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BCCI on the back foot
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Contador suspended for two years
UP IN THE AIR: India’s fielding in the ongoing series in Australia has not been up to the mark. — AFP
Louis Phillipe Cup: A fillip for Indian golf
Hilfenhaus replaces injured Lee in Oz squad
Pak complete whitewash
Pakistan's Umar Gul (2R) celebrates with teammates after claiming a wicket in the final Test against England in Dubai on Monday. — AFP
FA Mahilpur claim trophy
NZ take series with thumping win
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BCCI on the back foot
New Delhi, February 6 Two days after Sahara's shock decision to severe ties with the BCCI, its President N Srinivasan said that he was ready for a dialogue with the group to sort out the issues. IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla also sought to diffuse the situation by saying the authorities were open to discussions to resolve the contentious issues. "Most certainly, we are ready to meet and sort out the matters. We have no problems with that. We do appreciate what Sahara have done. They might have felt aggrieved and did not get what they wanted from the IPL. We had good relationships and so we should sort out the issues," Srinivasan said. Asked if he was sending out a message of reconciliation, Srinivasan said, "Personally yes. I am open to dialogue and BCCI is open to dialogue. We recognise there were grievances on their part but there was no reason to break suddenly." Srinivasan acknowledged that it was an up and down relationship between BCCI and Sahara but refused to go to the specific issues to be dealt if such a meeting takes place. "It has been an up and down relationship but when we meet I hope most of the issues will be resolved. There is an opportunity to sit across the table with Sahara. All issues will be discussed but it will be premature to speak about the issues now," the BCCI chief told a television channel. Asked about Sahara wanting to add the $1.8 million price of Yuvraj Singh to Pune Warriors' purse in the auction held in Bangalore, Srinivasan said, "Decisions related to IPL are taken by the Governing Council. Auction is over now. We can't pre-judge what are the issue BCCI and Sahara will discuss. There should be an element of secrecy in that. We should sit down and see how things can be sorted out. "Yuvraj is not well and we wish that he not only recovers fully but also play cricket again." said Srinivasan. He said he was surprised when he came to know that Sahara had ended their team sponsorship with the BCCI. "I was surprised when I came to know (about Sahara ending sponsorship). There was a brief conversation the night before the auction. He (Subroto Roy) expressed that he has been hurt. It was a bit late in the evening and I did not expect they would pull out the next morning," said Srinivasan. Sahara had signed a renewed sponsorship agreement with the BCCI on July 1, 2010 till December 31, 2013 and was paying Rs 3.34 crore per Test match, one-day international and Twenty20 International under the new terms. The deal is said to be worth about Rs 532 crore. Sahara entered the IPL bandwagon last year by buying Pune Warriors for Rs 1702 crore, making it the costliest franchise in the Twenty20 event. The BCCI stands to lose close to Rs 2000 crore if Sahara sticks to its stand. However, the Board can find another sponsor to neutralise the losses. IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla also said that the authorities are open to dialogue. "We are open to discussions, open for dialogue because they have been our partner for 11 years. We don't want anything to be decided in haste," Shukla said. Sahara decided to part ways with the BCCI on Saturday morning, an hour before the IPL 2012 auction - which went ahead without any representation from Pune Warriors. Sahara's pullout means the fate of Pune Warriors players also remains uncertain and in case they don't get a new franchise, they may not be able to play at all. But Shukla seemed optimistic about resolving the matter and said Pune Warriors is still associated with IPL. "So far they (Sahara Pune Warriors) are still an IPL franchise unless we get anything in writing from them. We are extremely positive," the IPL chief maintained. — PTI
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Contador suspended for two years
Paris, February 6 The suspension, which runs through to August 6, 2012, means that Contador is stripped of his victory in the race that year and will be unable to take part in this year's edition. Contador tested positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France, but he was subsequently cleared by the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) in February 2011, prompting the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Cycling Union (UCI) to appeal the decision to CAS. The 29-year-old Spaniard claimed he had ingested the banned substance by eating a contaminated steak, an explanation that satisfied the RFEC but which failed to pass muster with the International Cycling Union (UCI) and WADA. Apart from losing his 2010 Tour de France title, the verdict means that Contador is stripped of all his wins in 2011, which include the Giro d'Italia. The CAS verdict, which was handed down after a series of suspensions and controversies, was made by a three-man jury consisting of Israeli Efraim Barack, Swiss Quentin Byrne-Sutton and Ulrich Haas of Germany. In reaction, the UCI said though it derived no satisfaction from the verdict, it "welcomed the news as the end of a long-running affair that has been extremely painful for cycling." Contador's win in 2010 was his third in the Tour de France and under UCI rules , his suspension means he would forfeit the victory to Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, who finished as the runner-up. — AFP
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Bowling & fielding India's weak points, says Jones
Perth, February 6 "They need to get their bowling right. It would be sorted out here in Australia. The weakness is bowling and fielding," stated Jones who was one of the pioneering one-day batsman of 80s and 90s with his fine running between the wickets and thrilling stroke-play. India lost the first match of the triangular series by 65 runs at MCG last night — a game in which their bowling was brutally exposed. "I still think bowling is their weakest part. Hope some of your boys get to speak to Billy (Craig McDermott, Australia's bowling coach). A lot of Indian players get carried away by bounce. They don't need to worry about it — bowl fuller and present a straighter seam, that's the way to go. The line and length of bowlers is instantly sorted out in these grounds in Australia," he said. Even though the presence of youngsters has lifted India's fielding standards enormously, Jones still feels it could show up on bigger Australian grounds. The 50-year-old is aghast at how little time the Indians set aside for fielding sessions during their nets. "Fifty percent of the time they are playing cricket. If you are practicing for two hours, you need to set aside one hour for fielding. Say Sachin Tendulkar, who averages 45 and let's say faces 65 balls in the middle, he needs to bat for 45 minutes in the nets but also practice fielding for an hour. "I have always thought they never get fun out of doing fielding drills. They need to practice fielding for at least one hour—but they don't. For some reason, they love batting and love bowling and that's not enough. They got to learn." Jones, who made 6060 runs at 44.62 in his 164-match ODI career, also faults batsmen for their penchant for hitting boundaries. "They score 60 per cent of their runs in boundaries. Boy, these grounds are big. You have to do the work. You need to brush up the running between the wickets. Some of the Indian batsmen haven't batted long enough. So physical conditioning would be a question. "But again, I don't think your batting line-up is an issue. The bowling and fielding surely are. No matter how good you bat, (without proper fielding and bowling) you are not going to win." Any weakness in game, Jones said, is harshly exposed in Australian conditions. "Particularly on these grounds. If you have any weakness in your game, it would show up in these 50-50 games, whether it be fielding, fitness or mental application. The batsmen, I stress, have to improve their running between the wickets. They wouldn't get away with it, hitting fours and sixes. The grounds are slower and bigger here."
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Louis Phillipe Cup: A fillip for Indian golf
Chandigarh, February 6 The LP Cup — comprising nine teams — will be played at KGA Bangalore from March 5-10. Since the nine teams will be city based ones it is being suggested that the format is along the lines of the IPL. But a closer look reveals that is not the case. LP Cup is not about the abridged version of golf (like IPL is of cricket). It is not about absurd and ludicrous amounts of money for bowling just four overs in a match. It is not going to dilute the spirit of golf (like IPL has done for Test cricket). In fact, this championship will be a hard-fought one over many rounds of gruelling golf. And, the tournament is surely looking to build on the already growing popularity of golf throughout the country. Chandigarh will be one of the nine teams that will feature in this tournament and will be led by Gaganjeet Bhullar. The other pros in the side will be Sujjan Singh and Harendra Gupta. Three amateur players will also be part of every team and qualifiers will be held in each of these nine cities to select these players. One such qualifier was held at the CGC on Saturday where Bismad Singh won and now he will be joining the likes of Bhullar and Sujjan in Team Chandigarh. The second qualifier for the Chandigarh team will be played at the PGC on Feb 12. Another highlight of the Chandigarh team is the fact that it is being promoted by Kapil Dev (himself an avid golfer). Dev has joined hands with the Ellora Group and they will be sponsors of Team Chandigarh. The nine teams in the fray are Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi. Every team will be represented by three pros and three amateurs. The tournament has been sanctioned by the PGTI and the concept has been devised by Rishi Narain Golf Management. Apart from Bhullar and Sujjan all other top Indian golfers including Shiv Kapur, Jyoti Randhawa, SSP Chaurasia and Himmat Rai will be taking part in this championship and they will play alongside amateur golfers. Only Jeev Milkha Singh will not be there because of his commitments on the European Tour.
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Hilfenhaus replaces injured Lee in Oz squad
Melbourne, February 6 "Ben Hilfenhaus will replace the injured Brett Lee in Australia's one-day international squad for Friday's clash with Sri Lanka in Perth, although it seems unlikely the Tasmanian quick will even play," Cricket Australia said in a statement. Lee suffered a broken toe during last Friday's Twenty20 loss to India at the MCG, ruling him out for the rest of the summer. Hilfenhaus took eight wickets in Perth during last month's Test win over India but it appears he will head to Perth to merely carry the drinks. "Ben will replace the injured Brett Lee," said NSP chairman John Inverarity. "The bowling attack for Perth is likely to be the same as the one that did so well in Melbourne and Ben will be in Perth to provide cover," he added. Australia have made a good start to the series, winning the rain-truncated opening ODI against India here yesterday. — PTI
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Pak complete whitewash
Dubai, February 6 For Pakistan, it was a fifth series whitewash, their last coming in a 3-0 triumph over Bangladesh in 2003. Umar Gul (4-61) and Saeed Ajmal (4-67) shared the spoils. Ajmal finished the series with 24 wickets. Pakistan won the first Test by ten wickets in Dubai while they won the second by 72 runs in the second in Abu Dhabi. England limped to 173-6 at tea on a weary Dubai Stadium pitch that saw Pakistani spinner Saeed Ajmal (3-44) and paceman Umar Gul (2-31) destroying their top-order. At the break, Matt Prior was unbeaten on ten and Stuart Broad was batting on four. England still need 151 to win with Pakistan needing four wickets for a win. England, 89-2 at lunch, were still in with a chance with Alastair Cook (49) and Kevin Pietersen (18) batting well but they lost four wickets in the space of 84 runs, leaving Pakistan on the brink of a first-ever 3-0 whitewash over their opponents. Pietersen hit Abdul Rehman for a boundary and then hoisted him for a six to post England's 100. But Ajmal struck from the other end. — AFP Scoreboard Pakistan 1st innings: 99 England 1st innings: 141 Pakistan 2nd innings: 365 England 2nd innings Strauss lbw b Rehman 26 Cook c Younis b Ajmal 49 Trott c Rehman b Ajmal 18 Pietersen b Ajmal 18 Bell c Shafiq b Gul 10 Morgan c Adnan b Gul 31 Prior not out 49 Broad c Umar b Gul 18 Swann c Shafiq b Gul 1 Anderson c Younis b Ajmal 9 Panesar lbw b Rehman 8 Extras (b4, lb8, nb3) 15 Total (all out; 97.3 ovrs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-85, 3-116, 4-119, 5-156, 6-159, 7-196, 8-203, 9-237. Bowling: Gul 20-5-61-4, Cheema 4-0-9-0, Hafeez 5-2-6-0, Rehman 41.3-10-97-2, Ajmal 27-9-67-4.
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FA Mahilpur claim trophy
Chandigarh, February 6 FA Mahilpur clinched the trophy after defeating Khalsa College Mahilpur in a penalty shoot out. The match turned out to be a fiercely contested one and the final score was 3-3 at the end of regulation time. Puneet, Sukhvir & Varinder scored for Khalsa College while Rajvir, Rajinder & Gurinder for FA Mahilpur. FA Mahilpur were precise in the penalty shoot out and ensured victory while Khalsa College were left to rue their missed chances. The other final under the Club Category witnessed Punjab Police matching their strength against Tata Academy. It was a day for draws as this match too ended goalless, though fluency and pace of the contest were a feast for the eyes. Tata FA enjoyed majority of possession and Police regaled the crowd with some good moves. In the end, Punjab Police goalkeeper’s smart saves in the penalty shoot-out led the team to their well-deserved glory. The final was presided over by the Governor General of Pondicherry, Dr Iqbal Singh who praised the efforts of the participating teams. This is the oldest football tournament in the state and this was its 50th edition.
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NZ take series with thumping win
Whangarei, February 6 The victory at Cobham Oval, following the 90-run win in the first ODI, gave New Zealand an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and follows the overwhelming innings and 301 run rout of Zimbabwe in their one-off Test. Nicol's man-of-the-match 146 off 134 balls was the rock upon which New Zealand built a comprehensive 372 for six before Jacob Oram led a bowling attack that restricted Zimbabwe to 231 for eight. It was Nicol's second century in only his fifth ODI and he was supported by 77 from fellow opener Martin Guptill, and boundary-bashing cameos from Oram (59 off 28 deliveries) and 19-year-old Tom Latham (48 off 28). After rain delayed the start, New Zealand made a cautious beginning with two maiden overs before Nicol opened the scoring with an unorthodox slog that resulted in a top edge over slips for four. — AFP
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Melbourne, February 6
Drub England by 71 runs in final Test to make it 3-0
