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Champagne rain England reign
Trott’s Kangaroo connection
World Athletics Championship |
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Nehru Cup
‘Never thought I’d come this far’
Trials for Asian Aerobic C’ship held
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Champagne rain England reign
London, August 23 “It’s a special moment for us, we had to dig deep in a very hard series. It has not sunk in yet,” England captain Andrew Strauss said in a pitchside interview. Australia, who needed at least a draw to retain the Ashes they won back by crushing England 5-0 in 2006-7, were dismissed for 348 in their second innings after being set a record 546 for victory. The series was tied 1-1 after Australia won the fourth test at Headingley within three days. Only Hussey defied the England attack for any length of time, scoring his 10th test century. He was the last man out, caught at short-leg by Alastair Cook for 121 in five-and-a-half hours at the crease. “We have not been good enough. Full credit to England and Andrew Strauss for the way he has led the team,” Australia captain Ricky Ponting said. Australia made brave noises on Saturday evening about scoring more than 100 runs more than any team to win a test. Their confidence had been boosted by an assured opening partnership of 80 before the close but in reality both the target or the prospect of batting more than six sessions to secure the draw were out of reach. Simon Katich and Shane Watson resumed on another fine, hot day with a capacity crowd anticipating an England victory. The partnership lasted only another six runs and 15 minutes before Katich (43) misjudged an arm ball from Graeme Swann. The little left-hander thrust his right pad out without offering a shot and was given out lbw. Watson succumbed for 40 in the next over, also lbw, when an off-cutter from Stuart Broad thudded into his pads. An early finish seemed likely with Broad exploiting the variable bounce and Swann getting the odd ball to grip and turn. But Ponting, at his most determined, and Hussey, at his most obdurate, fought hard against the pair who had taken nine wickets between them in the first innings. They went to lunch with the score at 171 for two, after Hussey had offered a half-chance to Paul Collingwood at first slip when the bell flew between the fielder’s legs to the boundary. Ponting mistimed several attempted pulls but otherwise played with stern self-discipline. He reached his half-century in what will probably be his final Ashes test in England before edging Swann on to Collingwood’s left boot. Collingwood turned quickly but was unable to gather the rebound. Two runouts in the space of six balls accounted for Australia’s two best batsman. Hussey called for a swift single after driving Steve Harmison to Andrew Flintoff at mid-on. Ponting, who hesitated momentarily, was run out a magnificent flat throw which struck the stumps at the striker’s end. Scoreboard England (1st innings ) 332 Australia (1st innings ) 160 England (2nd innings ) 373-9 dec Australia (2nd innings ) (overnight 80-0) Watson lbw b Broad 40 Katich lbw b Swann 43 Ponting run out 66 Hussey c Cook b Swann 121 Clarke run out 0 North st Prior b Swann 10 Haddin c Strauss b Swann 34 Johnson c Collingwood b Harmison 0 Siddle c Flintoff b Harmison 10 Clark c Cook b Harmison 0 Hilfenhaus not out 4 Extras (lb-7, nb-6, b-7) 20 Total: (all out; 102.2 overs) 348 Fall of wickets: 1-86, 2-90, 3-217, 4-220, 5-236, 6-327, 7-327, 8-343, 9-343, 10-348. Bowling: Anderson 12-2-46-0, Flintoff 11-1-42-0, Harmison 16-5-54-3, Swann 40.2-8-120-4, Broad 22-4-71-1, Collingwood 1-0-1-0. — Reuters
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Melbourne, Aug 23
Although Trott is not certain how he is related to Albert Trott, who played for “You would have to speak to my granddad, he would be able to tell you. My granddad told me, you should give him a ring,” Trott was quoted as saying. — PTI
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Valencia, August 23 Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished third. Championship leader Jenson Button, Barrichello’s team mate, finished seventh but saw his overall lead trimmed by just half a point to 18 with six races left. The Briton now has 72 to Barrichello’s 54 and 51.5 for Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber. Webber finished out of the points in ninth place while German team mate Sebastian Vettel, who had been third overall, retired with a blown engine. He has 47 points. —Reuters
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World Athletics Championship
Berlin, August 23 Compounding Bolt’s fatigue was Asafa Powell’s groin injury, which made the anchor runner uncertain until one hour before the start. Since the Beijing Olympics, Bolt had won five major gold medals with a world record each time. But after his latest two in Berlin, the Jamaican star and his teammates fell short of perfection. With Powell taking the baton from Bolt for the last leg, Jamaica won in 37.31 seconds, a championship record but slower than the world record mark of 37.10 they set in Beijing last year. Trinidad and Tobago took silver and Britain got bronze. And on Saturday, it was another American to take gold in the long jump. During a final laden with symbolism, Dwight Phillips jumped 8.54 meters on his second attempt to win. His main rival, Olympic champion Irving Saladino of Panama, was eliminated with three no-jumps. — AP
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Nehru Cup
New Delhi, August 23 Bhutia was also responsible for the second goal, which came off a penalty kick, converted by Sunil Chhetri, in the 12th minute into the second session. Bhutia took hold of a pass from behind, dashed into the box from the right, and Kyrgyzstan custodian Matiash Pavel, who rushed out, brought down Bhutia with the ball. Maldives referee Adil Ali blew the whistle for a spot kick which was hit bang on target by Chhetri. Kyrgyzstan, who changed their strategy on conceding the second goal as they began attacking the Indian goal, finally pulled one back in the 45th minute when Murzaev Mirlan struck home true and hard. The visitors could have easily split points, but for muffing a penalty kick, as Mirzaliev Almazbek’s shot was brilliantly stopped by goalie Subrata Pal. Bhutia, who made his debut for India against Thailand as a substitute in the 1995 Nehru Cup in Kolkata, was felicitated by Delhi Soccer Association president Subhash Chopra and All India Football Federation secretary Alberto Colaco before the match. Bhutia said “it’s a great honour to have played for the country in 100 internationals”. But he would not certainly rate today's match as one of his best, though he featured in both the goals. Bhutia and Chhetri could not really combine well at the front, and the man to man marking and their short stature proved a major impediment in tackling their Kyrgyzstan shadowers. Neither forward could trap the ball properly inside the box, nor could they come up with any rattling attempts at the rival goal. Steven Dias, N.P.Pradeep and Climax Lawrence worked their way up to create a number of good moves. A couple of Dias’ shots from the right shook the goal and goalie Matisah Pavel, but he was unlucky not to get a goal. NP Pradeep also made a few attempts - headers, shots et al -but was off the target, narrowly. Though the Indian defence held out in the first half, with Anwar and Deepak Kumar Mondal effecting quick tackles and fast clearances, they let in gaps on resumption for Kyrgyzstan to charge in and put pressure on India. Though Bhutia was replaced by Sushil Kumar Singh with seven minutes of regulation play left, assuming that the 2-0 lead was good enough for the defending champions to last the distance, Kyrgyzstan almost changed the script with a substitution when Sidorenko Pavel replaced Almazbek. The latter had muffed a few chances, and new man in Pavel made two quick attempts, but the Indian goal survived the scare. The visitors, though, managed to net one second before full time. India bravely held out the four-minute injury time play to emerge unscathed though when it comes to the goal-count, their 2-1 win today may prove inadequate.
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‘Never thought I’d come this far’
New Delhi, August 23 Just before the match started, the All India Football Federation’s outgoing General Secretary Alberto Colaco and Delhi Soccer Association President Subhash Chopra presented Bhutia a memento to honour the Indian captain on reaching the milestone. “I feel honoured to play the 100th match for my country. When I started with my first match in 1995 against Thailand, I did not think that I would come this far. I had thought of playing one game at a time and I have given my best in each of them,” Bhutia said after the felicitation. From his debut match against Thailand in the 12th Nehru Cup in 1995, when he came in as a substitute, to playing his 100th in the latest edition of the same tournament, it has been a long 14-year-long roller-coaster journey in which Bhutia has served the country with distinction. But ironically, and with not many years left in his illustrious career, the face of Indian football of this decade is embroiled in a murky controversy with Mohun Bagan. The 32-year-old Sikkimese, who had quit the game for a few months in 2006 after falling out with then coach Syed Nayeemuddin only to change his mind later, is technically now serving a six-month ban without pay by Mohun Bagan for missing team training and an exhibition match. In his career as India captain since 2002, he has led the country to six international titles - the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002, the Nehru Cup in 2007, the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and three SAFF Cups. He joined Kolkata giants East Bengal in 1993 when he was 16. After playing for two years with East Bengal, Bhutia moved to JCT in 1995 and helped the Punjab side win the first National Football League, the earlier version of the current I-League, where he emerged as the leading goal-scorer. One of the high points of his career came when East Bengal became the first Indian club to win an international title, the ASEAN Cup, in 2003. Another high point came in the AFC Challenge Cup last year, besides being voted the most valuable player of the tournament. —
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Trials for Asian Aerobic C’ship held
Patiala, August 23 The Gymnastics Federation of India today conducted the national-level trials at Gymnastics Hall, Polo Ground, for the selection of players that would represent India in the 3rd Asian Indoor Aerobic Gymnastics Championship to be held at Vietnam from October 31 to November 8. Selection committee chairman Col Joginder Singh and Punjab Gymnastics Association secretary T.S. Virk conducted the trials. Col Joginder Singh said aerobic gymnastics was a new game for India and was introduced at the national-level in 1998. It involves the performance of routines by individuals, pairs and trios emphasising strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness rather than acrobatic or balance skills. Routines are performed on a small floor area and generally last 60-90 seconds. It is the ability to perform continuously complex and high-intensity movement patterns to music, which originates from traditional aerobics with a high degree of perfectly executed elements of difficulty. Results: Men’s category: Jodha Singh from SSCB and S. Dhurth from Maharashtra. Women’s
category: Manpreet Kaur from Jammu and Kashmir and Kritika from Maharashtra. Mixed
pairs: Manvinder Singh and Manpreet Kaur from Jammu and Kashmir and Kritika and Vivek from Maharashtra. Trio: Amit, Princejeet and Harish from SSCB and Manvinder, Jaskaran and Mike from J&K. |
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London, August 23
England’s new batting star Jonathan Trott, who struck a century in his Ashes debut, has revealed that he is related to a former Australian batsman, Albert
Trott who played at the turn of the 19th century.
In his career as India captain since 2002, he has led the country to six international titles
