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Hayden reprimanded over Harbhajan slur
Remarks due to frustration: Bhajji
Colts scrape into World Cup final
Johnnie Walker Classic Golf |
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Warne to lead, coach Royals
Sushmita qualifies for Beijing
World TT
Bharat Petroleum pip Indian Oil, lift hockey title
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Hayden reprimanded over Harbhajan slur
Sydney, February 27 Hayden was found guilty after a three-hour hearing in Melbourne of breaching Cricket Australia's (CA) strict code of behaviour for publicly denigrating an opponent. The 36-year-old had faced the possibility of a ban or a fine but escaped with a warning after saying his comments were not intended to be offensive. "I maintain my innocence, my intentions were never to denigrate cricket or anyone," Hayden said in a statement after the hearing. "But the umpire has made his decision...and in the spirit of cricket I respect and accept the decision." The charges were laid after Indian officials lodged a formal complaint over Hayden's comments, which included a light-hearted challenge for teenage fast bowler Ishant Sharma to join him in the boxing ring. "We condemn such comments by the Australian players," the Indian board's chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty, told Reuters. "Our secretary has already communicated our feelings to Cricket Australia. "We've advised our players to show restraint but despite that if such comments are being made it is really unfair." Hayden delivered the verbal attack during an interview with a Brisbane radio station, claiming the Australian players were fed up with being painted as the instigators in their bitter public feud with the tourists. Three Indian players, including Harbhajan and Sharma, have been found guilty of breaching the International Cricket Council's code of conduct during the ill-tempered tour but maintain the Australians provoked them. Long-running battle Hayden said his dispute with Harbhajan dated back long before this series but claimed the reason the Indians were complaining so much on this tour was because "they are losing every game they are playing". "It's been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan. The first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now," Hayden told the radio station. Hayden, who was named on Tuesday as Australia's best one-day player for the past 12 months, also took a swipe at Sharma, who was fined 15 per cent of his match fee after an ugly exchange with Andrew Symonds at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. "He is just young. I have said to him many times, 'You are 19, take it easy'," Hayden said. "He is 19, why doesn't he just worry about his bowling for a while? "I like the idea of actually getting into the ring. I like that, let's bring that one on." Harbhajan wasted little time firing back at Hayden, saying the Australian was disliked by most international opponents and his comments were borne out of the frustration the Australians felt at being pushed by an improving Indian team. "Maybe they realise that they no longer are the undisputed champions of the world. Maybe they feel the crown is slipping," Harbhajan told the Indian news agency PTI. "Otherwise, why would a cricket veteran ask a 19-year-old to join him in a ring? "I don't want it to be a slanging match ... but you only need to speak to international cricketers and international teams to know in what opinion they hold Hayden." — Reuters
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Remarks due to frustration: Bhajji
Sydney, February 27 "Maybe, they realise that they no longer are the undisputed champions of the world. Maybe, they feel the crown is slipping. Otherwise, why a cricket veteran would ask a 19-year-old (Ishant Sharma) to join him in a ring?," he said in reaction to the latest provocation by Hayden. Hayden called Harbhajan an "obnoxious little weed" and invited Ishant Sharma "into a ring" to sort out issues in an interview to 'Brisbane Radio' yesterday. He also had a frontal attack on Harbhajan saying, that "his record speaks for itself in cricket... that's why he has been charged more than anyone else who's ever played in the history of cricket..." Harbhajan, who seemed to have read the personal attack by Hayden in entirety, said he preferred to keep himself in control instead of enjoining the matter with the belligerent Aussie opener. "I don't want it to be a slanging match," Harbhajan said adding that he didn't want to open a pandora's box for a lot that the Australians have said this summer would then come tumbling out. "But you only need to speak to international cricketers and international teams to know in what opinion they hold Hayden," he said looking at the broadside as just "one more instance of what our hosts have been up to all this summer. The visiting Indian team feel all along they have been "provoked" by the Australians and a written complaint with the match referee Jeff Crowe after the Sydney game earlier this week was in response to it. Harbhajan was also surprised at the Australian opener's statement which said that Indians were complaining "because they are losing every game they are playing". "Really, you think so? I would have thought we are the only ones who have got the Australians on the run this summer," he said. Cricket Australia (CA) held an emergency meeting in Melbourne this morning to discuss if Hayden had breached rules as the Board has the authority to stop its contracted player from commenting on television, radio or print if it feels that it is not in good taste about an opposition players or Board. Besides Hayden getting embroiled with Harbhajan and Ishant, there was another specific incident of Ricky Ponting having a go at Harbhajan during the game between the two teams in Adelaide on February 17. Apparently, Ponting kept having a go at Harbhajan in Adelaide, asking him "to show what he had got" in the middle. Harbhajan, on his part, had then cheekily remarked: "Mate, whatever I have shown in the middle has been better than yours' in the series so far." It appeared to have stung the Australian captain who asked Harbhajan to "f... off" after the latter was dismissed. A departing Harbhajan, on hearing so, stopped and turned round only to see Ponting disappear among celebrating Aussies. "They do it so well," Harbhajan said grudgingly "they keep the back to you when they have something nasty to say to the opponent." — PTI
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Colts scrape into World Cup final
Kuala Lumpur, February 27 In a thrilling rain-curtailed semifinal, the Kiwis rode on middle order bat Corey Anderson's 68-ball 70 to score a modest 205 for eight in 50 overs after electing to bat. However, the target become slightly stiffer for the Indians after it was reset at 180 in 43 overs due to rain interruption. Opener Sreevats Goswami (51 off 76 balls) and captain Virat Kohli (43 off 53 balls) played sensible knocks to lay the foundation for India's win, which was achieved in 41.3 overs at the expense of seven wickets. Even though India's firebrand pacer Pradeep Sangwan could not taste success today, other bowlers stuck to their task to check the New Zealanders from scoring freely and take wickets at regular intervals. — PTI Scoreboard India:
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Johnnie Walker Classic Golf
Gurgaon, February 27 The task is, however, easier said than done when one looks at the formidable field which comprises big shots like English Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter, eight-time European number one Scot Colin Montgomerie, last year's Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Liang Wen-chong of China and former world number one Fijian Vijay Singh. But the Indian line-up is no less stellar with Jyoti Randhawa, who lives just five minutes from the DLF Course, Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaurav Ghei, Indian Masters champion S S P Chowrasia, Shiv Kapur and Arjun Atwal spearheading the challenge. The other locals in the fray are Ashok Kumar, Rahul Ganpathy, Mukesh Kumar, Harmeet Kahlon, Digvijay Singh, Gaganjeet Bhullar, C Muniyappa, Shamim Khan, Vijay Kumar, Arjun Singh and Rahil Gangjee, who was the lucky recipient of a sponsors' invite for the event bring held for the first time in India. A former Asian Tour number one, Randhawa feels the local stars' understanding of the 7,156-yard Arnold Palmer Signature course gives them an edge and he would not be surprised to see an Indian walk away with the top honours like it happened at the European Tour's Indian Masters just a couple of weeks ago. "It would be like the icing on the cake. We've had one winner and if we have another one here, it will show that Indian golf has come of age. We're not a golfing country but in the last 10, 15 years, we're on the world map and Indians have started to win," Randhawa said. Currently ranked 77th, Randhawa is in sizzling form and has had three top-10 finishes so far this season -- including a runner-up finish in the Asian Tour's SAIL Open last weekend in Noida. In fact, Randhawa came very close to winning the 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic when he finished tied second in Bangkok. A similar strong run here might propel the local favourite to the world's top-50 and earn him a start at the year's first Major, the US Masters in April. However, the fatigue of playing for seven successive weeks will be hard to beat for the golfer who has already admitted to a few lapses in concentration. "The form is getting better and the swing is getting better. I'm trying to keep the swing a bit more compact but as long as you're finishing in the top-10, you don't ask for anything more," he said. On the other hand, despite being off-colour so far, Jeev remains a strong contender for the title. The 2006 Asian Tour number one took a week's break after a disappointing finish in Indonesia, where he bogeyed the last hole to finish second. The seasoned pro would be eager to make amends for the slip-up. And one cannot ignore Chowrasia either, who did a houdini to stun a formidable field at the Indian Masters to take home the biggest individual prize money for an Indian sportsperson -- Rs 1.6 crore -- just a couple of weeks ago. — PTI
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Hogg calls it quits
Melbourne, February 27 The 37-year-old Hogg, who was regarded more as a one-day specialist, cited "personal reasons" for his decision to quit the game after the ongoing cricket tri-series. After the legendary Shane Warne announced his retirement, Hogg had become a regular in the Australian team since leg-spinner Stuart MacGill was recuperating after a hand surgery last year. Hogg played only seven Tests and captured 17 wickets since making his debut against India in Delhi in 1996. He also featured in 121 games one-day internationals and claimed 154 wickets for an average of 26.73. The best-of-three tri-series finals against India would be his last international appearance.
— PTI |
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Warne to lead, coach Royals
New Delhi, February 27 "Shane Warne's extraordinary achievements on and off the field, combined with his unique understanding of the game, has made him a living sporting legend, leading to the strategic appointment as captain and coach of the Rajasthan Royals," franchise owner Emerging media said in a statement. Wessels to train Chennai Super Kings
Chennai: South African Keppler Wessels, the lone international cricketer who has played for two countries, has been roped in to coach India Cement's Chennai Super Kings team, one of the eight IPL franchisees, for a one-year term.
— PTI |
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Sushmita qualifies for Beijing
Bhopal, February 27 The Bengal athlete qualified with her best effort to acquire the B standard after getting 5866 points in the seven events she competed here since yesterday. The qualifying standard is 5800 points. In 800m women, Sinimole Paulose fetched her first gold of the meet when she touched the tape at 2:03.25s ahead of Sushma of Delhi (2:03.81s) and Bindhu SR of Kerala (2:08.48s). Sinimole did not obtain the qualifying norm. In men's 800m, Rajeev Rameshan of Kerala won the gold with a timing of 1:54.15 followed by state-mate Sajeesh Joseph (1:54.18). Punjab Police's Gurmeet Singh claimed the 20km walk gold in the morning clocking 1:34:04.23. Ashok Kumar Patel took the silver with a timing of 1:34:36.05s. In javelin, Armyman Kashinath Naik won the gold with a throw of 73.02m.
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World TT
New Delhi, February 27 The men ended the first stage with three wins and a loss to garner seven points, while the women signed off their group engagements with eight points after two losses and three wins. In the men's clash against Thailand, national champion Achanta Sharath Kamal started the proceedings, beating Phakphoom Sanguansin 6-11 11-5 11-9 11-6. Soumyadeep Roy, who has been struggling with his form until now, finally came good defeating Phuchang Sanguansin 11-2 3-11 11-8 10-12 11-6 in a see-saw battle. Subhajit Saha then sealed the issue for India, thrashing Chaisit Chaitat 11-9 11-5 11-6. — PTI
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Bharat Petroleum pip Indian Oil, lift hockey title
New Delhi, February 27 With this win Bharat Petroleum received a prize money of Rs 1,25,000 while the runners-up earned Rs 75,000. In an exiting encounter, Bharat Petroleum surged in the lead in the 11th minute as Ravi Pal Singh slammed home a penalty corner. Olympian Deepak Thakur (17th, PC) restored parity for Indian Oil but Aiyamma (20th) scored a fine goal as Bharat Petroleum went into half-time with a 2-1 lead. International Roshan Minz (39th) scored soon after the break as Indian Oil levelled the score but Bharat Petroleum regained their lead through a field goal by Aiyamma (46th). However, their joy was shortlived as Deedar Singh (49th, PC) fired home a penalty corner as Indian Oil drew level once again. Bharat Petroleum was ahead soon after as Jarnail Singh (51st) and Aiyamma (56th) to give their team a two-goal lead. Tyron Pereira (61st) got one back as Indian Oil stepped up the pressure towards the end but the Bharat Petroleum defence stood firm to deny their opponents the equaliser. Hamza Mujtaba of Indian Oil was adjudged the best player of the tournament while Army XI received the fair play trophy. — UNI
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Sydney, February 27
Kuala Lumpur, February 27
