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To play or not to play...
Hughes’ sister comforts shaken Abbott
Isn’t the BCCI accountable to people and govt?
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Phil tragedy turns the focus on home truths
Indian super league
Colaco banned on bribe charge
iptl: manila leg
Pele improving, still in intensive care
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To play or not to play...
Sydney/New Delhi, Nov 28
“Everyone wants to know about cricket and when it goes on, and what’s happening,” Sutherland said in Sydney on Friday. “We all love cricket and no one loved cricket more than Phillip. Cricket will go on, and it will go on when we’re ready. To be honest, we haven’t broached that subject with the players yet.” “We will in time. To be honest, they’ve got other things on their mind,” he added. “I know for many people, seven days doesn’t seem very far away, next Thursday, but in other ways it’s a million miles away. We’ll get there when we can.” ‘Playing not the focus’
Pat Howard, CA’s general manager of team performance, said that right now, playing cricket is not the focus. “We’re not going to talk about the first Test,” Howard said. “We know it’s there. What we’re focused on is today. We’ve brought the whole team in. The Australian Test team is here. Today is about grieving, about dealing with the questions. “We need to make sure the players are in the position where they can make strong choices, and that’s not now. Any choices (will be made) with the Hughes family and where they are and involving them, and that’s obviously not now either,” he added. “We’ll do whatever we can, whatever the players need to deal and cope with this. We’ll do whatever we can to help and support the Hughes family. We’re going to focus on people first rather than the cricket.” Four players named in the Australian Test squad — David Warner, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson and Nathan Lyon — were on the field when Hughes collapsed after being hit by a bouncer from Sean Abbott. ‘He’d want game to go on’
“I can remember just in the last few hours, conversations with Phillip’s father, telling me just how much he and the family love cricket, and Phillip loved cricket more than anyone,” Sutherland said. “He would want nothing more than for the game to continue, but as I said before, the game will continue at Test level, when we’re ready.” In India, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said: “I am in constant touch with my Cricket Australia counterparts. We want them to first get over the trauma. After that we can decide on the fate of the first Test.” In Sydney, a friend of the Hughes family was quoted by Australian media as saying that the cricketer would “want them to bat on”. “We all got together near Phillip’s home and spoke about that topic; we all said Phillip would want them to bat on,” said Anthony Miles, close friend. He would appreciate and be very humble for the respect everyone is showing and he would be flattered, but Phillip would be saying ‘Come on, let’s bowl the next ball’.” “They (authorities) have got a grieving process to go through just like we do. We said we’ve got to go back to work, and those cricketers’ jobs, they need to keep on moving because Phil would want that,” Miles said. “He wouldn’t want them to stop and be mournful.”
– Agencies |
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Isn’t the BCCI accountable to people and govt?
New Delhi, November 28 According to the IPL rulebook, if a team official is found indulging in corrupt activities like betting and fixing, the franchise can be terminated. The court went to the extent of terming Meiyappan’s leaking team information as “insider trading”. Further, the court raised questions over Srinivasan’s own conflict of interest. The court wanted to know the exact shareholding pattern of India Cements, the owners of CSK. It is only natural that the cricket-lover looked towards the Supreme Court for deliverance. Several politicians, MPs, Central ministers and chief ministers from various political parties are literally prostrating before the BCCI’s top bosses for important positions. It’s no surprise that over the years, various questions asked by me in Parliament have been stonewalled. The cosy club in BCCI never cared about the government. Government reply
Let me highlight the government’s reply to my starred question on November 25: “The BCCI is an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act. Recognition has not been granted by the government. However, given that the ICC recognises the BCCI as the apex national federation responsible for promotion of cricket in India, a team selected by BCCI is considered as the Indian team. The ministry only grants the BCCI permission to participate in international events and for holding international matches in India at no cost to the government. This is subject to clearances from the ministry of external affairs from a political angle and the ministry of home affairs from the security one. “During the past, controversies surrounding the BCCI, including betting and match-fixing in the IPL, have come to the notice of the government. Various agencies of the government, like Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and Directorate General of Service Tax, have conducted probes. “That the BCCI is a public body — refer to Section 2(h) of the RTI Act — was raised before the Central Information Commission (CIC) which, in turn, sought the views of the government. This government has already made written submissions to CIC on December 16, 2011, and January 9, 2012, pleading to bring the BCCI under the RTI Act. The CIC issued a notice for hearing the matter on July 25, 2013. The BCCI then filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court. The court ordered an interim stay of all other proceedings.” On the basis of this, the following questions arise: 1 Selecting players to represent India is a state function. Why should it be left to a body that’s not recognised by the Indian government? 2 The fact that the BCCI requires political approval from the external affairs ministry and security clearance from the home ministry means that the government can exercise control over the BCCI. So why does it seem so helpless? Is it not true that powerful politicians do not allow any control over this uncontrolled body? 3 Is the BCCI not accountable to Indian people or to the government? Several government agencies have carried out long-drawn probes against the BCCI, but no action has been taken. 4 It is surprising that despite its intent to bring the BCCI under the RTI Act, even the CIC seems to be helpless. What steps have been taken by the CIC or the government to get the stay in the Madras High Court vacated? I bet the cricket-lover would love to get some
answers. The writer, a BJP MP, is a former India cricketer |
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Phil tragedy turns the focus on home truths
New Delhi, November 28 There are many first-class games, grade and age-group tournaments in India where there is no ambulance present and basic medical amenities are unavailable. In case of an emergency, an ambulance could take hours on ever-crowded roads to reach a ground and take an injured player to hospital. Last year, the BCCI had made it compulsory for every host association to have a physician and an ambulance on the ground. However, certain associations have not been able to follow the rule regularly. One such association is the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), which has neither been able to provide medical insurance to its club cricketers, nor to enter into a tie-up with hospitals for an ambulance service. Thousands of club cricketers around Delhi play with little or no medical facilities at hand. There is rarely an ambulance present in first-class or Grade ‘B’ or ‘C’ cricket. Hughes’ tragic death prompted spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi to shoot off a letter to the DDCA president, Sneh Bansal, asking him to address these issues. “We have just seen how Phillip Hughes died after being hit by a rising ball. It’s important that we turn our attention to the thousands of club cricketers around Delhi who play with no medical attention,” Bedi wrote. “We can’t just let one of our own Delhi boy be at risk like this. DDCA should tie-up with an insurance company and arrange for medical facilities through a chain of well endowed hospitals to rescue a cricketer who gets injured while playing,” he added. When contacted, Bansal, also a vice-president of the BCCI, said: “The medical insurance policy for our club cricketers is under consideration and we will get it done within a month’s time. We have also decided to tie-up with city hospitals to provide ambulance service during the zonal matches.” |
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Hughes’ sister comforts shaken Abbott
SYdney, November 28 Megan sat with the devastated 22-year-old Abbott, who made his One-day and Twenty20 debut for Australia in October, to offer him support as family, friends and cricketers gathered at St. Vincent’s Hospital, where Hughes died. “Megan came and spent significant time with Sean. Obviously what Sean has gone through is an incredibly traumatic experience, as it has been for everyone present on the field that day,” said Australia team doctor Peter Brukner, adding that Michael Clarke also spent a lot of time with Abbott. Test veteran Jason Gillespie said Abbott has been greatly affected by the tragedy. “That lad is absolutely shaken and broken at the moment,” Gillespie told Fox Sports. Cricket Australia pledged to support Abbott. CA chief executive James Sutherland said: “I had a chat to him last night and I was incredibly impressed by the way he was holding himself and his maturity. “But the point is this not a moment-in-time thing. This is a grieving process that will affect people in different ways. What we will do and the relevant experts will do is provide Sean with the support he needs.”
— PTI |
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Delhi rout Mumbai 4-1 to stay alive
Sabi Hussain Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 28 The absence of André Francisco Moritz, Nicolas Anelka and Johan Letzelter hurt the visitors big time as their defence was shredded apart by Delhi’s strikers. In the eighth minute, Delhi’s marquee midfielder Dos Santos got a perfect pass from his teammate Mads Junker just inches away from the goalpost, but the No. 16’s shot was deflected out for a corner. Delhi’s more composed approach finally paid rich dividends when Hans Mulder scored through a neat cross by Henrique Dinis from the right flank in the 44th minute. Mumbai looked like an unsettled side in their own defence and allowed their opponents to sneak inside their box every now and then. In the second half, Delhi turned up with more intent and aggression as they capitalised on Mumbai’s sloppy defence. They swelled their lead to 2-0 when Mads Junker put a magnificent through ball inside the box in the 50th minute. Junker cleverly pushed the ball past Mumbai goalie Subrata Paul to find the net as the latter could only watch it helplessly roll past him. Delhi made it three in the 60th when a cross from Francis inside the 18-yard box found Santos alone in the D and he headed it in the top right corner. Mumbai did earn a consolation goal through Abhishek Yadav, who scored a field goal on his debut. But Delhi added more salt to the wounds when Manish Bhargav blasted it into the goal in the fourth minute of injury time to complete the rout.
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Colaco banned on bribe charge
Zurich, November 28 Colaco was found to have breached five articles of the FIFA ethics code during the AFC Congress in May 2009, when elections were held for one of the Asian places on the FIFA executive committee.
Colaco was banned from all football activity for three years by ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber headed by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, the statement said. The ban is effective from November 27, 2014. “Mr Colaco accepted a payment in the context of the elections for the FIFA Executive Committee at the AFC Congress in May 2009....while he was serving as the General Secretary and voting delegate of the All India Football Federation,” said the statement. The statement said the election was “won narrowly” by Mohamed Bin
Hammam, who was later banned for life over a cash-for-votes scandal in the run-up to the 2011 FIFA presidential election in which he had planned to
stand. FIFA said that Colaco violated ethics code rules on general conduct; duty of disclosure, co-operation and reporting; conflicts of interest; offering and accepting gifts and other benefits; and bribery and corruption.
Colaco told reporters on Friday: “I was nominated to attend the FIFA elections in 2009 and the decision to vote for Mohamed bin Hammam was taken by the
AIFF. It was not my decision.” Colaco was the AIFF’s first professional general secretary. He served two terms in this role before retiring in September 2009.
— Agencies |
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Brendon ton lifts the mood
SHarjah, November 28 The 33-year-old right-hander (153 not out) completed his 10th Test century, which came off 78 balls, as New Zealand reached 249 for 1 at close, replying to Pakistan’s first-innings total of 351. In the morning, Pakistan, leading the series 1-0, appeared distracted by the death of Hughes and lost their last seven wickets for 66 runs as off-spinner Mark Craig (7-94) completed his first five-wicket haul in Tests. The second day’s play was called off following Hughes’ death. The match resumed on Friday in a sombre atmosphere with players and officials observing a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for Hughes. The death was on everyone’s mind as the cricketers seemed to be going through the motions with barely a hint of celebration when wickets fell. McCullum, who struck 17 fours and eight sixes, helped lift the mood in the afternoon by smashing the bowlers to all parts of the ground. He added an unbeaten 198 in an unbroken second-wicket stand with Kane Williamson (76no). Brief scores: Pak 351 (Hafeez 197, Craig 7/94); NZ 249 for 1 (McCullum 153no, Williamson 76no)
— Reuters |
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Ana, Gael power Indian Aces
Manila, November 28 In the first match, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza put the Indian team ahead with a 6-4 win over Bruno Soares and Daniela Hantuchova. Fabrice Santoro then extended the lead for the team with a 6-5 win over Patrick Rafter in the men’s legends singles. However, Bopanna and Gael Monfils lost the men’s doubles match 2-6 to Nick Kyrgios and Tomas Berdych of the Singapore outfit. Singapore, thus, led 15-14. It was then that world No. 5 Ivanovic and Monfils played decisive singles matches – Ivanovic beat Hantuchova 6-0, Monfils crushed Lleyton Hewitt 6-1. “I’m really happy to be part of the team, it’s a great team,” Ivanovic later said. “We travel together, we interact with each other.” Though she won rather easily, Ivanovic said she was unsure about the format of the event. “I didn’t know what to expect, it’s my first time in this format,” Ivanovic said. “It takes time getting used to.” In the second rubber, UAE Royals beat Manila Mavericks 29-14. — Agencies
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SYdney, November 28
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