London, July 27
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday came under severe criticism from Wasim Akram for his performance at Lord's with the former Pakistan captain calling for the inclusion of leg-spinner Amit Mishra in his place.

The cricketer-turned-commentator was critical of tweaker's effort in the series opener saying it was high time the Indian team management looked at another option.

"Harbhajan looked off-colour at Lord's. He got very little spin, his line was also very bad. On the other hand, Graeme Swann bowled beautifully. He showed a lot of variation," Akram said.

"I do not remember one occasion when he bowled a bad ball. I think it's about time that Mishra came in. English batsmen have traditionally been poor against leg-spinners. Besides, Mishra is a very intelligent bowler. I saw him bowling in the IPL and he impressed me a lot.

"To cut it short, Mishra should play in the next match," the former speedster said. Harbhajan bowled 56 overs in the match but returned with just one wicket, adding yet another poor performance to his wretched run.

The offie has been in poor form of late, underlined by just the three fifers in the last 27 outings.

The bowling great also insisted that India should not risk a half-fit Zaheer Khan for the second Test at Trent Bridge starting July 29.

India's pace spearhead could only bowl 13.3 overs in the first Test against England because of a hamstring injury, which proved to be a decisive factor in team's massive 196-run defeat.

"I do not think Zaheer should play at Trent Bridge if he is not fully fit. India missed him dearly in the Lord's Test. There is no point in going in with an unfit player. There is a warm-up coming up against Northants after the second Test and he should eye that.

"If he bowls without any pain, he should return to the eleven for the third Test," Akram insisted.

Akram batted for Sreesanth's inclusion in the team in place of Zaheer saying India would be better off playing the temperamental bowler instead of Munaf Patel, keeping in mind the swinging conditions at Trent Bridge.

"Both bowlers are good. Munaf gets a lot of nip and bounce because he is tall and he is also very accurate. Sreesanth, on the other hand, swings the ball with a great deal but everyone knows that at times he can be wayward. But I would still go for Sreesanth because he is aggressive and can make the most of the swinging conditions," Akram said. — PTI

London, July 27
England coach Andy Flower has asked Monty Panesar to stop giving net practice to Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, saying it was "naive" on part of the spinner to help a rival player.

"He did bowl to him in the nets before Lord's and I think that it is quite a naive thing to do," Flower said after his team's 196-run win over India.

Although the Indian-origin Panesar is not in the English team for the series, Flower said it was still not right for him to give net sessions to a dangerous player such as Tendulkar.

"I haven't spoken to him yet but one would hope he understands that it won't happen again," he said.

Panesar, who has played 39 Tests for England, has been bowling to Tendulkar in the nets and has stated that he was doing it in spare time to improve himself against "a wonderful batsman and person".

But Tendulkar, who was battling viral during the opening Test, didn't seem to benefit much from the sessions as he made just 34 and 12.

Despite the massive opening Test win, Flower expects India to come back hard in the remaining three matches.

"India are a very fine side and they didn't get to the world No. 1 spot by being poor and by not fighting back," said Flower.

"We've only won one out of four matches and there is another vital one around the corner and we have to be on the top of our game to win. But we're ready for that fight," he added. — PTI

London, July 27
Former captain Geoffrey Boycott does not foresee world number one India bouncing back in the ongoing Test series against England and believes the hosts are well on their way to clinch the top spot in ICC Rankings.

"The hosts are all fired up. Confidence is high, they believe they can beat India and they are hungry to be No.1 in the world. I can't see India stopping them and it would be an amazing turnaround if they beat England," Boycott said.

"The England team are in a very healthy situation. They should polish India off in the second Test and press home the advantage they gained at Lord's, which marked the beginning of the end for India as the world's No. 1 Test team," he wrote in the 'Daily Telegraph'.

Boycott feels the Indian bowling attack, which was ripped apart by the English before the hosts won by 196 runs in the Lord's Test, lacks the zing to worry England.

"There is not much to choose between both sides' batting. There is strength in depth in both teams and we expect India to improve, but their bowling is not good enough to worry England.

"Zaheer Khan is a quality bowler but even before the series started I never expected him to survive four Test matches in five weeks. His ability has never been in doubt but his fitness has always been a worry.

"Harbhajan Singh may have 400 Test-match wickets but all the England batsmen played him with ease at Lord's. I think he is too slow through the air. He has to change his trajectory to make any impression," he added.

The former batsman feels it will be a challenge for India to survive the hostile bowling attack of the England.

"I know the Indian batting had problems with Sachin Tendulkar weighed down by the weight of expectation at Lord's and a viral infection in the second innings," Boycott said.

"Gautam Gambhir had a badly bruised elbow but even so, if the ball swings or seams a bit off the pitch, the Indian batting will come under more intense pressure due to the pace and consistency of the England attack.

The 70-year-old also had a lot of good things to say about England's pace trio of James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad. "James Anderson is now a top-class bowler. His movement of the ball is his key strength. If you keep swinging and seaming at a pretty good pace, and put it in difficult areas for batsmen often enough, you will get wickets, and that is what he does.

"Chris Tremlett has been a revelation since he came into the Test side. He is coming down from that high action like Joel Garner and Curtly Ambrose. It is disconcerting for opposing batsman.

"At Lord's, Stuart Broad was unrecognisable from the guy who bowled all over the place against Sri Lanka. The key at Lord's was that he bowled with pace and pitched it up around off stump," he added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator said England also have the advantage of having two quality back-up bowlers.

"The great thing for England is they have two good back-up seamers queuing up to come into the team. Tim Bresnan has done wonders when he has played. He has surprised me and probably deserved to play at Lord's," he said. — PTI

New Delhi, July 27
The BCCI on Wednesday described media reports as "baseless" that the Indian cricket team skipped a reception at the Indian High Commission for attending a function organised by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni at a central London hotel to raise money for his charity.

"The BCCI would like to make it clear that this story is baseless. The Indian High Commission had extended an invitation to the Indian team to attend a reception on July 18 2011. However, the Indian cricket team had already committed itself to another function on the same day, six months in advance.

"The BCCI had accordingly communicated the same to the Indian High Commission, and suggested that the reception be organised on July 25 2011 instead," the board said in a statement.

"However, the Indian High Commission authorities said that there were other engagements scheduled on the 25th. They also informed the BCCI that they would get in touch with the Indian Team Management after its arrival in the UK, and fix up a date for the reception. The BCCI agreed to this.

"Mr. Anirudh Chaudhry, the Manager of the touring side, is in touch with the Indian High Commission officials, and it is learnt that the reception may be organised in August," the statement added.

Earlier, an Indian daily reported that the Indian team and the BCCI have been reported by the Indian High Commission to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for failing to attend a reception on July 18, which was to be hosted by the high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

The daily further stated that the high commissioner, Nalin Surie had to cancel his planned reception, after he learnt that Dhoni had scheduled a function the same evening. — PTI

New Delhi, July 27
Their new-found confidence having suffered a huge beating after their 0-3 loss in the away match, India face an uphill task to advance to the next stage of the 2014 World Cup football qualifiers as they take on United Arab Emirates here tomorrow.

India had beaten Qatar in an international friendly 2-1 in Doha just before the World Cup qualifiers second round, raising hopes of a strong performance against the UAE in their away leg on July 23 at Al Ain.

But, unfortunately, that was not to be. To be fair to Armando Colaco's boys, they were a tad unlucky as their two players were given marching orders by the 24th minute and they conceded just one goal in 75 minutes with nine men on the field.

A candid Colaco admitted that it would now be tough even on home conditions though he is not giving up hopes.

"After the 0-3 loss it is no doubt a difficult situation for us. But you never know in football and we will go for a win tomorrow," Colaco said. Number one goalkeeper Subrata Paul and central defender Debabrata Roy were shown red card by a Qatari referee in the away leg. — PTI

New Delhi, July 27
Olympic gold medallists Abhinav Bindra and women’s boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom were the guests of honour at a function hosted here by the British High Commission and the British Council to begin the countdown for the London Olympics 2012, which are scheduled to be held one year from now.

The function here, attended by British Deputy High Commissioner in India, Julian Evans, and British Council Director Rob Lynes, apart from displaying highlights of the preparations in London, also unveiled the ‘One Year to Go’ clock. Speaking on the occasion, Bindra said he was eagerly looking forward to the Games.

“Since Britain has such a multi-cultural society, I’d like to take this opportunity to all present here and everyone else in India to come to London for the Games. I hope I can repeat my Beijing Olympics performance. If I do not succees in the event, I’ll then focus on the 2016 Games.”

Mary Kom said she would do her best to make a mark in women’s boxing, which will be a part of the Olympics for the first time. “It is a great honour to be here today,” she said. “I will do my best to perform well in London and win a medal for my country.”

The occasion also had a display of reproductions of the sets of stamps that would be issued to mark the Games. The Olympics, which will cost around nine billion pounds, will be the greenest Games, according to Evans.

The Deputy High Commissioner also presented mementoes and models of Wenlock and Mandeville, the mascots for the Olympics and the Paralympics, which will follow the Games, to Bindra and Mary Kom. The London Games begin on July 27, 2012, and end on August 12, while the Paralympic Games are scheduled from August 29 to September 9.

Patiala, July 27
Only one out of six dope-tainted athletes appeared before NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel today for the scheduled hearing at New Delhi. Shot-putter Sonia, who tested positive for metabolites of Methandienone, appeared before the panel and presented her side of the story.

NADA Director-General Rahul Bhatnagar told The Tribune that Sonia’s hearing had been completed but the judgment had been reserved.

“Ashwini Akkunji, Sini Jose, Priyanka Panwar, Hari Krishnan and Tiana Mary Thomas failed to appear before the panel today and they have been served second notice,” he said. “Their next hearing has been scheduled for August 18. Also, the hearing of Mandeep Kaur and Juana Murmu who were found positive during dope tests conducted by IAAF has been scheduled for August 18 along with the remaining athletes. The judgment for Sonia might also be given along with the judgments on the other players,” he added.

BRIEFLY

Khade qualifies for Olympics
New Delhi: Virdhawal Khade today became the second Indian swimmer to qualify for next year's London Olympics by clocking 50.34s in the 100m freestyle event at the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai. Khade thus joined Sandeep Sejwal, who had earlier qualified for the 100m breaststroke event in the London Games. — PTI

Michael Phelps competes in the final of the 200-metre butterfly in the FINA World Championships at the indoor stadium of the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai on Wednesday. Phelps won gold. — AFP

Backed my skill: Lyon
Melbourne: Nathan Lyon, who rose from Adelaide Oval tractor boy to be picked in the Australian Test squad, today said he backed his skill and bowled ‘bravely’ in his pursuit to realise his dream. Lyon was yesterday named in the 15-man squad for the Sri Lankan tour just seven months after making his Twenty20 debut for South Australia against his home state New South Wales. — PTI

Aguero may move to City
MADRID: Argentina forward Sergio Aguero is in Manchester to finalise a move from Atletico Madrid to Manchester City, the player said on Wednesday. "Just arrived in Manchester to tie up the details of the signing for City," Aguero said on his Twitter feed. "Everything is going well," he added. — Reuters

Ronjan set to become no. 1
New Delhi: Come August 1 and India's champion double-trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi will become the world number one in International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) rankings. The numero uno status will add to Sodhi's growing list of honours and achievements in recent years — he has recently won a bronze medal at the ISSF shotgun World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia. Sodhi, who had clinched a London Olympics quota spot with a silver medal at the World Cup stage in Beijing earlier this year, said his ultimate ambition is to win a medal at the quadrennial extravaganza. — PTI

‘I cannot replace Sehwag’
Nottingham: India opener Abhinav Mukund has admitted replacing Virender Sehwag is an almost impossible task but insisted he could serve his side well against England by playing his own game. Sehwag, whose aggressive approach at the top of the order has turned on its head the notion of 'seeing off the new ball', is currently sidelined with an elbow injury. "I don't want to replace Sehwag. I just want to play how I want to play. If it comes off it's going to help the team." — PTI

India off to winning start
New Delhi: India began their team campaign well, notching up resounding wins over France and Hong Kong in their Pool C ties of the World Junior Women's Squash Championships in Cairo, Egypt. After routing 11th seeds France 3-0, third seeds India got the better of sixth seeds Hong Kong 2-1 in their preliminary group engagements. — PTI

India lose to South Africa
Brisbane: India-A team encountered mixed results in the Emerging Players' Meet today after winning by six runs against Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and losing by four wickets against South African Emerging squad. India started off on a disastrous note losing the opening match of the day against South Africa. Batting first, India scored 156 for six in their 20 overs and South Africa managed to win courtesy Temba Bavuma who smashed 57 off only 31 deliveries. South Africa scored the winning runs off the last ball of the match. S Aniruddha top-scored with 45 off 33 balls with six boundaries and two sixes. — PTI