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| Aussies to test
Indians’ home domination SYDNEY, Feb 12: India have some important factors in their favour to extend 30 years of home dominance over the touring Australian cricket team. ........more ICC says new allegations tarnish player reputations MELBOURNE, Feb 12: International Cricket’s anti-corruption chief today said weekend press reports detailing allegations of bribery and match-fixing were unsubstantiated and tarnished player reputations......more Steve Waugh praises crackdown on cricket corruption MELBOURNE, Feb 12: His twin brother still a target for match-fixing investigators, Australia’s skipper Steve Waugh today praised the.....more Jammu Sector beat Ramban to lift Hockey title Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 12: Jammu Sector today lifted the Inter-Sector Hockey Championship beating Ramban Sector by 3-1 in tie-breaker in the final which was held at BSF Stadium, Paloura Camp, here .....more |
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Challenger’s Cup Cricket
Tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 12: Good bowling show by Shamsher and Satwant helped Vishal Cricket Club down Jammu Young’s Cricket.......more Sandipan takes KOLKATA, Feb 12: Grandmaster norm holder Sandipan Chanda of Goodricke National Chess Academy took the second spot after scoring a convincing victory over Grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski ........more Condon terms match-fixing SYDNEY, Feb 12: Fresh allegations against four West Indian cricketers being involved in match-fixing were ridiculed by the.......more Waugh seeks answers Melbourne, Feb 12: Senior Australian batsman Mark Waugh leaves tomorrow unsure of what awaits him from Indian cricket officials, fans, and possibly even.......more |
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Aussies to test Indians’ home domination SYDNEY, Feb 12: India have some important factors in their favour to extend 30 years of home dominance over the touring Australian cricket team. A key reason for Australia’s record-breaking success under Steve Waugh and coach John Buchanan has been its careful scrutiny of an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and planning to counter or exploit them. But on this month’s Indian tour the Aussies will go in against a well-prepared Indian team bolstered by new coach John Wright and consultant Geoff Marsh. Wright has already been lauded by captain Sourav Ganguly for his input at a pre-series training camp for India’s top 25 players. If anyone can teach the Indians to cope with Australia’s new-ball attack it will be the former New Zealand test opener. As predecessor to Buchanan as Australian coach, Marsh knows more about this Australian team than anyone else. He will be able to deliver valuable input which will only embellish the marked home advantage. Of 29 tests in India, Australia have won 9, drawn 11, lost 8 and tied 1. And home advantage means so much to the Indians. Forget their tour here last summer when Australia scored a 3-0 series win built on the ability of the pacemen to rip through the batting line-up. Waugh maintains the Indians don’t like - and have little experience - of fast bowling. But batting on Australia’s hard, bouncy pitches is one thing - the batsmen so terrified of Glenn McGrath and company when in Australia will be far more comfortable on the featherbed pitches expected in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. However, one Indian strength has been removed - mesmerising spinner Anil Kumble. The legspinner has a great record against Australia in India, where he has taken 32 wickets in four tests at an average of 17.06. Whole-hearted queensland fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz was the surprise selection in the 14-man Australian touring team announced last week. Kasprowicz won the final place in the squad, edging out legspinner Stuart MacGill and pacemen Andy Bichel, Don Nash and Nathan Bracken as the replacement for injured Brett Lee. The queenslander was rewarded for his heroic performances on Australia’s last tour to India in 1998 when he bowled to the point of exhaustion as a badly-undermanned side went down 2-1 in the series. On that tour Australia was without the three fast bowlers that will partner Kasprowicz on this tour - Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming - while Paul Wilson and Paul Reiffel both broke down mid-tour and Shane Warne was hampered by a shoulder injury. On that occasion he took 5-28 as Australia won its first test in India since its last series win there in 1969-70. Waugh said those efforts were not forgotten when it came to picking the squad, even though Kasprowicz has played only one first-class match since returning from a shoulder reconstruction. (AFP) |
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ICC says new allegations tarnish player reputations MELBOURNE, Feb 12: International Cricket’s anti-corruption chief today said weekend press reports detailing allegations of bribery and match-fixing were unsubstantiated and tarnished player reputations. Yesterday’s Observer newspaper in London said the International Cricket Council (ICC) had a new 13-page document that laid out a slew of accusations, including how four West Indian batsmen had thrown their wickets. "The article contained no new information and is a repackaging of unsubstantiated allegations relating to the 1980s," ICC anti-corruption unit head Sir Paul Condon said reading from a prepared statement in Melbourne. "The recycling of reports in the British Sunday Press has unfairly tarnished the reputations of players...," he added. The Observer had quoted ICC Communications Manager Mark Harrison as saying the information included "new names and certain new allegations". Condon said his team of investigators would vigorously pursue any new allegations. "But we will be equally vigorous in dealing with recycled speculation. The time has come for some journalists who are recycling this sort of information to put up or shut up," he said. Condon had been in Melbourne to address an ICC executive board meeting over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Australian newspaper today said that Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Malcolm Speed had requested assistance from Australian Foreign Affairs officials in case Indian police sought to interview Mark Waugh during Australia’s tour to India beginning later this week. Waugh met ACB and ICC anti-corruption investigators in Melbourne on Saturday when he again denied a claim that an Indian bookmaker paid him 20,000 dollars for information at a six-a-side tournament in Hong Kong in 1993. West Indies batsman Brian Lara and Waugh were among nine non-Indian players named last year in an Indian police report into match-fixing as having connection with bookmakers. Each of the players named in the report was identified by an Indian bookmaker, Mukesh Gupta. Lara denies any involvement in match-fixing and the West Indian Cricket Board had previously said it did not plan to investigate him. Condon said on Saturday plans were underway for individual boards to give all nine players the chance to speak about the allegations against them. (REUTERS) |
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Steve Waugh praises crackdown on cricket corruption MELBOURNE, Feb 12: His twin brother still a target for match-fixing investigators, Australia’s skipper Steve Waugh today praised the International Cricket Council’s moves to crack down on corruption in the game. "The game has got to be cleaned up, there’s been a lot of things that have happened over the past few years and something positive is being done about it," Waugh said during a meeting in Melbourne of eight of cricket’s 10 test captains. Waugh was joined at the annual captains’ conference by the skippers of West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The captains of England and India did not attend. The captains’ conference followed a series of meetings and briefings in Melbourne by top cricket officials, including ICC anti-corruption chief Sir Paul Condon. Since former South African captain Hansie Cronje last year admitted receiving money from an Indian bookmaker, players from eight nations have been accused of having accepted money in a scandal that has rocked the sport. "It’s not going to be solved overnight," Waugh told reporters. "It’s going to be a process that’s going to take a while, but we’ve got fully professional people looking after what’s going on and I’m sure in the long run it’s going to be better for the game. "It’s not really a matter of how long it takes, it’s whether they can do the job fully... They’ve got all intentions of doing that and they’re on the right track." The Australian cricket team is scheduled to fly out tomorrow on a tour of India. (AP) |
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Jammu Sector beat Ramban to lift Hockey title Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 12: Jammu Sector today lifted the Inter-Sector Hockey Championship beating Ramban Sector by 3-1 in tie-breaker in the final which was held at BSF Stadium, Paloura Camp, here . In the stipulated time, the final ended in a 1-1 draw forcing it to decide the fate of the match through tie-breaker rule. In the tie-breaker, Jammu Sector registered victory by a margin of two goals. Mr A K Sethi, DIG, was chief guest in the final, who gave away winners and runners-up trophies. |
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Challenger’s Cup
Cricket Tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 12: Good bowling show by Shamsher and Satwant helped Vishal Cricket Club down Jammu Young’s Cricket Club by 65 runs and sailed into the last four stage in the Challenger’s Cup Cricket Tournament organised by the Sonnet Cricket Club at Parade ground, here today. Earlier, Raman Thaploo did a good job for Jammu Young’s by clinching four important wickets of Vishal. But, event then Vishal batsmen gathered runs and stand a fighting total. Vishal made 175 runs losing all the wickets in 28.1 overs in the 30 overs match, which in turn Jammu Young’s could not attain and bowled out for 110 runs in 19.5 overs. Ajay Bhatti was the top scorer with 33 runs which included one six and two boundaries. He was followed by Vikrant Taggar who scored 31 runs. Rajesh Gill and Dheeraj contributed 18 and 19 runs respectively. Extra added 40 runs. Medium pacer Raman Thaploo shattered the Vishal innings, and restrained them from making a big total by taking four wickets. Inderjeet claimed two wickets. Batting second, Jammu Young’s lost all the wickets in 19.5 overs at a score of 110. Kapil was top scorer with 38 runs off 38ball with the help of eight boundaries. While, Sanjay Sharma remained unbeaten at 23 (off 19, 3x4, 1x6). For Vishal Club, spinners Shamsher Singh and Satwant Singh shared three wickets each, while Rakesh took two and Ravi one. On the basis of his crucial wickets, Satwant was declared as man of the match. The tournament, organised by the Sonnet Cricket Club, is being held under the supervision of Ashwani Sharma, organiser of the club. |
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Sandipan takes second spot in Open Chess Tourney KOLKATA, Feb 12: Grandmaster norm holder Sandipan Chanda of Goodricke National Chess Academy took the second spot after scoring a convincing victory over Grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski of Israel in the 7th round of the 12th Goddricke International Open Chess Tournament here today. Grandmaster Joseph Gallagher of Switzerland became the sole leader on 6 points after capitalising on a blunder by GM Villamayor Buenavent of Philippines. Sandipan held the second position on 5.5 points. Sandipan stole the show on an otherwise dull day for Indian aspirants with a thumping victory today. Playing white the Calcutta teenager steered the game to unknown territory in the Berlin defense employed by Mikhalevski. Sandipan surrendered the bishop pair to gain spatial advantage in the middlegame and then launched an attack against the black king. In mutual time pressure Mikhalevski failed to produce the best defensive resource and Sandipan S Pawn marched in to his camp with decisive threats. The GM called it a day on his 41st move. Gallagher was lucky to score over buenavent from a completely harmless position arising out of a catalan opening game where the former was black. Soon after the opening buenavent who had an undisputable slight advantage, went berserk with his rook and left the open queen file to allow a tactical reposte that spelt his doom. Gallagher cashed in on this chance and won easily. Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua drew with GM Maxim Sorokin of Argentina in the Italian game with white pieces. Sorokin appeared well armed after seeing Barua S game against Vladimirov yesterday and produced a new idea in the fianchetto set up. Barua had to give the bishop pair to get some attacking possibilities on the king side but a fine retreat of pieces to the base rank ensured sorokin a level position. The draw was soon agreed to taking both players to 5 points. The other players to share the third position on 5 points are top seed GM Alexei Kharlov of Russia and International Master Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh. Kharlov came back in reckoning after a few initial hiccups and gave a masterly display in the Panov Botvinnik variation of the Caro Kann defense against double GM norm holder G B Prakash. The opening gave Kharlov a substantial edge and he slowly exerted pressure on the kingside to romp home. Ziaur played a fine game to beat GM Igors Rausis of Latvia from an irregular opening with white pieces. Gurpreet Pal Singh continued to impress with his solid play and held Grandmaster Tomasz Markowski to a creditable draw from the white side of a Sicilian defense game. Gurpreet has 4 points and has chance to make his maiden im norm. The clash between WGM norm holder Koneru Humpy and WGM S Vijayalakshmi ended in latter’s favour with some skillful pieceplay in the Reti opening while Nassir Wajih held GM Abhijit Kunte to a draw. (UNI) |
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Condon terms match-fixing claims against Windies old SYDNEY, Feb 12: Fresh allegations against four West Indian cricketers being involved in match-fixing were ridiculed by the International Cricket Council saying they were old and unsubstantiated. ICC’s anti-corruption unit head Sir Paul Condon today categorically denied the allegations were related to any of the matches played in Australia this season. He said the claims of a "stack of fresh allegations", published by the observer newspaper of London, related to matches in the 1980s. "The article contained no new information and is a repackaging of unsubstantiated allegations relating to the 1980s," Condon said in a statement issued in Melbourne, where he addressed ICC’s executive board meeting over the weekend. "The recycling of reports in the British Sunday Press has unfairly tarnished the reputations of players involved in the Australian series." The allegations were made in a 13-page document submitted to ICC and reported by The Observer. Sir Paul renewed ICC’s pledge to stamp out corruption. "We will vigorously pursue any information about the full range of matters we are investigating," he said. "But we will be equally vigorous in dealing with recycled speculation. The time has come for some journalists who are recycling this sort of information to put up or shut up." It had been alleged an Australian woman doctor became a top West Indian bowler’s mistress and paid players large fees for information that earned her a fortune, and that the director of an Australian Building Society doubled as a bookmaker, recruiting cricketers. (PTI) |
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Waugh seeks answers on Indian probe Melbourne, Feb 12: Senior Australian batsman Mark Waugh leaves tomorrow unsure of what awaits him from Indian cricket officials, fans, and possibly even the local police. Waugh departs with the Australian team aware of a report that Foreign Affairs officials are on alert to help if Indian police seek to interview him in connection with allegations that he had accepted money from local bookmaker Mukesh Gupta. Waugh’s manager Leo Karis confirmed today the Australian Cricket Board had kept his client informed on whether he could face any inquiries about the allegations in the CBI report. Australian captain Steve Waugh said today his brother Mark would be "a little apprehensive" but he expected him to be well informed on what he could face before the tour. "He would have spoken to his lawyers and the cricket board and I’m sure they’ll sort something out before he goes so he knows exactly what’s going to happen and what will confront him over there to put his mind at ease," said Steve. ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed said the Department of Foreign Affairs believed it was unlikely Waugh would be sought for an interview by Indian police but the department was available to help if needed. Waugh again refuted Gupta’s allegations that he took money in return for team, pitch and weather information when he was interviewed by ACB anti-corruption investigator Greg Melick here at the weekend. Waugh has enjoyed a golden summer in the home test and one-day series, despite unrelenting pressure over Gupta’s allegations, but he may get a more hostile reception from cricket-mad Indian crowds who have already turned on their own players caught up in cricket’s match-fixing scandals. Aside from the issues with Mark, Steve Waugh said there was no particular concern about security on the Indian tour beyond those in previous trips to the country. "Every tour we go on now we generally have security people with us so that’ll probably be the same in this tour," Steve Waugh said today. "Indian authorities I’m sure are going to look after us as well, but you can’t guarantee everything. "I’m sure they’ll do the best they can and I hope there aren’t any incidents on tour." Waugh and captains of all test-playing nations except England and India met here today for one of their regular discussions associated with the ICC meeting. Nations big and small gave tentative approval to the ICC proposed ten-year calendar and the creation of an ongoing ranking of test nations with a trophy for the top team. The calendar stipulated all ten test nations play each other home and away over five years, ensuring a crowded calendar. (AFP) |
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