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Coach-in-waiting Gary Kirsten’s Aussie media comes up with new findings
Kapil, Gaekwad slam claim
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Aussies keen to wipe off ‘blot’
Nielsen defends Clarke’s
‘antics’
PERTH DIARY
B’desh face defeat inside three days
Australian Open
Pathetic day for Indians
ManU rout Newcastle
Mohun Bagan blank Viva Kerala2-0
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Coach-in-waiting Gary Kirsten’s advice to players
The former South African batsman has joined the Indian team as consultant and said the players will have to "believe" that they can still fight back, win the two Tests and level the series. "I have tremendous respect for Kumble's captaincy and he has certainly led by example, taking plenty of wickets. He said Kumble's resilient batting to save the Test will have a positive influence on the whole team. "Equally, his performance in the last hour-and-a-half in Sydney was testament to his character as a person, where you could see he was desperate to save that game. I am sure he would have an influence on other players in the team," Kirsten was quoted as saying in Cricinfo website. "The important thing for me is to focus the Indian players back on cricket. I would certainly want the Indian players to play their brand of cricket on Australian soil. I don't want them to play any other brand; they must play to their strengths. I am sure they are already doing that." Kirsten, who will formally take over the coaching reins on March 1, said India wanted to level the series in Sydney and were disappointed on losing the Test after dominating the game at various stages. "The Indians are naturally disappointed with the last game. There's no doubt that they came over here to win a Test series. They can't anymore. That's why they felt that at the SCG they were back in the series after being outplayed in Melbourne. "And they felt they were right in the Sydney Test and naturally the emotions started to run high when things didn't go their way," he said. Though praising the batsmen for piling up a huge score in the first innings, Kirsten said the failure to survive for just two sessions on the last day will have to be looked into. "They played well and they played like anyone knows that they can play," he said. "When you get to the last day of a Test match and Australia are still batting you always have to be aware of these guys, that they are capable of doing something and knocking teams over very quickly. It was disappointing to see India get bowled out in effectively two sessions and I am sure the players would have been hit hard. Kirsten said India will have to go into the Perth Test with the belief that they can still draw the series. "They have to start thinking very seriously about how they can win the next two Tests. The only message I'm going to pass on is: 'You must believe you can win the next two'. It would be crazy to try and just exist in the next two Test matches. "It's a cricket tour full of emotion but one needs to calm oneself and create some composure; that's the only way you can be at your best. I'm a looking at it from a distance so I was trying to look at it very objectively as to what went right and what went wrong," the South African said.
— PTI
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Aussie media comes up with new findings
Melbourne, January 13 'The Sunday Telegraph' painstakingly collected and collated official ICC data, which shows India having faced more sanctions than any other Test playing nation in the past 10 years. The daily also took a jibe at former India captain Sourav
Ganguly, dubbing him "the game's undisputed problem child, being hauled over the coals by cricket's governing body a record 12 times in his international career." "Overall, Indian players have been charged for 43 infringements since 1997, for offences, including intimidating umpires, abusing rival players, ball tampering, time wasting and widespread dissent," it said. The report pointed out that of the current touring party, five Indians players -
Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh - have either been fined or suspended in the past. "The rap sheet is evidence the Indians are anything but cricketing choirboys as they continue to deny spinner Harbhajan is guilty of racially abusing all-rounder Andrew
Symonds," it said. The newspaper also made an in-depth analysis of the ICC's code of conduct breaches, which shows Pakistan coming close to "India's ill-discipline" with 39 offences, led by former skipper
Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has 11 reprimands against his name. "Despite claims they have worse conduct issues than India, Australia are ranked fourth with 25 infringements. Glenn McGrath (six), Ricky Ponting (four), Adam Gilchrist (four) and Brett Lee (three) are the worst offenders," the daily said, almost with a palpable sense of pride. The study devoted much time and space for
Ganguly, Australia's thorn in the flesh for quite a while. "...the main protagonist is
Ganguly. The ex-skipper has forked out around $ 50,000 in fines for offences ranging from abusing players and umpires to bringing the game into disrepute for failing to control his side. "In a 15-month period in 2004-05, Ganguly committed a staggering five breaches. His final act of unfair play for time wasting saw him banned for four one-day internationals," it
reported. Harbhajan Singh, currently in the eye of a storm for allegedly racially abusing Andrew
Symonds, also found special mention. "Harbhajan has a history of poor conduct. The first of his five offences came in 1998, when he was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for abusing Australia skipper Ricky Ponting after having him stumped." S
Sreesanth, who had a number of run-in with Symonds during the ODI series in India, did not go unnoticed either.
"Sreesanth is emerging as world cricket's next bad boy. Ruled out of the Test series with injury, he was charged four times in the nine months up to last September." The report does not spare Dravid and
Tendulkar, "seen as two of cricket's most squeaky-clean figures", and mentioned how both were guilty of ball tampering. West Indian bowling great Michael Holding trod a middle path and said while the Indians are not well behaved, they are not the worst either. "I have seen a lot of all the teams and I don't find India to be the worst, not at all. I wouldn't say they are well behaved, but they are not the worst. These days there aren't too many well-behaved teams in cricket. Unfortunately, the game has become win at all costs - whatever it takes to win," he said.
— PTI
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Melbourne/New Delhi, January 13 Even as Ricky Ponting and his team continued to face a barrage of criticism at home and abroad for their on-field conduct, Sydney's 'The Sunday Telegraph' used ICC data to claim that it was in fact the Indian cricketers who were the worst-behaved. The Indians had faced action in 43 cases, the maximum for any team, followed by Pakistan with 39 cases, South Africa with 27 and Australia 25 penalties by the ICC since 1997, the newspaper reported but the Indians see these figures as lopsided and misleading. The Indians point out that the Australians are universally acknowledged as the big bullies in the game and most of the teams have been at the receiving end of their foul behaviour. India, Pakistan and the West Indies are the worst sufferers. Moreover, the fact that there are more cases of penalties against India only highlights what angered the Indian team in the Sydney Test. The match referee Mike Procter accepted the Australian complaint against Harbhajan Singh without any evidence. The same Procter had imposed a five-match ban on former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif for wrongly claiming a catch but a similar case involving Ponting in the Sydney Test went unpunished. Reacting to the report, former India captain Kapil Dev said, "For the last 40 years, India has been the best-behaved team on and off the field. The players have always played in the true spirit of the game.” "As far as I know, the Australians were the first ones to indulge in sledging in international cricket. And now that they are complaining, India is being penalised for no fault of theirs," Kapil said. "This type of penalising players when they are not at fault will lead to an unpleasant situation. Cricket will get worse," felt the World Cup winning captain. During the last 10 years cited in the Australian report, India has played 488 matches — combining Test, ODIs and Twenty20 — compared to 450 played by Australia. Former opener and coach Anshuman Gaekwad too was aghast by the Australian report. "India is the most cultured team in international cricket and it is also the most educated team.” "Some of the teams are not so educated and it reflects on their on-field conduct. This statistics does not reflect the Indian team's conduct," he said. "Some of the umpiring has invariably been biased against India and the verdict has often been unfair. I do not believe that the Indians are the worst behaved on the field," Gaekwad said.
— PTI
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Aussies keen to wipe off ‘blot’
Perth, January 13 The Australian team held an extraordinary meeting with players, reinforcing their pledge to the spirit of cricket in a bid to restore their battered image, a report in the 'Herald Sun' today said. Leadership guru Ray McLean also attended the meeting, it was reported. Australia drew flak from media, fans and many former players for not playing the game in the true spirit. Questions were raised on their sportsmanship as they claimed catches, which were not and did not show honesty when they themselves were out clearly. Michael Clarke, who acted as protagonist in the ill-tempered Sydney Test by waiting too long for the umpire's decision even after offering a clear catch and later claiming a doubtful low catch, praised Ponting for taking the initiative. "One of Ricky's greatest strengths is that he always seems to bring things to the forefront, and he always seems to address the team when it needs to be addressed," he said.
— PTI
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Nielsen defends Clarke’s
‘antics’
Perth, January 13 "To be honest,
he'd been sitting around waiting for a couple of hours, he was dead keen
after missing out in the first innings to get some runs and he was
shocked and confused and he made the point that 'Once he (Benson) gave
me out I got off there'," Nielsen said, defending the
captain-in-waiting, whose antics earned the wrath of Indian skipper Anil
Kumble after the match. Nielsen brushed aside suggestions that Clarke
was trying to act smart by waiting for the umpire's signal. "I'm
sure he wasn't being a smarty-pants about it, it was just a situation
where he was very keen to do well, he was in the spotlight and all of a
sudden he nicked it to first slip," he was quoted by saying in a
report by AAP, an agency here. "He was confused, basically. In the
end he hung around until the umpire gave him out. He was never
questioning the fact that was going on, he was just there until the
umpire gave him out," he added. — PTI
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PERTH DIARY
Perth, January 13 Kirsten and his wife, Deborah, received the beleaguered Indian squad as they flew in today to this sunny capital of Western Australia on the bubbling Swan River from Canberra. The 3rd Test of four begins here on Wednesday, with the Indians engaging in nets tomorrow. Kirsten, who was following the first two Tests on TV and other media, made clear the “spirit of cricket was breached” in the 2nd match at Sydney. Without taking sides, he believed the two captains, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting need to sort out matters. Meanwhile, New South
Welsman, Michael Clarke, who took a disputed catch to dismiss Sourav Ganguly in the 2nd innings, spoke to Kumble to clear the air; and Brett Lee is also seeking to apply ointment to the wound. Ranjan Madugalle, the International Cricket Council’s chief referee, who’s been drafted in as “co-referee” to Mike Proctor, who rather lost the confidence of the Indian tourists after he declared Harbhajan Singh guilty of racial abuse in the unsavoury Sydney Test, has summoned Kumble and Ponting for a “cool off” session on Monday. The Australian skipper’s parents have had to change their phone number after receiving abusive calls, following widespread criticism even in Australian media of his unsportsmanlike
behaviour. Hogg hearing
Equally significant on Monday’s agenda is a hearing under the ICC’s Code of Conduct pursuant to the Indian team’s complaint that local left-arm unorthodox spinner, Bradley Hogg called Kumble and Mahendra Dhoni “bastards” during the Sydney Test. In this respect, M V Sridhar, the spokesman for the touring party, termed as incorrect media reports that in an understanding between Kumble and Ponting before the start of the series, that the word “bastard” was not included in a list of objectionable words by the two captains. No such listing had been undertaken, Sridhar maintained. But while the sleazy sideshow continued to hog headlines, Kirsten told the website,
cricinfo: “The important thing for me is to focus the Indian players back on cricket.” He expressed disappointment with the way the visitors’ batting caved in the 2nd innings at Sydney. But he added about
Kumble: “I have tremendous respect for his captaincy and he has certainly led by example.” “I bring a fresh perspective,” Kirsten remarked. “You must believe you can win the next two (Tests),” he added. However, while he described the current tour as “a mental battle”, he is unaccompanied by a sports psychologist, which he has requested as a part of his support staff when he takes over as full-time coach on March 1. Quick & bouncy
WACA
The Indians, meanwhile, after a reasonably satisfactory workout in the practice game at Canberra, unwound in the glorious weather in this metropolis near the Indian Ocean. Fortunately for them, they, also, on TV, caught a glimpse of the quick and bouncy wicket at the Western Australia Cricket Association
(WACA) ground, where Western Australia, in front of 20,000 spectators, were beaten by Victoria in the final of the KFC 20:20 tournament. Evasive action against the chasing bouncer will be clearly be as important as putting bat to ball when the five-day contest gets underway. Team selection
Consequently, India have much to ponder over regarding team selection. It wouldn’t be surprising if Virender Sehwag replaced Yuvraj Singh, who has struggled both in Test and first-class situations. But
Dhoni, because he’s vice-captain and as a result of his improved wicket-keeping, could be luckier, although Dinesh Karthik should not have lost his place as a batsman in the first place. It would also be unfortunate if Harbhajan is rested in favour of Irfan
Pathan. But it is considered to be absurd to play two spinners at the
WACA. Indeed, Shaun Tait, the Adelaide Express, could well dislodge Hogg in the Aussie XI, while Chris Rogers has been brought in as cover for an injured Mathew Hayden.
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B’desh face defeat inside three days
Wellington, January 13 The visitors, who began their second innings 250 runs behind New Zealand after dismissing them for 393 earlier in the day at the Basin Reserve, crumbled to 51 for five in their second innings, still 199 runs away from making New Zealand bat again. Habibul Bashar was on 21, while all rounder Shakib Al Hasan was with him on four. Bangladesh will be further hampered tomorrow by the knowledge that recognised opener Tamim Iqbal has a broken thumb after dropping a catch today and may not be able to bat at all in their second innings. New Zealand won the first Test in Dunedin by nine wickets within three days. After New Zealand's Daniel Vettori (94) and Stephen Fleming (87) both fell agonisingly short of making hundreds in New Zealand's first innings, the bowlers rammed home the advantage by striking at regular intervals. Kyle Mills had Junaid Siddique caught behind by Brendon McCullum for two when he mistimed a hook and the ball feathered his glove, before makeshift opener Shariar Nafees nicked to Matthew Bell in the slips off Chris Martin in the next over. Scoreboard Bangladesh (1st innings): 143 New Zealand (1st innings): Cumming lbw Shakib Al Hasan 42 Bell c Rahim b Islam 1 Fulton lbw b Mortaza 22 Fleming c Aftab b Al Hasan 87 Sinclair c Rahim b Hossain 47 Oram c Rahim b Hossain 1 McCullum c Al Hasan b Hossain 40 Vettori c and b Ahmed 94 Mills b Mortaza 4 O'Brien b Ahmed 4 Martin not out 0 Extras (b-5 lb-23 w-10 nb-13): 51 Total (all out, 103.2 overs): 393 FoWs: 1-2, 2-35, 3-118, 4-214, 5-216, 6-242, 7-323, 8-362, 9-390, 10-393 Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 29-5-100-2 (w-1 nb-2), Sajidul Islam 14-1-91-1 (nb-5 w-7), Shahadat Hossain 27-4-83-3 (nb-6 w-2), Aftab Ahmed 12.2-4-31-2, Shakib Al Hasan 19-7-44-2, Mohammad Ashraful 2-0-16-0 Bangladesh (IInd innings): Nafees c Bell b Martin 12 Saddique c McCullum b Mills 2 Bashar not out 21 Ashraful c Fleming b Mills 1 Ahmed c Fleming b O'Brien 5 Rahim c Bell b Oram 0 Al Hasan not out 4 Extras (nb-5, lb-1): 6 Total (for 5 wickets, 22 overs): 51 FoWs: 1-10, 2-14, 3-30, 4-44, 5-45 Bowling: Chris Martin 6-0-23-1 (nb-1), Kyle Mills 6-2-15-2, Jacob Oram 5-3-4-1, Iain O'Brien 5-1-8-1.
— Reuters
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Australian Open
Melbourne, January 13 Williams, seeded seventh, will open proceedings on Rod Laver Arena against Australian wildcard Jarmila Gajdosova, a curtain-raiser before tournament favourite Henin meets Aiko Nakamura of Japan. “My preparation's been really good,” Williams told
mediapersons. “I've been training every day and just getting out there on the court every day. So it's been really good and really positive. I like my preparation this year.” Britain's ninth seed Andy Murray ends the day session on Rod Laver Arena when he plays France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while Nadal plays under the lights when he faces Serbian qualifier Viktor Troicki. Last year's beaten finalist Maria Sharapova and world number six Andy Roddick will be centre of attention on the Vodafone Arena. Russian fifth seed Sharapova takes on Croatia's Jelena Kostanic Tosic, while Roddick is up against Czech qualifier Lukas Dlouhy. Women's number three Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and men's number eight Richard Gasquet of France will also play their first-round matches on the second show court. Jankovic, who enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2007, plays Austrian Tamira Paszek, while Gasquet meets local wildcard Nick Lindahl, who is making his debut in the main draw.
— Reuters
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Pathetic day for Indians
Wijk Aan Zee, January 13 Hot favourite for the crown with his enviable record on the Dutch soil, Anand was in for a surprise against in-form Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan as the latter showcased his deep preparation and technical acumen to romp home in the 'A' group. In 'B' group, Grandmaster Humpy did not get many chances against Jan Smeets of Holland. Playing in 'C' group for the third time, Parimarjan Negi was subjected to a vigorous king side attack by Pontus Carlsson of Sweden in a Sicilian Dragon defence game where the latter played black. The lone Indian survivor was P. Harikrishna in 'B' group and he too was on the verge of defeat against Nigel Short of England.
— PTI
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London, January 13 Carlos Tevez (2) and Rio Ferdinand scored the other goals to help the champions overtake Arsenal in the title race after the Gunners were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw at home by Birmingham City yesterday. Like Arsenal, Manchester United have 51 points from 22 matches, but have a superior goal difference of plus-33 compared to the London club's plus-26. Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to move on to 47 points from 22 games. With 16 matches to play, the top three have pulled clear of fourth-placed Liverpool, who lead a quartet of clubs including Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City on 39 points. All six United goals came in the second half, with Ronaldo and Tevez putting the Reds on their way to victory against their mid-table opponents who sacked manager Sam Allardyce on Wednesday. Ronaldo scored his second of the match to complete a well-worked move after 70 minutes with Rio Ferdinand making it 4-0 five minutes from time.
Ronaldo made it 5-0 in the 88th minute and Tevez added his second in stoppage time to make it 6-0.
— Reuters
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Mohun Bagan blank Viva Kerala2-0
Kozhikode, January 13 Dominating the proceedings right from the start, the visitors seized the opportunity in the 35th minute when their captain Bhaichung Bhutia scored off a brilliant pass from Rehman
Mondal. Although Viva strikers Baba Tunde (Nigeria) and Wisdom Abbey (Ghana) tried their best to bring in the
equaliser, the Kolkatans, including custodian Sangram Mukherjee, played extremely well to deny any scoring opportunities. Substitute Ishaq Ahmed increased the margin for the visitors just before the final whistle. Brazilian stars Douglass, adjudged Man of the Match, and Baretto played excellent soccer for
Bagan. Dempo drub Sporting
Margao: Dempo Sports Club posted a resounding 4-1 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in the 12th round of the I-League at Nehru Stadium here today. Dempo scored through Renti Martins (15th, 41st, 90th) and Edeh Chidi (22nd minute). Sporting reduced the margin in the 63rd minute through Fredy Mascarenhas.
— PTI
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Perth, January 13