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Bell rings loud and clear
IPL ills: KKR pacer Sangwan fails dope test
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South African Stainforth is India’s goalkeeping coach
Milkha bats for academies, good coaches
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Bell rings loud and clear
London, July 18 Bell, who came to the crease with England floundering at 28 for three on a perfect batting pitch at the height of a British heatwave, reached his 19th test hundred with 14 boundaries in exactly five hours. He was finally out for 109 and joins Jack Hobbs (twice), Wally Hammond and Chris Broad at the only England players to score centuries in three consecutive Ashes tests. Bell’s dismissal was the first of three wickets in the space of 31 minutes for Australian leg-spinner Steve Smith who reduced England from 271 for four to 289 for seven at the close of a sun-drenched day. After his resolute second innings century in the first test victory at Trent Bridge, Bell was in delightful touch from the start of his innings. He drove sweetly, cut deftly and after tea took three boundaries off a James Pattinson over, including two exquisite drives off the back foot through the covers. He was finally out when Michael Clarke turned to Smith’s occasional leg-spin and was rewarded when Bell edged the final ball of his first over to the Australian captain at slip. Smith followed up by tumbling to his left to take a return catch of Jonny Bairstow (67) who had batted confidently on the ground where he scored an impressive 95 against South Africa last year and helped Bell add 144 for the fifth wicket. Fortunate Jonny Bairstow had enjoyed a huge slice of luck when he was comprehensively bowled by Peter Siddle on 21 but won a reprieve when television replays showed the Australian paceman had over-stepped by a matter of millimetres. Matt Prior (6) became Smith’s third victim, slashing hard outside his off-stump and edging to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Ryan Harris was the pick of the Australian bowlers, finishing the day with three for 43 after coming in for Mitchell Starc in one of two changes to the side who lost the first test at Trent Bridge by 14 runs. Despite impressive test statistics, Harris, 33, had played only 12 tests because of a chronic knee injury which needs constant treatment. Shane Watson made the initial breakthrough in the fifth over, bowling as first change from the Pavilion end and beating Alastair Cook (12) with his second delivery from a full length. The ball struck Cook’s front pad straight in front of the stumps and the England captain decided against a review. His opening partner Joe Root (6) did go to the third umpire when he was struck on the pads by Harris but England lost a review when Marais Erasmus’s lbw decision was upheld. Kevin Pietersen fell four balls later to Harris for two, caught behind playing at a full delivery outside his off-stump and England were suddenly in trouble. Jonathan Trott, who had started confidently with boundaries on both sides of the pitch from his first two balls, struck the ball firmly, hitting 11 fours. But with the attack apparently at his mercy, he was out scooping a simple catch off Harris to Usman Khawaja, who replaced Ed Cowan at number three in the Australian lineup, at deep square-leg. Smith’s efforts late in the day meant the Australians, who laboured throughout the afternoon session with little reward, ended the day with honours at least even on a pitch still promising plenty of runs. “Credit has to go to Australia, Harris coming back into the team bowled really well,” Bell said. — Reuters Scoreboard England 1st innings
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IPL ills: KKR pacer Sangwan fails dope test
New Delhi, July 18 “Yes, Pradeep Sangwan has tested positive for banned substances during this edition of Indian Premier League. The BCCI has already issued a letter to the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) in this regard. There have been traces of banned substances in his ‘A’ sample,” a top BCCI official told PTI preferring anonymity. Asked if it was just a banned drug or a performance enhancing drug, the source said, “We will be able to know that only after the ‘B’ sample test is done. As you have seen the trend in other sports, the ‘B’ sample tests normally shows the trend of 'A' sample. One thing is for sure, the BCCI has zero-tolerance towards dope offenders. But at this point we can't comment about what action will be taken against the offender,” the official said. The 22-year-old Sangwan, who played a stellar role in India's victorious U-19 World Cup campaign back in 2008 plays for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy and represented Kolkata Knight Riders during the last two editions of the IPL. He has taken 123 wickets in 38 first-class matches. Sangwan played two matches in the last edition of IPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Although the BCCI does not come under the WADA or its national subsidiary NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency), they have their own anti-doping agency. Just like in any ICC event, in IPL also, there is random doping tests of players before or after matches. The pacer, who had sustained a shoulder injury during the IPL, was undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and has currently gone to the United Kingdom for a surgery. — PTI Cricket’s tainted
Shane Warne failed a dope test and was sent back home before the start of the 2003 ICC World Cup. Pakistani pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif failed dope tests in 2006 before the Champions Trophy in India. Pakistani speedster Mohammed Asif to have been found guilty of consuming banned drugs. India spinner Rahul Sharma and South African Wayne pacer Wayne Parnell tested positive for drugs. |
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South African Stainforth is India’s goalkeeping coach
New Delhi, July 18 The 37-year-old Staniforth has worked as the goalkeeping coach of the South African national team for three years, and with the Riverside Hockey Club and Dave Staniforth Academy. He also holds an FIH Certificate in International Goalkeeper Coaching and has done two other coaching courses---Irish Hockey Association Level 1 and English Hockey Association Level 2. As a player, Dave Staniforth has 65 international caps to his credit, having represented South Africa in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 10th FIH Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur-2002, the FIH Champions Challenge in Kuala Lumpur (2001), Johannesburg (2003) and Alexandria (2005) and the 8th All Africa Games in Nigeria (2003). Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra said the appointment of a dedicated coach like Dave Staniforth was intended to give focussed and concentrated training for goalkeepers, and all the custodians in the core probables group will benefit immensely from his coaching. “Hockey as a sport is about precise strategy and execution, so Dave's appointment will be significant ahead of major events such as the FIH Hockey Junior Men World Cup 2013 and FIH Hockey Senior Men World Cup 2014”, he said. Know the new goalkeeping coach
Dave Staniforth, born in Durban, played 65 internationals for South Africa as goalkeeper, including the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2002 World Cup and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. He made the match-winning save Belgium in a penalty shoot-out to decide the final Olympic qualifying place for the 2004 Athens Games. Apart from playing for clubs in South Africa, he has played in Germany, England and Ireland. The 37-year-old Staniforth has worked as goalkeeping coach with the South African national side for three years. He was the goalkeeping coach and video analyst of Ranchi Rhinos, champions of the inaugural Hockey India League (HIL). |
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Milkha bats for academies, good coaches
New Delhi, July 18 He said when he got into sports, he did not know what athletics was, what was 400 metres run, what was Asian Games, what was Olympic Games…"But I made it to the top through sheer hard work", he mused. Milkha said he made up his mind to excel in athletics after the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, when the coach told me that the Olympic record of 400 metres was 45.9 seconds, and I should break that record. "I took a vow then that till I break the Olympic record, I will not rest content. I trained like mad, I worked hard, sweated bucketfuls, I threw up on the field, vomited blood…but I did not give up, till I realized my dream of reaching the top", Milkha reminisced at the launch of the Sports Mentor national-level school championship to unearth sporting talent, supported by the Sports Authority of India. (Sports Mentor, an organization providing scientific sports education programmes for school children, has tied with the Association of Schools for Indian School Certificate (ASICS) for a five-year-period to identify talent. Over 25000 children from 2500 schools will compete in eight disciplines-basketball, football, volleyball, athletics, cricket, tennis, hockey and swimming---with the talented youngsters being adopted into a long-term training programme.
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Gullane (Scotland), July 18 Shiv had an emphatic start, shooting six birdies in the first seven holes, and was the sole leader going into the halfway mark, at six-under. But he slipped in the back nine with a double bogey on the 10th and a bogey on the 14th before finishing with four steady pars. World number two Rory McIlroy’s troubles continued as he crashed to an eight-over 79. Mark O’Meara was flying a surprise flag for the ‘golden oldies’. The 56-year-old moved to four-under through 12 holes, level in second place with Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello (67). Most of the players were finding the treacherous knee-high rough difficult to cope with and scores were generally high on the banks of the Firth of Forth. The parched and dry links course was also making it tough for the 156-strong field to control the ball on the fairways and the greens. Johnson fared the best and he waved his putter like a magic wand to birdie the third, sixth and seventh and eagle the long fifth. The 37-year-old made further inroads on par at the par-four 12th before dropping his only stroke of the day at the 14th. O’Meara matched Johnson’s start with a barnstorming run of four birdies in six holes. Another birdie at the ninth took him to the turn in 31 before he faltered with a bogey at the 10th. At the other end of the leaderboard, McIlroy dropped strokes at the fourth and fifth before getting one back with a birdie at the seventh. McIlroy frittered away shot after shot on the back nine, carding double-bogey sixes at the 12th and 15th, and he sported a look of sad resignation when he walked off the green at the end of another disappointing effort. The Northern Irishman has struggled with his new clubs all year, after deciding to ditch his old Titleist equipment, and is still searching for his first win of 2013 after topping the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic last season. Phil Mickelson, bidding for back-to-back wins after landing the Scottish Open title in Inverness last week, fired an encouraging 69. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose slipped to a 75 while title holder Ernie Els could manage only a 74 that included a double-bogey six at the 16th where he needed three strokes to get out of a greenside bunker. Six-times major winner Nick Faldo, in his first competitive outing since 2010, marked his 56th birthday by returning a 79. Playing partners Tom Watson and Fred Couples fared better with matching 75s. Late starter Tiger Woods made a poor start, bogeying the first hole after launching a wayward hooked drive into the rough. The world number hit four birdies in the back-nine to finish tied ninth at two-under. — Reuters
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Bhajji won’t go with his song unsung
Chandigarh, July 18 You are right on the money if Harbhajan Singh popped up in your mind! The gregarious Punjab off-spinner has co-sung and acted in a one-song video, dedicated to his mother, released on Thursday. “I am no singer but I couldn't resist the temptation to act and sing when I heard the lyrics. I was deeply moved and I immediately said yes, without worrying how it would turn out,” Harbhajan said today. But the moment the conversation veered towards cricket and his critics, he quickly traded this mellow tone for his normally combative one. “I don't think those who have played just a couple of matches should talk loosely about someone with over 100 Tests and 400 wickets. There must be a reason why I have played 100 Tests and they couldn't go beyond a few matches,” said Harbhajan. While there's a growing feeling that the comeback route for the current India discards won't be easy, what with the new entrants doing a great job and the selectors too looking to firm up the core group for the 2015 World Cup, the feisty off spinner is refusing to throw in the towel. “I still have four to five years of cricket left in me and I am trying my hardest to get back as quickly as I can,” he said. “If IPL is the comeback platform to the national side, I would like to say I did really well, finishing with 24 wickets. So it's up to the selectors now to take a call on me.” It's a little unfortunate if a veteran of 101 Tests has to pin his comeback hopes on his IPL performance. But Harbhajan can't be faulted for thinking on those lines, for the IPL performances do seem to matter a lot to the selectors, perhaps even more than first class cricket. To his credit, the old warhorse is willing to slug it out at all levels to win back his place. “I am ready to play whatever cricket comes my way to force my way back into the side,” he said. For a 33-year-old with 413 Test wickets, a man part of the World Cup winning team, won't finding motivation to fight for his place in the Indian XI be an issue? “Not at all, I am still very passionate about cricket and won't stop trying till I win my place back,” he said.
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IIan Bell joined an elite trio on Thursday with his third Ashes century in successive tests after England had lost three cheap wickets on the opening day of the second test against Australia at Lord’s.
The sixth edition of IPL, which was rocked by the spot-fixing scandal, has now been hit by a doping fiasco with Delhi and Kolkata Knight Rider's promising left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan failing a random dope test during the cash-rich league.
