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Open revolt against DDCA
Champions Trophy |
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Punjab to host Kabaddi WC
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Open revolt against DDCA
New Delhi, August 18 Even as rattled DDCA officials sought to play down the brewing unrest among the players, Sehwag claimed that more players would support him on the issue, raising the possibility of a showdown just weeks before the Ranji season. “More will come out,” said Sehwag, who is currently in Bangalore undergoing rehabilitation for his injured shoulder. The players are unhappy with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) sports committee which, they claimed, interfered in selection matters and also indulged in corruption. DDCA Sports Secretary Sunil Dev has refuted the allegations and said he was prepared to talk to the players and resolve the differences. Apart from Gambhir and Sharma, left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra was another senior player who joined Sehwag’s campaign against the sports committee. A concerned DDCA President Arun Jaitley has told his officials not to precipitate the crisis and let things “cool down”. “The President wants things to cool down. He will meet Sehwag when he comes back from Bangalore and hopefully resolve all the issues,” a top DDCA source said. Sehwag is likely to meet Jaitley on August 27 or 28. The explosive right-hander has threatened to leave the team for Haryana, saying that he is frustrated with the interference in selection matters. Gambhir and Nehra made it clear that even they would “not hesitate” to move out to other associations if things did not improve and transparency in the selection process was not brought in. Gambhir also felt the DDCA sports committee, which did not have a single cricketer on its panel, needed to be changed as it put pressure on captains and stand-in captains to play their candidates. Ishant voiced his support for Sehwag, saying “he is absolutely right about selection matters”. Interestingly, the revolt comes just days before the crucial sports committee elections and some of the DDCA officials are interpreting the move as a “pressure tactic” by the players. The players have voiced their dissent only through the media and none of them have communicated their grievances in writing to the DDCA. The DDCA Vice-President and Chairman of the Selection committee Chetan Chauhan conceded that there were certain problems of nepotism which needed to be addressed. “Delhi has a lot of influential people, who do put some pressure on the selectors to choose their wards. There are problems which need to be sorted out, but I am sure everything will be resolved. We do not want to lose top class players like Sehwag and others,” he said. Sources said DDCA office bearers will meet on August 22 to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, the BCCI sought to distance itself from the developments, saying it was an internal matter between the players and their association.
— PTI |
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New Zealand Tour of Lanka
Galle, August 18 The former captain's century, the 26th of his 106-match test career, steered the hosts into a commanding position as New Zealand’s decision to bowl first backfired. Dilshan, promoted to the opener’s berth on his return to international cricket after a finger injury, struck 12 fours and one six in an entertaining 92 from 72 balls. The pair rescued the hosts from a dreadful start, sharing a 118-run stand for the third wicket. Middle order batsman Samaraweera carried on where Dilshan left off, stroking 82 from 167 balls with 11 boundaries during an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership that has reached 159 runs in 50.5 overs. Pace bowler Chris Martin, the best of the seamers with two for 59, gave the tourists an early advantage after they won the toss on an overcast morning and quickly reduced Sri Lanka to 16 for two. Left-hander Tharanga Paranavitana edged a perfectly-pitched outswinger to be dismissed for a duck while skipper Kumar Sangakkara chipped a catch straight to square leg. New Zealand’s luck then changed for the worse and Dilshan unleashed a flurry of extravagant strokes, hammering 40 runs from seamer Ian O’Brien’s four-over burst with the new ball. He became the fastest Sri Lankan to bring up a test fifty, reaching the milestone in just 30 deliveries.
— Reuters Scoreboard
Sri Lanka (1st innings) Paranavitana c McCullum b Martin 0 Dilshan b O’Brien 92 Sangakkara c Flynn b Martin 8 Jayawardene batting 108 Samaraweera batting 82 Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-1) 3 Total (three wickets, 78 overs) 293 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-16, 3-134. Bowling: Martin 15-2-59-2, O’Brien 14-1-90-1, Oram 7-1-25-0, Vettori 24-5-48-0, Patel 15-1-60-0, Ryder 3-1-9-0. |
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Champions Trophy
Former skipper Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor are the main stars absent. The side will again be led by Floyd Reifer and includes uncapped all-rounder Royston Crandon and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton. Walton, a Jamaican who represents the Combined Colleges & Campuses, appeared in both tests against Bangladesh but did not appear in the limited overs matches. Crandon, 26, is a hard-hitting right-hander and off-spinner from Guyana. West Indies has also recalled fast bowlers Tino Best and Daren Powell. Powell, who declared his unavailability for the Bangladesh series, returns for the first time since last March against England in the Caribbean. Fellow fast bowler Fidel Edwards, the most experienced bowler in the previously chosen 30-man provisional squad, missed out with a persistent back injury. David Williams, the assistant coach, will be at the helm following last week firing of head coach John Dyson. Squad: Floyd Reifer (captain), D Sammy (vc), D Bernard Jr, T Best, R Crandon, T Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Nikita Miller, Daren Powell, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton.
— AP |
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World Athletics Championship
Berlin, August 18 Jamaica also kept their sprint show on the road at the Olympic Stadium, with Shelly-Ann Fraser leading compatriot Kerron Stewart to a brilliant one-two in the women’s 100m, American champion Carmelita Jeter claiming bronze to break the monopoly yesterday. Isinbayeva, double Olympic champion and world record holder (5.05m), failed at 4.75m and then twice at 4.80m to finish out of the medals in only her second defeat in six years - both at Rogowska’s hands. American Chelsea Johnson shared silver with Rogowska’s compatriot Monika Pyrek on count back as both cleared 4.65m at their first attempt. The first world gold for Spain in 20 years came from an unlikey source when veteran Marta Dominguez produced a stunning kick to claim the 3000m steeplechase title. There was also joy for Cuba as defending champion Yargelis Savigne won the triple jump ahead of compatriot Mabel Gay, with Russian Anna Pyatykh taking bronze.
— AFP |
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Nehru Cup
The five-team tournament will be played on a round-robin league from August 19 to 28. After a two-day rest, the final will be held on August 31. Syria, Kirgystan and Sri Lanka are the other teams in the fray. All the matches will be held under flood-lights. The cup winners will pocket $40,000 from the total prize money of $ 1 lakh. The runners-up and the third placed teams will earn $20,000 and $10,000, respectively. Lebanon had pummelled India 4-1 in their home match at Beirut in the Asian qualifying tie for the World Cup. Though India drew 2-2 level in the return leg at Goa, with Sunil Chettri striking the goals, the humiliation suffered earlier still rankles. Being the hosts and the defending champions, there is tremendous pressure on the Indian team, though chief coach Bob Houghton was confident that they would put up a good show. Syria, last year’s runners-up, are fancied as the favourites this time around, on the strength of the below 100 ranking they enjoy on the FIFA (International Football Federation) roster. But Syrian coach Fazil Ebrahim said they were more concerned about the World Cup qualification from Asia than winning the Nehru Cup. India, down at the 156th place in FIFA ranking, are, however, determined to put their best foot forward in the tournament. Barring the injury being nursed by star striker Sunil Chetri and niggling injuries to a couple of other players like Sameer Naik and Mohan Raj, the team are fit and raring to go. But Houghton conceded that Lebanon and Syria were tough teams and the hosts would have to bring out their cohesive, fitter best to outwit them. Lebanon have drawn seven players from their national league champion club Al Nejma. And the Indians would be particularly dreading their lethal striker Mohammad Gaddar. He had scored two goals each in either leg of the World Cup qualifying matches against India. And he had also scored the goal against Mahindra United in the AFC Cup for Nejma. Lebanon chief coach Ismail Rustam, however, was very modest in his assessment of the team’s prospects. “We don’t underestimate any team, but we have no fear of anyone. India will be a very strong team. May the best team win”, he observed. Bob Houghton said the 11-day training strint in Dubai and the month-long training-cum-match exposure in Barcelona (Spain) gave tremendous boost to the Indian team. He said since the players came from different clubs and different parts of the country, it was very important to give them an even level of fitness. Houghton said the hosts would do their very best, and have prepared their very best, to retain the cup. He said how well the team had prepared, and if there were any chinks in their armour, would be visible when they play in the Nehru Cup. “We can improve in all areas”, he said, when asked about the grey areas in the team. He said the thrust at Dubai was on fitness while the focus shifted to tactics, awareness - the players were made aware of what was expected of them - in Barcelona. The Kirgystan team, who played in the last edition also, have come here to gain experience while the novelty in the Sri Lankan team is a player from the embattled Jaffna territory, Sateeshwaran. Sri Lankan head coach Sampath Pereira said the Jaffna player would be making his debut in the Nehru Cup. |
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Punjab to host Kabaddi WC
Bathinda, August 18 This was announced at a state-level meeting of the Punjab Kabaddi Association (PKA), here today. The Indian team would be announced after the trial of players on September 11 at Guru Nanak College, Moga. The newly formed team would play the forthcoming matches in Italy and Pakistan. Sikander Singh Maluka, president PKA, said, that one match between India-Iran might be organized at Gurdaspur. During the meeting, it was announced that Kabaddi World Cup would also be held in Punjab in November this year. The World Cup carries prize of Rs one crore, Rs 51 lakh and Rs 25 lakh for Ist, IInd and IIIrd positions respectively. Schedule for Junior Championship has also been announced from October 23-25 at Bathinda and the senior championship from November 20-22 at Ludhiana. Talking to TNS, Maluka informed that the PKA would start arranging matches of all kabaddi academies, which are now being held in an unsystematic format. He disclosed that there would be eight teams selected and the winning amount would be Rs 5,1000 and Rs 41,000, for the first and second positions. The first match would be held at the Baba Farid Mela to be held in Faridkot in September. Among others who attended the meeting were, Gurdeep Singh Malli, Ajaib Singh Mansa, Dharam Singh Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurmel Singh Pehalwan, Jalaur Singh Muktsar, Baljeet Singh Barnala and BD Sharma. |
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World Athletics Championship
Bridgetown, August 18
New Delhi, August 18
