NAIROBI, Oct 10: Pakistan start as firm favourites against New Zealand in their semi-final in the one million dollars ICC Knockout Trophy at the Nairobi Gymkhana Club grounds here tomorrow........more

South Africans
strangle England

NAIROBI, Oct 9: An unbeaten 132-run partnership between Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar was enough to overwhelm a modest target as the South Africans handed out a crushing eight-wicket defeat to England in the last quarter-final of the ICC Knock-Out Cricket Tournament here today.....more

Missing nationals can
go against selection in
Indian team: Selectors

NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Indian tennis non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan and national selection .....more

Pak Board calls
for World Cup
match-fixing probe

KARACHI, Oct 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the country’s President to order a ....more

By Sanjeev Sharma

JAMMU, Oct 10: Although they are unhappy with the facilities being provided to them, yet the top Indian .............more

TCC beat Singh
Cricket Club in
league tourney

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 10: Tiger Cricket Club defeated the host Singh Cricket Club in the Flood........more

Sher-e-Kashmir Gold
Cup Football Tourney
from Nov 15

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 10: Third All India Sher-e-Kashmir Gold Cup Football Tournament.........more

Girls MS Narwal
Payeen excel in
painting contest

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 10: Government Girls Middle School, Narwal Payeen, zone Satwari excelled in the tehsil level .......more

Hockey team of the Government High School, Bhour Camp, Jammu, who won Inter-school Hockey Tournament under-17 year category organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports. Also seen in the picture are the Headmistress, Mrs Agaya Kumari Sharma and coach of the team, Mr Harbans Singh.

Pak starts as firm favourites against New Zealand

NAIROBI, Oct 10: Pakistan start as firm favourites against New Zealand in their semi-final in the one million dollars ICC Knockout Trophy at the Nairobi Gymkhana Club grounds here tomorrow.

Though both have reached the semi-finals with big wins, Pakistan and New Zealand are at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their cricket. While Pakistan are a bunch of talented but moody players-capable of breathtaking displays on their day, New Zealand personify efficiency in their approach.

Roger Twose, man of the match against Zimbabwe yesterday with a battling 85 that turned the team’s fortunes, typifies the New Zealand approach. It must, however, also be said that they have a player like Craig McMillan in their ranks, but he is the exception rather than the rule in Stephen Fleming’s team.

For Pakistan, Wasim Akram was at his best against the Sri Lankans. With the pitches here aiding the seamers generously, he utilised the conditions superbly and though he went for a few runs when Sanath Jayasuriya was throwing his bat about, the left-arm seamer was a constant threat and received excellent support from Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdur Razzak.

Saeed Anwar was the other eye-catching performer against Sri Lanka and given the way he and Yousuf Youhana gathered the runs in their match-ending 105-run stand, the New Zealand attack will have its hands full. The fact that Inzamam-ul Haq and Ejaz Ahmed never even got to bat underlines the dominance of the Pakistani performance and they are more than capable of pulling it off again.

New Zealand, on the other hand, were on the backfoot in their match against Zimbabwe till twose and McMillan pulled the side to safety. Openers Nathan Astle and Craig Spearman are a talented duo but there is something about this Pakistani attack-which does not even seem to miss someone like Waqar Younis - that promises difficult times for the Kiwis.

Adding to New Zealand’s woes is the injury to Chris Cairns that saw him hobble through an innings of 13 and then send down just one over. A match winner in his own regard, any problem to the burly allrounder means a problem for his side and unlike Zimbabwe, Pakistan will be a much hotter package to handle.

Overall, it is difficult to see the Kiwis denying Pakistan its place in the final. On paper, Pakistan are a better side in terms of the depth of batting while their attack is probably the most varied one in world cricket at the moment. However, nothing can be taken for granted in cricket as India showed by eliminating Australia, and a match is never over till the last ball is bowled. Teams (from): Pakistan: Moin Khan (Capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Ejaz Ahmed, Yousuf Youhana, Faisal Iqbal, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq, Saqlain Mushtaq and Arshad Khan. Coach: Javed Miandad. New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (Capt), Geoff Allott, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Craig McMillan, Dion Nash, Chris Nevin, Adam Parore, Craig Spearman, Scott Styris, Roger Twose and Paul Wiseman. Coach: David Trist. Umpires: David Shepherd (Eng) and Dave Orchard (RSA). 3rd umpire: S Venkatraghavan (Ind). Match referee: Raman Subba Row (Eng). (UNI)

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NO—P-9=\SC BOX

No change in Pak

team for semis

NAIROBI, Oct 10:

Pakistan skipper Moin Khan has made

up his mind about the options and the strategy he is to adopt against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ICC Knock out Cricket Tournament here tomorrow.

"We are going to play with the same combination (as on Sunday) and we are going to bat first if we win the toss," he said here today.

Moin Khan was of the opinion given his bowling strength, the Kiwis are always going to be under pressure if his team is able to put up a decent score first. Also, Pakistan has not looked too comfortable chasing targets of late.

He rated his team’s chances against New Zealand as very good. "We feel very confident about our chances against them. Man-to-man, we are superior but you can’t really tell in a one-day game. Things do change quickly".

South Africans strangle England

NAIROBI, Oct 9: An unbeaten 132-run partnership between Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar was enough to overwhelm a modest target as the South Africans handed out a crushing eight-wicket defeat to England in the last quarter-final of the ICC Knock-Out Cricket Tournament here today.

Set to score 183, South Africa completely dominated the England bowling attack and coasted to 184 runs losing just two wickets with 10.5 overs to spare to set up a semi-final clash with India on Friday.

The highlight of the South African innings was the unbroken third wicket stand between Kallis and Dippenaar, which never allowed England any chance of consolidating on the early fall of opener Andrew Hall (1).

Kallis (78 not out) and Dippenaar (65 not out) got together at the fall of Gary Kirsten, who was brilliantly caught by hick at slip off Craig White for a well-made 32 with the total on 52.

The duo hit all over the ground, punishing anything loose and were helped by some sloppy fielding by the englishmen.

Dippenaar, playing with a straight bat, impressed with his sound technique and hit nine fours and two sixes, the second off Craig White to finish off the match in style.

Dippenaar played copybook shots, scoring mostly by driving between gaps and lofted only when spinner Paul Grayson, making his debut at the ripe age of 31, pitched it short.

Man-of-the-match Kallis, on the other end, continued his aggressive play and reached his 50 off 59 balls. Once dippenaar also crossed the landmark, both batsmen cut loose and runs began flowing for South Africa.

Kallis hit 10 fours in his 110-ball knock. The unbeaten 132-run stand was the highest for a South African pair against England for the third wicket.

Earlier, electing to bat, England, barring a fifth wicket stand of 65 between topscorer Graeme Hick (65) and Andrew Flintoff (25), was never comfortable against the South African pace attack. Indeed, such was the dominance of the bowlers that openers Marcus Trescothick (26) and Alec Stewart (18) could manage just five runs off the first eight overs.

Trescothick, dropped by wicket-keeper Mark Boucher early in his knock, played some fluent shots and looked impressive.

He hit Shaun Pollock for a four and a six in the same over before Pollock got it even by having him caught by Allan Donald at long on. His knock included one six and three fours.

Donald struck twice in quick succession to dismiss captain Stewart and Nasser Hussain (5) and it was left to Hick and Flintoff to take the innings to a big total.

However, Klusener took a splendid catch to dismiss Flintoff. Hick, till he lasted, looked in sublime form but once he was out, caught by hall off Kallis, for a 65 that included nine fours England’s innings all but folded.

Pakistan take on New Zealand in the first semi-final of the tournament tomorrow.

Brief score:

England: 183 all out in 44.1 overs.

South Africa: 184 in 39.1 overs.

Result: South Africa wins the match by 8 wickets. (PTI)

Missing nationals can go against selection
in Indian team: Selectors

NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Indian tennis non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan and national selection committee chairman Shyam Minotra feel the "present trend" of top players missing the nationals "can negate their chances of being included in the Asia Cup or the Davis Cup teams".

Speaking to UNI, the duo, who have responsibility of selecting the national team, admitted that the "trend was now changing" with the nationals becoming a "showcase for freshers."

"Obviously, now more and more top players are choosing to play overseas, at the cost of the nationals, for collecting ATP points to boost their rankings. I can say that despite their having proven their merits here, a place into the Indian team would not be a cakewalk and due weightage would be given to the person, even a newcomer, who wins the nationals," Minotra said citing the example of last year winner Sunil Kumar who was included in the Davis Cup team.

The nationals, which began here on Monday, finds many players conspicuous by their absence. These include the illustrious Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, Davis cuppers Prahlad Srinath, Syed Fazaluddin, Harsh Mankad, Nirupama Vaidyanathan and Manisha Malhotra. Even defending champion Sunil Kumar made a last-minute entry here, deciding against playing in an overseas ITF tournament.

Minotra and Ramesh, however, agreed it was not wrong to play at tournaments abroad.

"Well, everybody wants to earn ATP points. Besides, with so many satellite and other challenger events in the country itself, they also have immense opportunity to show their game," Minotra said.

Ramesh said the trend could also be attributed to the amount of prize money given in India.

"Well, the less amount of money can also be a factor for the present trend."

He said if the AITA wanted, it could also make players turn up for such events.

"The AITA is the tennis governing body here. If it takes a serious of this, players may turn up here. As an example you can see the teams of Sweden and Australia."

Mr Ajay S Shriram, vice-chairman and Managing Director of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL), the company which has been organising the nationals from 1991, said it did matter for a sponsor if top players were playing or not.

"Definitely, if we are sponsoring an event, we would like the country’s best to play here. Otherwise, it does not become too appealing for a corporate to associate itself," Mr Shriram admitted. (UNI)

Pak Board calls for World Cup match-fixing probe

KARACHI, Oct 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the country’s President to order a judicial investigation into allegations of Pakistani involvement in match-fixing during last year’s World Cup.

"The Chairman of the PCB Tauqir Zia has requested the patron of the PCB to order a judicial inquiry into the allegations of betting, gambling and match-fixing concerning the World Cup 1999 matches of Pakistan against India and Bangladesh," said a PCB statement released late last night.

The PCB patron, Pakistan President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, has not commented on the request.

Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 61 runs in a first-round match in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, while india defeated their arch-rivals by 47 runs at Old Trafford in a super six stage game, prompting critics at home to call for an investigation.

Pakistan still reached the final of the tournament played in England, but lost by eight wickets to Australia.

It was the most one-sided loss in the 24-year history of the competition and led to accusations of indiscipline against Pakistani players as well as allegations of match-fixing from fans and local media.

The latest call for an inquiry comes after another judicial investigation into possible corruption in the Pakistani game recommended that a number of test players be either fined or banned. (REUTERS)

Unhappy with the facilities by Govt
Top Indian wrestlers aim at Olympics, Asian gold

By Sanjeev Sharma

JAMMU, Oct 10: Although they are unhappy with the facilities being provided to them, yet the top Indian wrestlers have started aiming at gold medal in the Asian and Olympics Games.

Two of these wrestlers, who acquire number one position in their respective weight categories in the country, were invited in Jammu for participation in the Dhangal (wrestling competition) at Akhnoor, near here.

Talking to EXCELSIOR , well build 19-year old Rajeev Tomar, who has recently won the Bharat Kesri title with a prize of Rs one lakh, said that whatever he is earning, is just being spent on his daily diet.

Tomar, who is a heavy weight (Plus 97) contestant and with a wrestling background, had won silver medal for the country in the Junior Asian Championship which was held at Almatti in Kazakistan in 1998. He has also won the prestigious Mahabharat Kesari title, besides Rajeev Gandhi Gold Cup.

Another budding wrestler, Surjit Maan (22) is Asian Championship bronze medalist and consecutive fourth time senior national gold medalist in his weight group of 76 kg. He is a winner of titles including Bharat Kumar, Haryana Kumar, Sher-e-Hind, Aftab-e-Hind and Jaswant Kesri.

Both these young wrestlers felt that they can win medals in the Olympics and Asian Games provided they get proper patronage of the Government. "We need dieticians, physiotherapist, Gymnasiums and other facilities at the coaching centre for the overall growth’, they pointed out. Howver, despite lack of these facilities at present, they are still aiming to clinch medals at the top sports meets at the international level.

The costly heavy diet also worries these wrestlers, who used to spend Rs 15,000 to 16,000 per month exclusively for the maintenance of their health.

These cool and calm wrestlers felt neglected by the ‘so called’ sports promoters and the Government for not being provided with the latest practice equipments and guidance by the experts.

The third wrestler, who was part of the guests wrestlers arrived for the ‘Dhangal’, was Naresh Kumar. He is also a national level wrestler and has to his credit a number of titles in the light weight groups.

Their coach, Mahasingh Rao, who also accompanied them informed that both these top wrestlers of the country belongs to Guru Hanuman Akhada at Subzi Mandi, Subash Nagar in Delhi.

In this Akhada, he said that over 100 students from all over the country are getting training. Most of these trainees belonged to the North-Indian region border belt between Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Mr Rao further informed that earlier, Maharashtra had an upper hand in wrestling, but now the scenario has been changed and Delhi has created an edge over other states.

These reputed wrestlers of India were in Jammu on the invitation of Shiv Kumar Sharma, president and technical committee chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Indian Style Wrestling Association. Earlier, the wrestlers were received by Mr Sharma at the Railway Station and brought to Akhnoor.