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Where Sree is still the hero
Pietersen goes ballistic, slams England culture
Koevermans steps down after India lose to Palestine
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IPL will return to Kochi next year
Dew threat hangs over first ODI
Triple delight for Cristiano
Karlovic stuns Cilic, Isner aces it in Shanghai
Wenger won’t apologise for spat with Mourinho
Marussia driver Bianchi in a ‘critical but stable condition’
FIA F1 media delegate Matteo Bonciani speaks to journalists outside the General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi where Bianchi is hospitalised; and Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado leaves the hospital after visiting Bianchi on Monday. AFP
Former F1 driver De Cesaris dies in bike crash
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Where Sree is still the hero
kochi, october 6
At one place, he's advertsing for a sports apparel brand; a few kms later, dressed in a traditional south Indian attire, a white cotton shirt and a dhoti, he welcomes you with folded hands, promoting a renowned local jewellery brand. All this looks a little strange, for wasn't he banned for life for an alleged involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal? Isn't such a damning accusation bound to ruin the image of the individual concerned in public perception? Well, Sreesanth seems to be an exception; the speedster seems to have weathered the storm pretty well, at least as far as managing his 'image' in his hometown is concerned. The “John McEnroe of Indian cricket”, as Sreesanth was once famously called by the former international cricket umpire, KN Raghavan, still commands a lot of love and respect in his hometown, the life ban by the BCCI notwithstanding. A mere mention of his possible involvement in the scandal draws angry looks in Kochi. “He should be considered innocent until proven guilty in the court of law,” is the common refrain. “We still love him. We would like to believe he's innocent until proven otherwise. He is still our hero who worked hard and rose to the top against all odds,” said George, a taxi driver. "Sreesanth is the only cricketer from Kochi who rose to international fame in such a short time. Sunil Walson and Tinu Yohannan, the other players from the state, never made it big internationally,” said Balram, an executive in the hospitality industry. It's understandable why Kochi still backs the tainted cricketer. They loved their maverick boy so much that they changed the name of the locality he lived in — Kailash Nagar — to Sreesanth Nagar. So, it's natural for them to give the maximum possible benefit of doubt to their most renowned and loved cricketer. And even though Sreesanth has moved to Mumbai with his wife to pursue other goals — dance, music and acting —his hometown still loves to hear and talk about him. A close friend of Sreesanth, who did not wish to be named, said Sreesanth had always been fascinated by glitz and glamour. “He loved to show off. He experimented with his hair, loved to get tattooed, and danced in reality shows. His larger-than-life image resulted in his downfall," he said. Some of the Kerala State Cricket Association officials still can't believe that Sreesanth, who belongs to a God-fearing middle-class family, could get into the fixing mess. “We are in regular touch with Sreesanth. He still has a strong desire to play at his home ground, but we all know it's not possible, at least not as of now. He's remembered here as someone full of respect for the seniors and as a guiding figure to the juniors," said a KSCA official. Even as Kochi is yet to get over the Sreesanth phenomenon, there's a new star rising from the coastal state — Sanju Samson. Incidentally, it was Sreesanth who had recommended the young wicket-keeper batsman's name to Rajasthan Royals, and had also handed Samson his cap on his first-class debut. “There is a sense of calmness around Samson. And just as Sreesanth did, Samson is making everyone sit up and take notice. We just hope he doesn't get distracted like our original hero,” the official said.
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Pietersen goes ballistic, slams England culture
London, October 6
In an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper on the launch of his autobiography, ‘KP: The Autobiography?, Pietersen also opened up about the ‘text-gate’ controversy over which he was dropped for exchanging disparaging messages with South Africa cricketers about former England captain Andrew Strauss. Pietersen alleged Prior and England's bowlers “ran the dressing room” by intimidation and little “I brought it up ... I brought it up on numerous occasions. I told Strauss about it, I told Cook about it. It was a huge thing. It was allowed to develop.... The bowlers were given so much power. They were doing really well. Swanny (former England spinner Graeme Swann) was winning game after game for us. Broady (England paceman Stuart Broad) was contributing. Jimmy (Anderson) was contributing.” The England and Wales Cricket Board said it was “impossible” to comment. “We have not had an opportunity to see the book yet as the publishers have declined to provide us with a copy before the official release date,” the ruling body said. Pietersen also cited bowlers’ demands for apologies if players dropped catches or made fielding errors, and Prior shouting aggressively at fielders for mistakes. “The thing that horrified me the most was when Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss in Bangalore before the One-day internationals said: ‘Guys we’ve got to stop this, it’s not right for the team, there are guys that have come to (us) that are intimidated to field the ball.’”And they (the bowlers) had the audacity to stand there and say: ‘No, if they’ve (messed) up we deserve an apology.’ It’s the most angry I ever got in that dressing room. I thought, I reckon I could hit these guys.” Personal clashes Pietersen detailed personal clashes with Flower, ranging from dressing room harmony to the presence of family on tour, and said the former Zimbabwe captain had long held a grudge against him. On his exclusion from the team, Pietersen described it as a political power play between he and Prior which the batsman had lost when Flower sided with the wicketkeeper. “(Prior’s) one bloke that quite a few (senior players) — I could count on more than one hand — have said: ‘Please can you tell the world what that guy’s like.’ “So when I went after Prior and said Prior shouldn’t be in that side because he’s a bad influence, a negative influence — he picks on players — and I’ve questioned Flower and the way he ran the team, Flower and Cook would have said 'you’ve got to get rid of this guy'. “He’s back-stabbing, he’s horrendous, he’s bad for the environment." Prior responded to the comments on Twitter. “Obvs sad to see the accusations against me this am and I WILL have my right of reply! However today is not the day and Twitter is not the place for it! Now back to my Achilles rehab and learning to walk again! have a great day everyone,” he said. On the text-gate scandal, Pietersen said his crime was not disagreeing with his South African colleagues' description of Strauss as a 'doos'. “A doos, which is just an idiot. I regret being involved in conversations like that, and I shouldn’t have been, but mentally I was totally broken. Because of what had happened the previous week, where I got told by a senior player that Twitter account was being run from inside our dressing room," Pietersen added, referring to a parody account that poked fun of him. “I was completely broken, absolutely finished, mentally shot.” Former England captain Michael Vaughan described the fall-out in English cricket as “very, very sad.” “Many to blame but mostly it's been a lack of communication and man-management,” he said. “Won't play for England again, so I will remember KP for what he was. A maverick who could play innings that no other England player could!” — Agencies FRANKLY SPEAKING "I brought it up ... I brought it ( bullying) up on numerous occasions. I told Strauss about it, I told Cook about it. It was a huge thing. It was allowed to develop.... The bowlers were given so much power.” * “So when I went after Prior and said Prior shouldn’t be in that side because he’s a bad influence, a negative influence — he picks on players — and I’ve questioned Flower and the way he ran the team, Flower and Cook would have said 'you’ve got to get rid of this guy'. "He’s back-stabbing, he’s horrendous, he’s bad for the environment.” * “I regret being involved in conversations like that, and I shouldn’t have been, but mentally I was totally broken. Because of what had happened the previous week "—Kevin Pietersen, former england all rounder
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Koevermans steps down after India lose to Palestine
Siliguri, October 6 After India lost to Palestine 2-3, Koevermans declared in the post-match presentation ceremony that that he isn't continuing as coach of the Indian national team. "This was my last match as the coach of the national team and I will not be taking up the post of AIFF's Technical Director for private reasons," he said. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my stint and stay in India. It was a nice gesture by the players," he said, referring to the Guard of Honour which the players gave to Koevermans at the end of the match. Koevermans' contract as the national coach with AIFF ends on October 31, 2014. “When I took charge I was told to change the style of play and there has been a huge improvement on that front. We created chances in every match that we played and played some good football. But that hasn't been enough," he stated. "I never like losing. The boys stayed so much committed on the ground today," he said in reference to India's match against Palestine. "But it was visible that they had better players in almost every position. We gave them a very tough game and could have avoided conceding the first and the third goas. But that's football." National team captain Sunil Chhetri, currently the highest-ever Indian goalscorer in international football, described the phase under the Dutchman as a "great journey". "He came across as someone who was a rare combination of being very knowledgeable and hard working. It's always been a pleasure working under him. The news came as a shock for me and I wish him luck for all his future endeavours."
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IPL will return to Kochi next year
Kochi, October 6 Mathew, also the IPL governing council member, said the BCCI has shown interest in allotting some of the matches to the coastal city from 2015 edition onwards. “The BCCI is willing to give us some of the IPL matches here. But, for that to happen, we need full exemption from the entertainment tax. We don't have a franchise of our own. Some other franchise will take the risk of playing in Kochi only when they get tax exemption,” Mathew told The Tribune. Mathew, the chairman of the National Cricket Academy, said the tax relaxation is necessary to hold premier events like the IPL and Champions League T20. Talking about the ticket sales for the India and the West Indies One-day International on Wednesday, Mathew said the response has been moderate. “We have sold 60 percent of tickets. The convention here in Kochi is that the ticket sales pick up two days before the match, so we are expecting a full house. We have a seating capacity of 55,000 and the JLN ground is the second largest stadium in the country,” he said.
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Dew threat hangs over first ODI
Kochi, October 6
The team batting second will have a huge advantage as the ball would get wet, making it difficult for the bowlers to grip it. The toss, hence, would be very crucial. “Win the toss and field first — that's the mantra for success. It would be tough to field and grip the ball with the amount of dew expected for this game. It will come into play around 7:30, but we will try and cut out its effect as much as possible,” a senior BCCI ground and pitch committee member told The Tribune. “We are using an anti-dew chemical spray, APSA 80, on the entire outfield. We started using this spray on Monday and we will spray it tomorrow twice. We will use it one last time on the morning of the match. We will have to see the weather on Wednesday to determine the extent of the impact dew could have,” he said. Kochi has been partly cloudy for the past few days and the weather forecast for the next two days isn't encouraging. According to the Met department, light to moderate rains and thundershowers are expected in several parts of the coastal city, including Kaloor, where the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium is situated. Though the sun shone brightly on Monday, the moisture during morning period was 89 per cent. “If it rains, the two super soppers will be put in action to dry the outfield. However, the drainage system at the stadium is not looking good at the moment,” the official said. The pitch has a tinge of grass, which would assist the seam bowlers initially before the wicket flattens out. The tall West Indians fast bowlers could pose some questions to the Indian batsmen, who have struggled against short deliveries in the past. “It's a sporting wicket which will have something for both batsmen and bowlers. When the wicket has a bit of pace in it, it helps in scoring runs as well. It will be an exciting contest,” he said.
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Triple delight for Cristiano
Madrid, October 6
It took Ronaldo just two minutes to extend his scoring streak to eight games as he headed home Gareth Bale’s cross and Karim Benzema made the game safe when he doubled Madrid’s lead just before half-time. Bale teed up Ronaldo once more to make it 3-0 and the Portuguese then turned provider for Benzema to tap home his second of the game. Ronaldo rounded off the scoring two minutes from time when he unintentionally deflected Pepe’s effort home to take his tally for the season to 17 goals in just 11 matches in all competitions. Victory takes Real back to within four points of leaders Barcelona behind Valencia and Sevilla, but ahead of champions Atletico Madrid who drop down to fifth. Madrid were back to full strength after coach Carlo Ancelotti had rested a few of his regular starters in the 2-1 win over Ludogorets Razgrad in midweek and took just two minutes to make the breakthrough against an Athletic side shorn of confidence. Bale turned onto his weaker right foot, but still managed to pick out a perfect cross for the unmarked Ronaldo to head home at the back post. Athletic ‘keeper Gorka Iraizoz then made a smart save low to his right to deny Ronaldo a second and Benzema just couldn’t stretch to turn home another Bale cross as the hosts piled on the pressure. However, the Basques settled midway through the half and Iker Muniain’s spectacular dipping volley from the edge of the area forced Iker Casillas into action with a fingertip save. Crucially Real managed to get the second goal before half-time, though, as Benzema rose highest to head Luka Modric’s corner in via the crossbar. Bale wasted a great opportunity to make it 3-0 five minutes into the second-half as he blazed over with just Iraizoz to beat. However, the Welshman made amends five minutes later when he raced onto Benzema’s pass and squared for Ronaldo to tap home his second of the night. Bale came close again when he shot just wide after being set up by a lovely backheel from James Rodriguez and was then flagged offside when he did finally have the ball in the net. Madrid were continuing to open up the Athletic defence at will and made it 4-0 21 minutes from time when Ronaldo unselfishly squared for Benzema to roll into an empty net rather than going for a hat-trick. Ronaldo did then go in search of his third hat-trick in five games, forcing Iraizoz into a flying save with a powerful header. However, the World Player of the Year wasn’t to be denied and registered his 26th hat-trick for the club, albeit with some fortune when he deflected Pepe’s effort past the helpless Iraizoz. — PTI Ronaldo has Messi record in his sights Not content with setting a record of 17 goals for one edition of the Champions League last season, Cristiano Ronaldo is already well on the way towards breaking Lionel Messi’s La Liga best haul of 50 goals in one campaign. Ronaldo netted his third hat-trick this term in Sunday’s 5-0 drubbing of a sorry Athletic Bilbao, taking his overall tally to an outrageous 13 in six appearances in 2014-15. It was the Portuguese World Player of the Year’s 22nd treble for the European champions, equalling the La Liga record jointly held by Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra, and putting him three clear of Barcelona forward Messi’s hat-trick haul. Ronaldo broke Messi’s four-year stranglehold on the FIFA Ballon d’Or when he was voted 2013 World Player of the Year and Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said he had little doubt the Portuguese would claim his second straight award and third overall when the 2014 winner is announced in January. “This year, I don’t think there is much doubt,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t think there’s any point in even talking about it.” Messi is the only player who can come close to challenging Ronaldo and the Argentina captain’s performance at the World Cup, when he led the South American nation to the final, may give him an edge. — Reuters
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Karlovic stuns Cilic, Isner aces it in Shanghai
Shanghai, October 6
After dropping the first set, Cilic broke his opponent twice in the second to force a decider but Karlovic clinched the tie-breaker to seal victory. Cilic, sixth in the race to November’s elite eight-player ATP Finals in London, had won his last two matches against Karlovic, who blasted 20 aces to his opponent’s nine. “It’s a gamble with him,” Cilic said of his compatriot. “He goes all in or nothing. It’s always difficult.” “He was serving really well towards the end of the match. I couldn’t get into his serve. It can happen with Ivo. It’s always tricky. The game, I’m feeling it’s on the spot. Though I lost today, it’s unfortunate, bad luck, but I’m going with positive energy into the next weeks to finish the season well,” added Cilic who is seeking his first ATP Finals appearance in London. It proved a good day for big-servers as world No. 14 John Isner belted down 22 aces to beat Spaniard Pablo Andujar 7-6(5) 1-6 6-3. The American, who lost to Tomas Berdych in the China Open quarterfinal last week, won 71 percent of his service points. “Beijing was great last week,” said Isner after his 38th win of the season. “I had a pretty good tournament. Got my tail kicked in the quarters. But I’m playing pretty well. I’m still alive here. I’m glad I’m not on a flight home tomorrow. It’s all good. Playing better away from the States is something I’m always trying to do and I feel like it’s something I’ve done so far.” Argentine Juan Monaco downed Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-2 7-6(4) to set up a second-round clash with eighth seed Milos Raonic. Grigor Dimitrov, currently 11th in the race to London leaderboard, beat Denis Istomin 6-3 6-3 to move into the second round while Frenchman Richard Gasquet beat compatriot Jeremy Chardy 7-6(7) 6-2. Gasquet’s second win in two meetings with Chardy pits him against Berdych who was swept aside by Novak Djokovic in the China Open final on Sunday. Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are together this week in Shanghai for the first time since Wimbledon having already secured their places at the London season finale. — Reuters
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Wenger won’t apologise for spat with Mourinho
London, October 6 Wenger and Mourinho had to be separated by fourth official Jonathan Moss and warned by referee Martin Atkinson as they squared up on the touchline following a bad tackle by Gary Cahill on Alexis Sanchez in the first half. Mourinho, who antagonised Wenger by flicking his tie, said he had stood his ground in his own technical area, which Wenger had encroached into. Asked if he had any regrets about his actions, Wenger said: “No, what is there to regret? I wanted to go from A to B and somebody confronted me before B without any sign of welcome.” Wenger was asked where he considered “B” to be. He replied: “Sanchez, to see how badly he was injured.” Asked whether he was behaving in the right way, Wenger responded: “I trust the press to teach me all the moral lessons in the next two weeks and I can accept that. I’m long enough in the game to see things the right way.” When he was asked again whether he would admit to pushing Mourinho he said: “You would see if I really tried to push (you).” Mourinho said it was not a situation for which he could be held responsible. “To be fair, I do so many wrong things in football, sometimes you lose emotion, but not this time,” he said. “This time I was just in my technical area and it was not my problem.” “It becomes heated because it’s a big game, big clubs, big rivals, an important match for both teams. These conditions make a game of emotions. After that, there are two technical areas, one for me, one for him. He was coming into my technical area to push the referee for a red card and I didn’t like that.” — The Independent Fabregas equals whole Arsenal team in assists
Arsenal supporters look away now. Cesc Fabregas now has seven assists in the Premier League this season after setting up Diego Costa in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over the Gunners yesterday, the same amount of assists in the league as the whole of the Arsenal squad in this campaign. Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere have all made just the one assist in the league. It could all have been so different. Arsenal had first option to buy back their former captain from Barcelona but Gunners manager Arsene Wenger decided to not take up the clause. The midfielder then moved to Chelsea for £27m. The 27-year-old’s sole trophy during eight years at Arsenal was the FA Cup in 2005. |
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Marussia driver Bianchi in a ‘critical but stable condition’
London, October 6 The Marussia driver went off the track at turn seven, where he collided heavily with a recovery vehicle that was already attending the crash scene of Adrian Sutil’s Sauber. Bianchi was left with serious brain injuries, and underwent a successful three-hour operation to alleviate a subdural haematoma. Speaking outside the Mie Prefectural General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi, FIA media delegate Matteo Bonciani described Bianchi’s condition as “critical but stable”. According to Sky Sports, Bianchi is not yet breathing unaided following the operation, which contradicts reports that emerged on Sunday night in France and the UK. “We’re not getting any official updates from the hospital but I understand that Jules is in a very critical condition, still fighting for his life, and I can clear up a couple of pieces of misinformation which have been picked up by the French media and a couple of outlets in the UK,” said Craig Slater of Sky Sports News. “I can confirm that Jules is not, unfortunately, breathing unaided. My understanding is that he is still relying on a respirator at this point to be able to breathe. I can also confirm that he has not undergone a second surgical procedure. My understanding is that he went through one medical procedure at about 11pm Japanese time and he has been intensive care since then.” The update comes after Marussia issued a statement on Monday morning thanking everyone for the “huge outpouring of support and affection for Jules and the team at this very difficult time”. It continued: “With regard to the communication of information concerning Jules’ medical condition, we will respect and be guided by the wishes of the Bianchi family.” — The Independent
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F1 safety back in the spotlight
London, October 6 Jules Bianchi’s accident at Suzuka has inevitably raised questions about what went wrong and what, if anything, might have been done differently. Some are already asking why the Japanese Grand Prix organisers did not move the race forward when it was clear an approaching typhoon would make conditions difficult, or stop it with the fading of the light. Others have wondered whether the sport can continue as an open cockpit formula, leaving drivers’ heads so exposed to danger. The use of lumbering recovery vehicles, of the kind that Bianchi crashed into, in exposed runoff areas may also have to be reviewed. Max Mosley, the former International Automobile Federation (FIA) president who was instrumental in pushing through safety improvements following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, felt what happened at Suzuka fell into that ‘freak’ category. “I can’t really fault any of the people involved,” he said. “For anybody to get hurt in modern F1, several things have to go wrong at once — a little bit like the aviation industry.” The FIA said in a statement on Sunday night at Suzuka that the marshals had displayed double waved yellow flags before the corner where Bianchi went off to warn drivers of an earlier incident involving Sauber’s Adrian Sutil. Double waved yellows are a signal to a driver to slow right down and be prepared to stop. Whether Bianchi saw those flags in the rain and poor visibility remains an open question, but the facts are that he lost control with the car crossing the runoff area and hitting the rear of the recovery vehicle as it was lifting the Sauber. No television footage was shown of the impact, but photographs indicated the roll bar had been ripped off. — Reuters
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Former F1 driver De Cesaris dies in bike crash
London, October 6 “All at McLaren send condolences to ex-McLaren #F1 driver Andrea de Cesaris, who sadly passed away today,” the British team said on Twitter. De Cesaris took only one pole position in his career, as a 22-year-old with Alfa Romeo at the USA West Grand Prix in Long Beach in 1982 — at the time a record for the youngest driver to qualify at the front of the grid. He finished second twice and made five F1 podium finishes in total. — Reuters
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Siliguri, October 6
Arsene Wenger said he would not apologise for shoving old enemy Jose Mourinho in the Chelsea manager’s own technical area during today’s 2-0 defeat for Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Wenger and Mourinho had to be separated by fourth official Jonathan Moss and warned by referee Martin Atkinson as they squared up on the touchline following a bad tackle by Gary Cahill on Alexis Sanchez in the first half.
Jules Bianchi is said to be in a “critical but stable condition” following his horrific crash at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday that has left him with serious head injuries.
Usain Bolt at Oktoberfest in Germany