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Cricket world in a fix after Vincent's revelations
In Board of Conflict of Interest
in Cricket,
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25 DAYS to go
Bhullar makes cut in Spain
Atletico Madrid draw Barca to win La Liga
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Cricket world in a fix after Vincent's revelations
Chandigarh, May 17
Vincent reportedly confessed that he had been paid £40,000 by illegal bookmakers for his role in fixing an English county cricket match. He also revealed that corrupt bookies had offered him cash and a woman to fix matches. During a match, he could indicate that the fixing was on by the colour of his bat handle. Other signals were pulling away while the bowler was running in to bowl, and changing bats after a particular over, according to reports. A news report in England said that Vincent had told the ICC’s anti-corruption unit that he knew of six others who had been involved in fixing. Paul Marsh, the head of the FICA, told a cricket website: “It’s absolutely critical to have an independent anti-corruption unit. Whether it is exactly in its current form is something for people closer to it than me to judge, but I think it is critical we have an independent body investigating these issues. One, because issues of corruption aren’t just limited to what happens on the field with the players, and if you work on the assumption that administrators could be also subject to anti-corruption investigations you have to have an independent body doing that.” These last comments by Marsh could have been aimed at N Srinivasan, the BCCI president who has been forced to “step aside” because of allegations of fixing and betting against his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, who was in charge of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings. “What we’ve seen over the last few years is the view that in international cricket the anti-corruption unit around that is decent,” Marsh said. “But the risk has gone down to that next level and we’ve seen issues in county cricket, ICL, there have been allegations around ICL and even the IPL. So it shows there’s got to be a focus not just on international cricket but domestic cricket and T20 tournaments. It’s an area of risk, players are probably not educated as well as they are at the international level.” Marsh’s concerns are compounded by the fact that the ICC is reviewing the ACSU’s role. There’s a possibility that the ACSU could be asked to report directly to the ICC chairman rather than its chief executive. Effectively, this could mean that the ACSU would be controlled by the Australia, England and India. Worryingly, the ACSU could be asked to report to Srinivasan, who is set to be the ICC’s first chairman. Meanwhile, England’s Telegraph newspaper today reported that the ACSU was struggling to fight back against fixers, who were using money, honey traps and middlemen to lure players into their net. “A report by the ACSU in January 2012 contains a rogue’s gallery of bookies, fixers and chancers who attempted to contact players on tours to England, during the World T20 in this country in 2009 and the 2011 World Cup in India,” the report said. It said that one player was offered £57,000 to perform to order in a Test series and a five-match One-day series between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in December 2010 by an Indian bookie simply referred to as “JS”. The report added that a player agent was offered £200,000 to organise fixes by an illegal Indian bookie identified by the detectives as “VG”. The ACSU was monitoring the activities of more than 100 individuals across the world who were “actively involved in, or closely associated with, actual or planned corruption attempts”. The report states ACSU officers questioned Suresh Raina about why he was photographed with “notorious” Indian bookie “DN” on a tour to Sri Lanka. At the time there were suggestions the incident was hushed up by the Indian board but Raina was issued with a “Demand Letter” and he was cleared of any knowledge of the individual. At the time he was quoted as saying “There are so many people who get clicked with me. I can’t really be knowing about them.” The ACSU report notes that in 2011 an Indian bookie referred to as “KB” obtained the UK visa and was present at a London hotel where touring teams stay near Lord’s. Bell seeks more county regulations
England batsman Ian Bell has said increased anti-corruption measures could be needed for televised domestic games to prevent further cases of spot-fixing. “From where I can see, I haven't played one [on TV] for a while for Warwickshire, but it's just a normal county game," Bell said. "It's different internationally where you have to hand your phones in. In county games there is nothing. You could be on your phone all day if you want. Maybe if it is on television then it has to be the same as an international game. I've never seen it [fixing] at domestic level but then you hear what has been going on, not just in England but all around the world … there probably has to be a bit more done domestically as well.” |
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In Board of Conflict of Interest
in Cricket, what would Modi do?
Chandigarh, May 17 There is speculation that his right-hand man Amit Shah, the GCA vice-president, could take over, and even assume a larger role in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Modi, interestingly, is yet to leave a mark on the country’s cricket administration. His engagements with the BCCI have been low-key and non-controversial. This is surprising because the BCCI has been mired deep in controversies over the last four years, and Modi has a reputation of being a strong, clean administrator. In fact, an opportunity had arisen last year for him to rise to the fore and attempt a clean-up of cricket in India. That opportunity went abegging. In the immediate aftermath of last year’s spot-fixing and betting scandal in the IPL, the BCCI officials closed ranks. N Srinivasan, the BCCI president and the man in the centre of the controversy, refused to resign or give up office even temporarily. Politicians of all hues in the BCCI — across party lines — evaded debate on the issue. Gradually, however, some of them spoke out, saying that Srinivasan’s position was untenable because a free and fair probe into the scandal — which involved his team and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan — could not be ensured with him remaining in charge. The first to speak was Jyotiraditya Scindia, president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. Officials of the Punjab, Goa, Delhi and Mumbai cricket associations also said that Srinivasan must resign. In more recent times, Sharad Pawar has also spoken against Srinivasan. From western India, Saurashtra, Baroda and Maharashtra too have risen up against Srinivasan. The GCA is among the associations whose officials have maintained a silence — and thus, neutrality — over the issue. When a reporter sought Modi’s comments on the IPL fixing scandal and the vexed problem of Srinivasan last year, his office said that “he did not wish to say anything”. Ideally, sport is best left to sportspersons and professional managers to administer. However, Indian politicians do not subscribe to this ideal — just ask Rajeev Shukla or Arun Jaitley or Scindia or Farooq Abdullah. Modi, who has been heading the GCA since 2009, clearly believes that politicians should be involved with sport. Maybe that’s good for the immediate future of cricket in India, if he decides to give up his neutrality and act. There is a need to make the operations of the BCCI transparent, its officials accountable, and bring it under the RTI Act. Modi’s landslide electoral victory has bestowed on him unmatched power. Will Modi choose to exercise this power and clean up cricket? |
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CSK look to consolidate top 4 spot
Ranchi, May 17 Chennai, the 2010 and 2011 winners, are currently second on the points table with eight wins from 10 matches, while Bangalore are third from bottom after managing four wins in their 10 games. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men have not endured much trouble in making themselves comfortable in the city, notching up wins in the two matches that have been played here so far. Their most recent triumph came on May 13 against Rajasthan Royals when the team romped home with ease after restricting the visiting side to 148. Boasting of power-hitters such as Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis and Dhoni himself, CSK are among the favourites to go the distance and lift the trophy. The setbacks they have suffered this season have come against table-toppers Kings XI Punjab, but CSK have pulled off victories without much hassle. Their bowling attack is not exactly star-studded but it has done the job, complementing their aggressive batsmen quite well so far. CSK pacer Mohit Sharma is currently the joint leader in the top wicket-takers list with 18 scalps to his credit along with Hyderabad’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar. — PTI Tough game for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kolkata Knight Riders
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World-class field for Thomas and Uber Cup
New Delhi, May 17 Much of the success can be attributed to Saina’s historic bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, besides her penchant for the Super Series and Grand Prix Gold titles, as well as Sindhu’s bronze at the 2013 World Championships and 2014 Asian Championships. So, when the crème de la crème of badminton will descend on the Siri Fort Sports Complex in the capital for the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, with a new format of 16 teams, India would certainly fancy their chance of producing the best performance at the ‘World Cup’ of badminton to decide the top men’s and women’s teams in the world. The fact that the biennial team championships finals are being held in the country for the first time only adds to India’s stature in the world badminton. India reached the final stage eight times in Thomas Cup and three times in Uber Cup. The qualification for the Finals was based on the collective ranking points of their top three singles players and top two doubles combinations. The Thomas Cup is a men’s tournament with five matches — 3 singles and 2 doubles. The Uber Cup is the corresponding tournament with the same format. Both events used to take place every three years, separately, up to 1984, but are now held together every two years. For the Thomas Cup, India are grouped alongside Malaysia, Korea and Germany. K Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram and Kashyap will have a mountain to climb when they face the Malaysian team and its World No.1 Lee Chong Wei in the pool phase. The women are grouped with Hong Kong, Thailand and Canada in the Uber Cup and the home team’s challenge would be spearheaded by Saina, Sindhu and the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa. With a top 10 (Saina) and a top 20 (Sindhu) player in the ranks, chief coach Pullela Gopichand would be expecting a better show from the women shuttlers — reaching the quarterfinals seems to be a realistic target. With home advantage also playing its part, the Indian shuttlers are expected to come good against the creamy layer of world badminton and take the sport in the country to a different level. In the Thomas Cup, India will open their campaign against a formidable Malaysia, while the women shuttlers will look to stave off a tough challenge from Canada. India will be relying on their strength in both the formats — singles — to achieve their immediate target of reaching the last-eight. Gopichand has entrusted K Srikanth with the responsibility of opening the country’s campaign in the first singles for the Thomas Cup, while Kashyap will play the second singles. The third singles will see one among RMV Gurusaidutt, Sourabh Verma and B Sai Praneeth. In the Uber Cup, Saina will first take the court followed by Sindhu in the second singles. The third singles will be a toss-up between Sayali Gokhle, PC Thulasi and Tanvi Lad. The duo of Jwala-Ashwini will look to present a strong challenge for their opponents in the doubles rubber. Among the stars, two-times Olympic gold medallist and five-times World champion from China, Lin Dan, is back but unprecedented is the presence of all the leading men and women Chinese players in the draw. Given the participation of Lin Dan, World No.1 Malaysian Lee Chong Wei, Chen Long, Pengyu Du, to name a few, in the Thomas Cup, the atmosphere promises to be electric and gripping. In the Uber Cup, Olympic champion Li Xuerui, All England champion Wang Shixian and World No. 1 Wang Yihan are part of the field.
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Rome, May 17 Using vocal crowd support to her advantage, the 10th-seeded Errani fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set for a 6-3, 7-5 win over sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic. Williams overcame a second-set lapse to beat Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and gain a measure of revenge for a fourth-round loss to the Serb at this year's Australian Open. In the men's final, Novak Djokovic will meet either seven-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov. Djokovic took his time before figuring out Milos Raonic's massive serve for a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory. The match was highly tactical, with Raonic serving near 230 kph and firing 16 aces. — Agencies
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Schweinsteiger injuries a worry for Germany
Munich, May 17 Germany desperately need Schweinsteiger to be fit for the Brazil campaign, but it has been a season of many absences. And noone is giving a guarantee that he will be fit to start the Brazil campaign. The 29-year-old will celebrate a decade in the Germany team just before their opening Group G game against Portugal on June 16 having won his 101st cap in the 1-0 friendly win over Chile in March. A defensive midfield shoo-in for club and country, Schweinsteiger’s appearances for Bayern Munich this season have been restricted by a trio of injuries. Back-to-back ankle surgeries hampered him in pre-season, before he suffered an inflamed knee ligament at a training camp in Qatar in January. He returned with a vengeance on his first full appearance over 90 minutes in mid-March when he curled home a free-kick for the winner as Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-1 in Munich. — Reuters
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Girona (Spain), May 17 Bhullar, who shot 71 on the first day to lie 18th, was six-over through 10 holes for the second round and looked certain to make an early exit. But he hauled himself back with an eagle on 12th and birdies on 15th and 17th for a round of 74 and at one-over 145 he was tied 26th, down eight places. Bhullar had six bogeys in the first 10 holes. However, Jeev Milkha Singh’s wretched run continued as he carded an error-filled 78 and crashed out at five-over 149. Jeev stumbled to seven bogeys and just one birdie. — PTI
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Atletico Madrid draw Barca to win La Liga Barcelona, May 17 Meanwhile, Real Madrid ended a run of three league games without a win by beating Espanyol 3-1 to end their league season, but the victory was overshadowed by injuries. — Agencies
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Midfield general Bastian Schweinsteiger left Bayern Munich’s final Bundesliga match of the season with a knee injury giving Germany fans another scare ahead of the World Cup.
