute news and images from CA events to online news publishers, and the assertion by CA of an intellectual property interest in stories and images produced by journalists at CA events. “We want very much to cover Cricket Australia, and were still hoping that things will work out,” Tomlin said. “But CA is making demands it would be wrong for us to give in to,” he added. — AP
	Test captaincy debate won’t distract us: Harbhajan Gopal Sharma Tribune News Service Mohali, November 7 Ace India spinner Harbhajan Singh dismissed the hype surrounding the Indian team captaincy in the forthcoming Test series against arch-rivals Pakistan, saying that it was in no way going to affect the performance of the team. “As a team, we are focussed on the game tomorrow. Who will lead the side in Tests is none of our concern. Every player in the squad is concentrating on contributing his bit for the team,” Harbhajan replied when asked if the ongoing debate about the Test captain was a distraction for the players. “It was great to make a winning start to the series. If we play to our potential, there is no reason we can’t win tomorrow’s game,” Harbhajan stated. The Punjab offie did not agree with the idea that the current Pakistan squad touring India was weaker as compared to the squads which had visited here earlier. “Only Inzamam-ul-Haq is not there in the squad. The squad, more or less, is virtually the same. There are so many quality players in the side who can turn the match. Also, there are some youngsters, who will mature only when they get international exposure. Elaborating on his good bowling performance first in the Twenty20 World Championship and in the ODIs later, Harbhajan replied: “The key is to adapt keeping in view the prevailing conditions. Fortunately, I was able to do it in the Twenty20 championship, which helped a great deal. It was great to be part of the winning squad.” Asked how much difference the mandatory ball change after 35 overs made, Harbhajan stated that it all depended on the situation the rival team was in. “If the batting team has lost just one or two wickets, it means it would be easier for the well-set batsmen to play strokes again.” Paying compliments to fellow spinner Murali Kartik, Harbhajan said the left-arm spinner had always done well whenever he had got an opportunity to play for the country. “It is always nice when the bowler at the other end is bowling well as it helps create pressure on batsmen. Hailing Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan observed that if the Sri Lanka off-spinner went on to play for four more years, he would overhaul the 1,000-wicket mark in Tests, adding that even after playing for the country for so long both Shane Warne and Murali were his heroes. Declining to comment on the playing eleven for the match tomorrow, Harbhajan, exuding confidence about the abilities of each member of the 15-member Indian squad, said: “All 15 players in the squad are match-winners. Whosoever gets an opportunity to play for the country is sure to give his best.” Geoff Lawson, Pakistan coach, said plans were in place to counter the Indian spin attack. Harbhajan, Kartik and Sachin Tendulkar had combined to choke the run flow in the middle overs which ultimately led to Pakistan’s defeat in the Guwahati match. “The Mohali track has the reputation of being bouncy and may not provide much assistance to spinners. On our part, we have studied the situation well and are ready for the threat.” Refusing to divulge the team composition for the second one-dayer, the former Australian fast bowler said the playing eleven would be decided tomorrow after judging the prevailing conditions. About the inclusion of left-arm bowler Sohail Tanvir to bolster the pace attack in view of the green top at Mohali, Lawson retorted: “He is a young guy learning fast and getting better with every game. He is a frontline bowler and a good long-term prospect for Pakistan.” Quizzed whether the impetuosity of Shahid Afridi proved costly for Pakistan at Guwahati, Lawson chose to praise Afridi, saying that it was a mature innings from the player. “He played a very sensible innings. We want him to play more balls out there in the middle. The more he stays at the wicket, the more beneficial will it be for Pakistan.” The Pakistan coach was a bit surprised when asked what would be the team strategy for the game after India had recorded three successive wins (two in T20 and one at Guwahati) over the arch-rivals. Lawson was quick to point out that one of it was a tie. “Both teams deserve credit for reaching the final,” he said. Lawson hailed the batting of opener Salman Butt, who played beautifully in the first match.
	PCA owes over Rs 1 crore to Punjab Police Non-payment of security services Mohit Khanna Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 6 While the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) is earning a huge profit by organising matches at the Mohali cricket stadium, the men in khaki entrusted with providing security and controlling the crowd at the venue are still waiting for their dues amounting to over Rs 1 crore. The Punjab Police would be providing security at the venue again for the India-Pakistan match tomorrow. Documented information procured under the Right to Information Act reveals that the Punjab Police has not yet recovered Rs 10,053,665 from the Punjab cricket body on account of force deployed at the PCA Stadium over the past few years. Information received from the Punjab Police under the Act reveals that the force was in a way providing services free with no payment received from the PCA. The Punjab Police is going lenient with the PCA and there are no hard and fast rules to recover the payment, admitted the SSP, Rupnagar, in response to information sought by a Ludhiana resident on how much was the cost of providing police security at the stadium. The matter was also brought to the notice of the state government through the central police office (CPO), Punjab, at Chandigarh. However, no specified rule notification in this respect is available in this office of what the department can do to the offenders. The total dues are for matches held from 2005 till now. Even a notification has been sent by the Punjab government, home affairs and law department asking why the police has failed to collect the payment so far. This amount does not include the 10 international matches played from 1996 to 1999.
	ZAHEER ABBAS WRITES Time for Pak to deliver It was disappointing to see how Pakistan performed in the opening one-day international at Guwahati. They are simply not playing as a unit at the moment and unless they manage to turn things around very fast, India will have trampled all over them. Naturally, a lot of responsibility lies with coach Geoff Lawson. He is relatively new to the job and our team, though he has been with the side for some time now. He has been a part of the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa and then the series at home against the Proteas, and he should be getting familiarised with the task by now. Overall, if you see for the past quite a few years, our team has not been doing justice to its potential. I told Lawson in Karachi some time back, “Look, Mr Lawson, if you lose to South Africa, the Pakistani public will not say anything to you. But if you lose to India, the people, the public will not spare you. Those games are more than just cricket matches.” In this series, Lawson, too, is under as much pressure as the team itself. I am sure he would like to see the Pakistan team perform well, not just against India, but against every team in the world. The thing is that when we play against India, every performance comes under the scanner. Though we have had overseas coaches, not just now, but for the past eight years or so, there is very little to show for that in terms of overall improvement. Conversely, look at India. They don’t have a foreign coach - don’t even have a full-time coach - with all the work being done by local coaches and they have done well. Very well, I would say. Against Australia they may have lost the one-day series but that was against the strongest team in the world. Pakistan, on the other hand, were beaten in both Test and ODI series by South Africa, who are not really in the same league as the Aussies. They did not field well, did not bowl well and did not bat well. A team can only afford a poor performance in one department. And Pakistan at the moment are failing in all three. Batting-wise, only the two Ys - Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan - are doing well and it all depends on them. The openers have not been able to score runs with any consistency. Even if one of you can play for the full 50 overs, the team will invariably get between 270 and 300 runs. The Pakistan openers must get down to doing this with immediate effect. India are strong chasers and no total seems to worry them, so putting plenty of runs on the board is vital. I would say that holding Shahid Afridi back is a good idea. There is no use sending him up the order. If he is out early, one option down the order is gone. He is a very senior player now in the side and it is best left to him to decide where he should bat. Otherwise he can be sent in depending on the situation and he should look to capitalise if the openers and rest of the top order get a good start. In any case, he must bat ahead of Misbah-ul-Haq. The Mohali pitch is generally a sporting one and the stakes are high for Shoaib Malik. The time has also come for the bowlers to deliver because if Pakistan lose here, it will be very hard for them to come back in the series. It is a crunch match for them. Let me also take this opportunity to welcome those who have come from Pakistan for this match, especially from Lahore. They will all want to see the team do well after a disappointing start to the series. I am sure the Pakistan team will not let their fans down as well and will play to their potential. — Newswatch Asia
	Kallis, Gayle sign up for IPL Mumbai, November 7 South Africa’s Jacque Kallis, Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini were among the five foreign players who signed for the $3 million Indian Premier League (IPL), the Indian cricket board announced today. West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and his teammate and ace opener Chris Gayle were the other two, who have signed to play in April, in India, in a Twenty20 tournament, which has the backing of the International Cricket Council. With these five, the total number of players who have signed up for the IPL has gone up to 49, said Lalit Modi, IPL chairman and commissioner and also a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “I am happy to state that we have completed the first phase by signing some of the best international talent available,” he said in a statement here. “The IPL had publicly promised the Indian cricket fans of delivering high voltage Twenty20 cricket action through some of the most talented international and national cricketers.” Modi said he was also encouraged by the response from potential franchisees, who would be buying stakes in the IPL. “The response from potential franchisees for owning an IPL team has also been quite overwhelming and I am certain we will have some very interesting announcements to make in the days and weeks ahead,” he said. The IPL will feature eight teams in the first season, with each team playing seven home and away games against one another with 56 matches to be played in total. After the league matches, four teams would play in the semifinals. A grand final would be played toward the end of April. The league hopes to grow to 16 teams by 2010. Each team would have a squad of 16 players registered with the BCCI and drawn from its central contract pool. Moreover, each team will also feature both under-21 players and designated players, who could be either Indians or foreigners. All matches will be played under floodlights at BCCI-designated stadiums across the country for a total prize purse of $3 million, making it the richest cricket tournament in the world. — IANS
	Gurmit Hockey Multan club make winning start Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 7 The visiting Pakistan team, Multan Hockey Club (MHC), started its campaign on a winning note beating Rail Coach Factory by 2-1 in its first match of 37th SN Vohra’s All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium here today. With this win, the team reached the quarterfinals. Mohammad Shabir opened the account for the team in the 16th minute. Deepak Sharma equalised for RCF by converting a penalty corner in the 33rd minute. Both teams tried hard to get lead, but it was Khalid of the visiting team who sealed the victory in the 66th minute, coverting a a penalty corner. Earlier, Canara Bank beat Indian Air Force (IAF) by 4-3, while Army XI team outclassed Western Railways by 1-0. For Canara Bank, Bipin (12th minute), Dinesh (17th minute), Varun (41st minute) and Nitin (56th minute) scored goals. Chetan scored a goal through penalty corner, while Bipin, Dinesh and Nitin extended the lead through field goals. Putting up tough competition, IAF striker netted three goals. The first goal came in through Lovepreet in 15th minute, while Balbir Singh and Lovepreet in the 53rd minute and 60th minute, respectively, struck the next two goals. In the match between Army XI and WR, the former won by one goal scored by A. K. Majhi in the 38th minute. Indian Hockey Federation will face Punjab National Bank at 3:15 pm whereas Canara Bank will take on Indian Airlines at 4:45 pm tomorrow.
	Delhi set to host 2010 Hockey World Cup FIH to take final decision in March next year New Delhi, November 7 Indian hockey received a shot in the arm with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) today deciding in principle that New Delhi would host the 2010 men’s World Cup. The only time India hosted the event was back in 1982 in Mumbai. The 2010 Hockey World Cup will be a joint venture between the FIH and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). It is a result of the ‘project promoting Indian hockey’ aimed at bringing back the glorious days of Indian hockey. The final decision on allotting the event, however, will be taken in March, 2008. It will depend upon the achievement of set targets both in relation to the project and the organisation of the World Cup. “We will work on several points before March 1 next year, and I assure you that we are very committed to host the event in India. Both the FIH and the IHF are committed to hosting it successfully,” said Els Van Breda Vriesman, president of the FIH. “We are sure of fulfilling the commitments. I promise that the best-ever World Cup would be in India,” she said. About the targets the international body has set for the IHF to be achieved before the final confirmation, she said, “Some things are confidential. There is an agreement between the FIH and IHF not to disclose anything. Everything would be clear after March 1,” Vriesman said. The hosting of the Commonwealth Games (October, 2010) was cited as one of the reasons why New Delhi was chosen for the World Cup. The Dhyan Chand National Stadium will be the venue for the February (2010) event. Vriesman stressed the need to promote hockey in India. “Promoting hockey in India is crucial. Hockey is the national sport of India, but the performance is not up to the mark. It is sad for a country having one billion population,” she said. “Hockey needs the support of the corporate world, passionate people, young people in India,” she added. On the prospects of the Indian team in the event, Vriesman said she hoped India would reach the semis. — PTI
	Champions League Record win for Liverpool Paris, November 7 English giants Liverpool registered a record win in the Champions League group stage, thrashing sorry Besiktas 8-0 in their clash at Anfield. “The Reds” showed no stage fright whatsoever in a must-win match as led by a hat-trick by Yossi Benayoun, they trod all over a side they lost to a fortnight ago and kept themselves in with a fighting chance of making it to the knockout stage. While Benayoun took the scoring honours of the night’s Champions League action, the seemingly ageless 34-year-old Italian forward Filippo Inzaghi went level with Gerd “Das Bomber” Muller in the history of the European Cup scoring charts as his double in the 3-0 away win for AC Milan over Ukrainian outfit Shakthar Donetsk lifted him to 62 goals. Liverpool’s hopes of making it to the next round were helped no end as the side that they succeeded as Champions League holders in 2005, FC Porto, beat Marseille 2-1 in Oporto to stop the 1993 champions from qualifying if they had prevailed. Another British former champion also revived their hopes of making the knockout stages as Celtic downed another Portuguese side Benfica 1-0 at home with Irish striker Aiden McGeady scoring the only goal. British sides remained unbeaten on the night as Chelsea scrambled a 0-0 draw away at Schalke 04 while the London side’s most dangerous opponent to top the group is rather bizarrely the Norwegian outfit Rosenborg - whose draw earlier in the competition with the Blues ushered the departure of Jose Mourinho - as they beat Spanish side Valencia 2-0 in Spain. While Liverpool’s massive win was just what the fans had been looking for after continual complaints about manager Rafael Benitez’ cautious tactics despite signing several strikers, the Spanish handler was keeping his feet firmly on the ground about the task ahead of qualifying. Inzaghi proved to be a masterful substitution by underfire Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti as instead of sending on Brazilian star Ronaldo he opted for the older Italian and within three minutes he had scored the first of his brace. Chelsea handler Avram Grant was relieved at taking a point but was not relishing the task of taking “The Blues” to Norway next time out as he seeks to deliver an elusive Champions League trophy to Russian owner Roman Abramovich. “The result is not bad,” said Grant, who lost goalkeeper Petr Cech with a calf injury at half-time. — AFP
	Churchill lift Durand Cup M. S. Unnikrishnan New Delhi, November 7 Churchill Brothers, Goa, proved second time lucky when they clung on to a first half goal by captain Odafe Onyeka Okolic to defeat Mahindra United, Mumbai, 1-0 and wrested the 120th edition of the Durand Cup Football Tournament title at the Ambedkar Stadium here today. It was a befitting revenge for Churchill Brothers for their 0-5 mauling at the hands of Mahindra United in their only previous Durand Cup title clash in 2001 Churchill settled the issue as early as in the 10th minute when captain Odafe trapped a pass from Raju, turned on his axis before driving home with a blinder. Thereafter, it was a battle of wits between the rival forwards and defenders in which the Churchill defenders held out brilliantly to thwart the attempts of the Mahindra forwards. Though Mahindra United came close to scoring a couple of times in the last 10 minutes, they were prevented from having a close look at the Churchill goal in the rest of the session. In fact, there were hardly any threatening moves which could have resulted in a goal, but for the fag-end attempts. Churchill’s tactics of slowing down the pace of the match after scoring the goal could have proved counter-productive as Mahindra used long passes to fox the midfield, but their defence, manned by Raju, Govin, Robert Lathlamuan and Thokchom Naoba Singh, played tough, and tackled with quick silver reflexes to foil the scoring attempts by forward Andrews Pomeyie Mensah and Yusuf Yakubu. Yakubu often overlapped through the wing to float crosses into the Churchill box, but the defenders were quick on the uptake to clear the ball away. Ajayan took some long shots to break the defence, but his efforts too came to a nought. The first half, in fact, was bereft of much action after Odafe slotted home the match winner. Mahindra were much more organised in the second session, when they raided the Churchill citadel through the flanks, and the best chance they came across in the 24th minute, was shot across by Ajayan after Yakubu had set up a nice cross. A few minutes before the final hooter, Andrews’attempt was cleared from the goal line by Gourimangi. Churchill collected a prize money of Rs 8 lakh while two-time former champion Mahindra United were richer by Rs 6 lakh.
	India bag two judo gold New Delhi, November 7 Mumbai’s Poorva Mathew and Punjab’s Amit Kumar won a gold each in the men’s and women’s sections, respectively, of the Asian Youth Judo Championship at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here. Poonam defeated Jennet Geldivayeva of Turkmenistan in the 40 kg category, while Amit thrashed Hossein Banna of Iran in 45 kg category, said a press release issued by the Judo Federation of India here today. India also bagged six silver and three bronze. Sandhya L Bam (48 kg), Nirmala Devi I Bam (52 kg), Kh Hemabad Devi (63 kg), Sunibala Devi M (63 kg), Romon Singh (60 kg) all from Manipur and Ajay Singh (42 kg) of Haryana won the silver medals. — PTI
	Sirsa girls win cricket title Yamunanagar, November 7 Sirsa defeated Bhiwani in the final of the under-19 cricket event during the 42th Haryana state school-level girls tournament which concluded at MLN Senior Secondary School here today. The Ambala team finished third. In football, Yamunanagar defeated Jhajjar 2-0 to win the title. Karnal defeated Hisar 3-2 to finish third. Other results: Kho-kho (under-19): Bhiwani 1, Rohtak 2, Mahendergarh 3; (under-17): Hisar 1, Jind 2, Karnal 3; (under-14): Jind 1, Bhiwani 2, Panchkula 3. — TNS
	YPS Patiala, Mohali in quarters Our Correspondent Sonepat, November 7 Hosts MNSS, Rai (Sonepat), Modern Public School (New Delhi), YPS (Patiala), YPS (Mohali), RKC (Raipur), RKC (Rajkot), DPS Mathura Road (New Delhi) and Daly Inter College (Indore) have entered the quarterfinals of the six-day 14th All-India Public School Cricket Championship being played at three schools here. In today’s matches, RKC Raipur crushed Maan Public School Delhi by 64 runs. Daly College humiliated HPS Begumpet by 97 runs. RKC Rajkot beat LKS Goten by 50 runs; YPS Mohali defeated Pinegrove Public School, Dharampur, by 10 wickets; MNNS, Rai, routed SPS Gwaliar by nine wickets.
	Haryana yoga meet Rewari, November 7 About 300 boys and girls from various districts of the state participated in the Haryana State Inter-Centre Yoga Championship which concluded in the Jain Senior Secondary School here on Monday. Deputy commissioner Chander Prakash, who was the chief guest at the concluding function, gave away prizes to the winners. Results: Boys: Under 11: Sunny (Bhiwani) 1, Shubhum (Yamunanagar) 2, Under 14: Amar (Yamunanagar) 1, Ashish (Panchkula) 2, Under 17: Ajay (Panchkula) 1, Parul (Rohtak) 2, Under 21: Virbhan (Rohtak) 1, Rakesh (Faridabad) 2. Girls: Under 11: Komal (Jind) 1, Koyantka (Gurgaon) 2, Under 14: Neha (Yamunanagar) 1, Priyanka (Yamunanagar) 2, Under 17: Kirti Gehlawat (Panchkula) 1, Shiwani (Yamunanagar) 2, Under 21: Geeta (Rewari) 1, Renu (Bhiwani) 2.
	Delhi take 301-run lead Srinagar, November 7 Tons by Gaurav Kochar (109) and Chander Thapa (102) helped Delhi pile up 433 for seven in the first innings against Jammu and Kashmir today on the second day of their three-day match in the Polly Umrigar under-15 cricket tournament. The visitors declared at 433 for seven, taking a first-innings lead of 301 on a flat pitch at the Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium. — UNI
	Bhat wins Jordan Open Bangalore, November 7 Arvind Bhat continued his successful return to top-flight badminton winning the singles title in Jordan Open tournament at Amman, yesterday defeating former England No 1 Amir Ghaffar 21-18, 21-14. This was Arvind’s fourth triumph in the circuit this year. — UNI
	Nepal team bags Gold Cup Gangtok, November 7 NRT, Nepal, lifted the coveted All-India Governor’s Gold Cup, scraping past arch-rival Three Star, Nepal, 2-1 at the Paljor Stadium here today. This was the fifth time a Nepal team won the Governor’s Gold Cup football. Of this, three Nepal teams, coached by Suwal, won the Cup in 1990, 1992 and 1997. NRT drew first blood in the 19th minute with a close-range shot from its striker Nirajan Paymajhi. Three Star wasted a golden opportunity to equalise in the 31st minute when Lok Bahadur Gurung blasted a penalty shot into the stand. However, Jumanu Rai compensated for his teammate’s miss with a wonderful equaliser. Drifting down the right box, Rai smashed a rasping drive that left the NRT goalie clueless. It was his fifth goal in the tournament. Three Star was again taken aback by an NRT strike early in the second half. The entire defence stood rooted as NRT defender Bal Gopal Shaukhal connected a corner that crashed into the net in the 59th minute. This proved to be the winning goal for NRT, who pocketed Rs 1.5 lakh along with the championship trophy, which was presented by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. NRT midfielder Basanta Gauchan took the valuable player of the tournament award, while his star-striker Anil Gurung was adjudged the man of the match. Punjab Police, who lost in the semis, were adjudged the most disciplined team of the tournament. — UNI
	Rupesh to clash with Shokeen New Delhi: Rupesh Roy and Vivek Shokeen carved out victories in their first round matches at $10,000 ITF grass court event in Lahore to set up a pre-quarterfinal against each other. Unseeded Rupesh had to toil hard to advance as he rallied past a tough opponent in Montenegro’s Daniel Danilovic 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, while seventh seed Shokeen went past Korean Hyun-Soo Lim 7-6, 6-3 in his opening match on Tuesday. Also advancing was national champion Ashutosh Singh as the second-seeded Indian pipped local challenger Nomi Qamar 6-2, 6-3. All participating Indian players now have a chance to move to the last-eight stage as Divij Sharan and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya have already moved to the second round. In doubles, Shokeen and Ashutosh reached the semifinals by beating Ukraine’s of Gleb Alekseenko and Vadim Alekseenko 6-3, 6-2. — PTI