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India seek to reverse slide, Tendulkar to bat at No 4 BRISBANE, Jan 9: Demoralised after a 0-3 test series defeat against Australia, India will aim to regain their ...more
Lara close to tears WELLINGTON, Jan 9: Brian Lara was looking like a broken man today after New ...more
Hair’s outburst BRISBANE, Jan 9: Indian cricket coach Kapil Dev today criticised controversial ....more |
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J&K
Players’ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Jan 9: The convenor of Jammu and Kashmir Players’ Forum, Mr Chandan Singh Chowhan has appealed the Sports Minister, Mr Surjit Sigh Slathia to construct sports stadium at Samba..........more Godhi Memorial Cricket Excelsior Sports Correspondent AKHNOOR, Jan 9: Mohalla Chowgan Cricket Club (MCCC) today defeated Adults Cricket Club by five wickets to enter the quarter-finals stage in the Godhi Memorial Cricket Tournament being played at Government Higher ....more Sungali Mandi wins Harisingh Memorial Volleyball tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent SAMBA, Jan 9: Sungali Mandi won the Harisingh Memorial Volleyball Tournament beating . .....more ATP Gold Flake Tennis CHENNAI, Jan 9: Fourth seed Jerome Golmard of France made a late charge to beat Markus Hanstschk. ......more Banned Akhtar back with three-wicket burst BRISBANE, Jan 9: Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar today made a stunning return to international cricket less than . .....more |
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India seek to reverse slide, Tendulkar to bat at No 4 BRISBANE, Jan 9: Demoralised after a 0-3 test series defeat against Australia, India will aim to regain their poise when they gear up against arch-rivals Pakistan bolstered by the return of express paceman Shoaib Akhtar in their opening day-night tie of the triangular one-day cricket series here tomorrow. Skipper Sachin Tendulkar has decided to drop to number four in the batting order to shore up the batting which proved brittle in the test series and V V S Laxman, whose majestic 167 in the final test at Sydney helped him come into the limited overs squad, is likely to open. Laxman is most likely to pair with left-hander Saurav Ganguly with 30-year-old Samir Dighe, who will make his India debut tomorrow, kept as a stand-bye for the taxing role. India, who beat Pakistan by 47 runs in a World Cup super league tie in England last June when the two teams last met, will have to face the fury of tearaway Shoaib Akhtar whose ban for suspect bowling action has been lifted for this tournament by the game’s world governing body, ICC. We have faced him before, it’s nothing new, Tendulkar said as the Indian team held nets at the gabba a couple of hours prior to the start of the opening tie in the tournament between Australia and Pakistan. Both Tendulkar and coach Kapil Dev admitted the players were a bit low after the reverses against the Aussies, but the skipper said his side was talented enough to get over the disappointment. I don’t doubt the ability of my players, said Tendulkar, but the Indians will have to put up a vastly improved show if they are to compete well against their two opponents to make up for the disastrous tour down under so far. Playing their first one day tie of the year, India will have to face a Pakistani side buoyed by the return of Akhtar, whose one-month ban for chucking was partially lifted by ICC, which allowed him to play here. Indian batsmen have not played the Rawalpindi Express very convincingly since he made an impressive entry into international cricket early last year and will have their task cut out against speedsters in rival captain Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, besides all-rounder Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mehmood. Both Ganguly and Dravid, who failed miserably in the test series, will have to come good if India are to do well in the triseries and offset problems, including controversies over decisions by Australian umpires, Darrell Hair in particular. The Indian bowlers who failed to make an impression on the Australian batsmen also have their task cut out. Pacemen Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and leg spinner Anil Kumble look certain while Debashish Mohanty and Ajit Agarkar will be in the race for the third seamer’s spot. The batting should be bolstered by the arrival of veteran all-rounder Robin Singh and off-spinner Nikhil Chopra as India strive to reclaim the confidence of their fans back home. Wasim Akram’s team is also smarting from a 0-3 whitewash by Australia and have entered the tournament having lost all three of their build up games. Pakistan hold an impressive 47-27 record from 78 matches against India, but Akram said I would say both teams give their 100 per cent on a cricket field and it is always exciting to play against India. Akram said he would be keen to erase memories of the defeat at Old Trafford during the World Cup. But India can gain confidence from the fact that they have done well against their neighbours in Pakistan. In 1985, India beat them in the final to claim the world series championship. In the 1991-92 World Cup, India’s beat their arch-rivals in the league before Pakistan recovered and went on to claim the title. Indians will be wearing coloured clothing with numbers on it and skipper Tendulkar, who normally prefers number 10, has this time opted for 99 though the Indian skipper said he was not superstitious. Teams: India (from): Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Saurav Ganguly, V V S Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Robin Singh, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Jacob Martin, Samir Dighe, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Nikhil Chopra, Sunil Joshi, Venkatesh Prasad and Debasish Mohanty. Pakistan (from): Wasim Akram (capt), Saeed Anwar, Mohd Wasim, Abdur Razzaq, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Azhar Mehmood, Shoaib Malik. Umpires: Steve Davis and Simon Taufel (both Australia). (PTI) |
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Lara close to tears after Windies defeat WELLINGTON, Jan 9: Brian Lara was looking like a broken man today after New Zealand hammered the West Indies by eight wickets in the fourth one-day international. The West Indies’ captain seemed close to tears after the match. Lara said the WeIt indies did not belong on the same stage as New Zealand. "I think people would be happier if we were giving 100 percent. I don’t think we are giving 100 percent. Everyone of us is hurt and there is no one to blame but ourselves." He was asked what he believed he could do to help West Indian cricket when he returned to the Caribbean. "It’s too tough to answer that now," he said. Nathan Astle and Roger Twose led New Zealand home on Sunday with a third wicket partnership of 149 as the demoralised tourists put in their worst fielding display. Three straight-forward catches were dropped. Astle was missed by Wavell Hinds at long-leg at 26, Twose by Reon King at mid-off at 18 and Astle again gave long-leg a chance, this time Jimmy Adams, when it was almost all over and he was on 63. Adams had earlier pulled off a stunning catch, leaping high at square leg to dismiss New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming for 10 after Craig Spearman again went in the first over. The West Indians struggled in their turn at bat. The pitch was much slower for them and only Sherwin Campbell got to 30 in another disappointing effort. Chris Harris emphasised the West Indies’ problems when he finished his bowling spell with the figures of 10-3-15-1, which earned him the man of the match award. (REUTERS) |
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Hair’s outburst needless: Kapil BRISBANE, Jan 9: Indian cricket coach Kapil Dev today criticised controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair for his outburst against the Indian and Pakistani teams for reported comments that racism had influenced decisions by Australian umpires. Who said the word racial or that the decisions (were influenced by racism)?, Asked Kapil Dev when asked to react to Hair’s strongly worded statement at the match referee’s meeting here two days ahead of the tri-series tournament. Kapil Dev said if neither the Indian or Pakistan camp had attributed racial motives to decisions handed down by the host umpires what was the need for Hair to come out with such a statement, which said the two teams should either specify their grievances or shut up. But the Indian coach said he would rather concentrate on the job at hand in the tri-series than join issue with hair. Indian tour manager, Mahender Bhargava has denied his team had complained to Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm speed over the host umpires’ stand. Basically whether we are satisfied or not, we are not allowed to comment because it is not in the right spirit. We had a meeting and everybody agreed the series should be played in good spirit. We have come here to play cricket, Bhargava said. But Aussie skipper Steve Waugh defended Hair by saying his reading out the statement was fair. As long as you’re open and you can discuss these things, it is much better than whispering behind closed doors. They (umpires) probably should get more respect, he added. (PTI) |
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J&K Players’ Forum demands sports stadium at Samba Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Jan 9: The convenor of Jammu and Kashmir Players’ Forum, Mr Chandan Singh Chowhan has appealed the Sports Minister, Mr Surjit Sigh Slathia to construct sports stadium at Samba. He said that tehsil Samba has produced various national and international level sportspersons, but nothing was done for the tehsil in the field of sports so far. Chandan further said that for routine practice, the players used to come to MA Stadium in Jammu as they have no place for practice enroute. So, they lost most of the time in to and fro. The Forum urged the Minister, who has recently took over the Sports Department and also hails from the same tehsil, to provide the budding players a place to practice by constructing sports stadium in the town. Later, the Forum also held a meeting which was attended by Messrs Ranjeet Singh, Sanjeev, Ajay, Gurvinder Singh, Lucky, Preeti, Vikram Jamwal, all from Jammu and Shyam Singh and Varinder Singh from Samba. |
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ATP Gold Flake Tennis CHENNAI, Jan 9: Fourth seed Jerome Golmard of France made a late charge to beat Markus Hanstschk of Germany to clinch the singles title at the ATP Golf Flake Open Tennis Championships here today. Golmard, who lived up to his billing in beating Hantschk 6-3, 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in 150 minutes, was richer by 54,000 US dollars, while the German collected 31,500 US dollars along with glittering Gold Flake trophies. Hantschk’s performance in going down fighting proved the depth in the men’s circuit these days. Making his first ever appearance in the final of an ATP tour event, Hantschk displayed the rise of Germans in this popular game. The fact that Golmard was on at least ten occasions passed on his right by Hantschk to win rallies proved the German’s superior variety but the German’s weak serve proved his undoing. Neither of the finalists were prepared to take chances but Golmard was the best on the day as his plan to keep the ball in play and wait for mistakes by his rival paid off in the first set. Hantschk was broken in the very first game and was erratic most often. He did come up with few worthy winners but never showed any consistency and gave away negative points. The German, who had the satisfaction of breaking the Frenchman in the fourth game, was broken in the first, seventh and ninth games as Golmard won the first set 6-3 in 44 minutes. The second set was a different story. Golmard, a regular at Chennai after playin in all the four editions, found his rhythmic first serves success and volleyied well for points. In fact, Golmard, who had only eight aces in the match as compared to 10 by Hantschk, was authoritative in winning four of his five services games at love (6-5). But Hantschk, despite committing silly errors, showed his tenacity and fought his way back to take the set to tie break, where he led 6-4. A good return of serve that passed Hantschk gave Golmard the advantage but a superb passing shot to the forehand corner by Hantschk put him ahead again (7-6). Golmard then messed up an easy volley with Hantschk rooted to the baseline to give the set to the German at 7-6 (8-6). The two continued to stay at the baseline in the decider, though Golmard charged to the net on a few occasions but failed to volley successfully most often. The first four games of the decider went with serve, though Habtschk had to work harder to earn points, always coming from behind to hold serves. Golmard was in sight of victory when he broke Hantschk in the seventh game. A tiring Hantschk played brilliantly to save four break point but double faulted on the next to give Golmard a 4-3 lead. The Frenchman held his serve and then broke his rival in the ninth game on second championship point. ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar gave away the trophies and prizes to the winner and runner-up. (PTI) |
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Banned Akhtar back with three-wicket burst BRISBANE, Jan 9: Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar today made a stunning return to international cricket less than 24 hours after his suspension for an illegal bowling action had been lifted. Akhtar claimed the wickets of Ricky Ponting, captain Steve Waugh and Adam Dale to help Pakistan beat Australia by 45 runs in the day-night opening match of the triangular limited overs series at the Gabba. The International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended Akhtar for one month after its advisory panel ruled his action was illegal, citing his bouncer and extra fast delivery as being of specific concern. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) challenged the decision, and the ICC lifted the ban for the tri-series on the basis that bouncers were called as no-balls in the limited overs game, so therefore it would be best to let Akhtar play. Incredibly, Akhtar did not arrive at the Gabba until after the match had started. He was more than than 3,500 kilometres away in Perth preparing to catch a flight home to Pakistan when the ICC decision came through yesterday. Akhtar boarded a plane in Perth at 5.45 a.m. on Sunday and arrived in Brisbane a quarter of an hour after his captain Wasim Akram had won the toss and decided to bat to give his paceman time to recover from the flight. Akhtar did not need to bat as Pakistan recovered from a poor start but made his mark with the ball, taking two wickets in his first spell. "I knew there was nothing wrong (with my bowling action), Akhtar told reporters on his arrival at the ground. "I’m thankful to my God, thankful to my team mates, my manager, my skipper and my Board. They backed me up all the way." Australian skipper Waugh welcomed the ICC’s decision to allow Akhtar to play, but slammed the way the whole episode had been handled. "It’s a joke," Waugh said. The capacity crowd of 37,500 also gave Akhtar a rousing reception when he was introduced into the attack, although not everyone was happy. Former Australian captain Bob Simpson, a member of the ICC panel that decided Akhtar’s action was unlawful, said he was astonished that ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya had cleared the Pakistani without consulting the whole panel. Simpson said the panel had concluded that the bouncer was just one part of Akhtar’s action that worried them. "I’m a little shocked about the whole thing. Myself and the other committees would like to see some answers coming through," Simpson said. "The view of the panel was that it wasn’t just the bouncer, it was also his faster delivery and it was unanimously agreed that his action needed remedial work." (REUTERS) |
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