Shane Warne

Four wicket Warne
presses recall claim

SYDNEY, Jan 5: Shane Warne pressed his claims for an Australian recall with a four for 53 haul in ........more

Windies grab early wkts
to scare Aussies

SYDNEY, Jan 5: Mahendra Nagamootoo and Ridley Jacobs gave the maligned West Indies hope .......more

ATP Gold Flake Open
Unseeded players
to the fore

CHENNAI, Jan 5: An unseeded player or a qualifier will emerge champion on Sunday in the ATP .....more

Bajpai for action against
erring associations

MUMBAI, Jan 5: Strict action against concerned associations for fielding over-age players will be .......more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 5: International skaters, Paramvir Singh Bhatia and Ankush Kohli, who participated in the 34th Roller Hockey World Cup held in ......more

46th National School Games
Assam kick-out J&K to join
Delhi, WB, UP in semis

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 5: Assam—last year’s bronze medalist and one of the side in race for the title, today kicked-out ....more

RCC beat Gorkha
Nagar Club to
enter quarters

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 5: Raipur Cricket Club (RCC) defeated Gorkha Nagar Cricket Club by 94 runs to enter the quarter-finals......more

Arrangements finalised
for Winter Sports

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

LEH, Jan 5: Arrangements for holding the Winter Sports in Leh were finalised in a meeting which held under....more

Four wicket Warne presses recall claim

SYDNEY, Jan 5: Shane Warne pressed his claims for an Australian recall with a four for 53 haul in his comeback first-class match in Perth today.

The leg-spinner, out of action since breaking a finger in October, was playing for Victoria in their interstate match against Western Australia.

Warne, hoping to return for Australia in the forthcoming limited-overs series against West Indies and Zimbabwe, swung the match Victoria’s way after Western Australia appeared to be gaining the upper hand.

His four wickets helped Victoria dismiss the hosts for 235. Victoria were 146 for three in their second innings at the close, 165 ahead with two days remaining.

Title-holders Queensland extended their lead at the top of the championship by completing a massive victory over Tasmania in Hobart.

After trailling by 356 on first innings, Tasmania were bundled out for 212 second time around to slump to defeat by an innings and 144 runs.

South Australia were also in a commanding position at the halfway stage of their four-day game with New South Wales in Adelaide.

South Australia reached 428 for nine declared after captain Darren Lehmann took his overnight score of 131 to 146. NSW were then reduced to 244 for eight by the close after veteran spinner Peter McIntyre captured five for 102.(REUTERS)

Windies grab early wkts to scare Aussies

SYDNEY, Jan 5: Mahendra Nagamootoo and Ridley Jacobs gave the maligned West Indies hope of preventing Australia claiming an unprecedented 5-0 series clean sweep with a spirited display in the fifth and final test today.

Nagamootoo, hidden from the previous four test thrashings as the tourists pursued an all-out pace attack, and wicketkeeper Jacobs cracked half-centuries to leave Australia with a testing 173 runs to chase for victory.

At the close, Australia, after their 15th straight win, had reduced the target to 129 runs at 44 for two with Michael Slater not out 18 and Mark Waugh on three.

The nerves were jangling in the Australian camp when Matthew Hayden was out in the second over, shouldering arms and trapped lbw for five by one that came back from Colin Stuart.

Justin Langer followed him back to the pavilion when Courtney Walsh got him lbw for 10 in the seventh over to take his 494th test wicket and leave the home side a shaky 38 for two.

Earlier, Nagamootoo cracked 68 off 99 balls in only his second test, while in-form Jacobs slammed a pugnacious 62 to spark the revival.

Nagamootoo was the surprise packet. The 23-year-old Guyanese legspinner topscored and for a time had visions of an unheralded century such was his command of Australian attack.

But after smashing Colin Miller over the top for four he went for the same shot on the next delivery only to slice to Hayden at deep mid-off to end a fabulous innings and standing ovation from the appreciative Australian crowd.

Jacobs, who was left stranded on 96 in the second Perth test, put on 78 runs for the seventh wicket with Nagamootoo after adding 85 for the sixth wicket with the rejuvenated Ramnaresh Sarwan.

The Muscular Antiguan, one of the few success stories of the Caribbean tourists’ wretched campaign down under, crashed nine boundaries in his 128-ball stay before he was lbw to part-time offspinner ming across the line.

Sarwan, who had scored just three in five previous innings, gave a glimpse of what he was capable of with some fine shot-making until he was beaten by movement off the pitch to edge Glenn McGrath to Adam Gilchrist. His 51 came off 114 balls in 143 minutes with six fours.

It was with some relief for the anxious Australians that their ‘blue-rinse’ offspinner Miller polished off the West Indies resistance with 3-1 off six balls, with the scalps of Nagamootoo, Nixon McLean (15) and Stuart (4).

Miller finished with 4-102 for six wickets in the match.

World record wicket-taker Courtney Walsh, playing in his final test in Australia, was given an emotional ovation as he came out to bat and be greeted by a respectful guard of honour from his applauding Australian opponents.

Walsh, who will be trying to extend his wicket tally in Australia’s second innings, remained one not out. Resuming at 98 for one after trailing by 180 runs on the first innings, the West Indians lost four wickets and were 112 for four after the opening half-hour.

Brian Lara was the prized wicket. In an intriguing personal battle, he clouted legspinner Stuart Macgill for three consecutive fours and went for a fourth boundary only to sky a catch to miller at deep mid-on.

But Miller made a horrendous hash at the two-handed catch spilling the ball with lara on 26.

Lara became more circumspect after his amazing let-off, yet Miller, mortified by his fielding clanger, redeemed himself soon after.

He had the master West Indian batsman caught at the wicket by Gilchrist for 28 off 36 balls.

Captain Jimmy Adams’ dismal series continued when he was lbw to McGrath for five which triggered a collapse of three wickets in five balls. Marlon Samuels was out next ball, leaving his pad in front of the wicket and being trapped lbw for a duck — the team’s 28th of the series.

Sarwan saw off Gillespie’s hat-trick and flourished with his best innings of the summer.

SCORECARD:

West Indies 1st Innings 272

Australia 1st Innings 452

West Indies 2nd Innings S Campbell c Gilchrist b Gillespie 54 W Hinds b McGrath 46 J Adams lbw b McGrath 5 B Lara c Gilchrist b Miller 28 M Samuels lbw b Gillespie 0 R Sarwan c Gilchrist b McGrath 51 R Jacobs lbw b M Waugh 62 M Nagamootoo c Hayden b Miller 68 N McLean c M Waugh b Miller 15 C Stuart lbw b Miller 4 C Walsh not out 1 Extras (b5, lb10, nb3) 18 Total (all out, 116.5 overs) 352

Fall of wkts: 1-98, 2-112, 3-112, 4-112, 5-154, 6-239,7-317, 8-347, 9-351. Australia 2nd innings M Slater batting 18 M Hayden lbw b Stuart 5 J Langer lbw b Walsh 10 M Waugh batting 3 Extras (lb4, w1, nb3) 8 Total (2 wkts, 10 overs) 44

Fall of wkts: 1-5, 2-38.

Bowling: Walsh 5-0-20-1, Stuart 3-0-18-1, McLEan 2-1-2-0.(AFP)

ATP Gold Flake Open
Unseeded players to the fore

CHENNAI, Jan 5: An unseeded player or a qualifier will emerge champion on Sunday in the ATP Gold Flake Open as four unheralded players made it to the semifinals of the championship here for the first time.

In quarter-final matches today, qualifier Kristian Pless of Denmark defeated Romanian Adrian Voinea 6-1 7-5 while Andrei Stoliarov quelled Peter Wessels of the Netherlands 1-6 6-3 6-2.

Pless has set up a semifinal clash with unseeded Michel Tabara of the Czech Republic while Stoliarov will meet Tommy Robredo of Spain.

Tabara defeated the last seeded player on view, third seed Cedric Pioline, 6-4 6-1 in 59 minutes in the first quarterfinal on Centre Court.

Robredo disposed of qualifier Cyril Sauliner (Fra) 6-2 6-1 in another quarterfinal.

In the Pless-Voinea match, the unassuming Pless had an easy run of play in the first set, which he won allowing his rival to take just one service game.

In the second too, he led 3-0 but the Romanian, ranked 93 on the ATP list, turned the tables with superb court craft and his huge forehand returns started working wonders.

Voinea took the fifth game at love and then broke pless to reduce the gap. However, Pless, with two breaks against one, kept up the momentum and concentrated on holding his service games. He then led 6-5 and finished the match in style on serve with an ace in the 12th game.

The ATP tour management’s decision to have the new season start on the new year day in three venues, Chennai, Doha and Sydney, have proved successful for the lesser ranked players. In all the three tournaments, the well known players have done badly, leaving the field to upcoming opponents.

Meanwhile, world chess champion Viswanathan Anand was honoured at the Centre Court by IMG. (PTI)

Bajpai for action against erring associations

MUMBAI, Jan 5: Strict action against concerned associations for fielding over-age players will be suggested at the cricket board’s executive committee meeting in Delhi on January 22, board joint secretary Jyoti Bajpai said today.

Bajpai, who is also convenor of junior cricket, told reporters here the board was very firm and serious about eradicating this menace in the junior teams (under-14, 16 and 19).

The over-age issue gained significance especially after six of the Rest of India (Under-19) players, who were tested by Dr Mukund Joshi here yesterday, were found over-age.

Rest of India is playing a three-day game against the visiting English lads at the Mig Club here.

‘I have received nine protests during the Cooch Behar (Under-19) league stage so far against teams like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Vidharbha and Punjab and our immediate job is not only punish the boys involved but also the associations they belong to’, he added.

‘I do not rule out instances in the under-15 and under-19 national sides having over-age players in the past but now we want to be very strict about it and have set up board doctors to examine the players at Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai’, Bajpai said.

Dr Joshi told PTI here that the six players found over-age were Arindam Das and Subhomay Das (both from Bengal), Rest’s skipper Kashinath Khadkikar of Maharashtra, Gaganinder Singh and Gagandeep Singh (both from Punjab) and Maninder Singh of Madhya Pradesh. (PTI)

International skaters felicitated

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 5: International skaters, Paramvir Singh Bhatia and Ankush Kohli, who participated in the 34th Roller Hockey World Cup held in London, were honoured by the Roller Athlete Skating Club, here.

Mr Avinash Bhatia, MD, United Colors of Benetton, Jammu, who had sponsored one of these players, was the chief guest. He also gave away mementos to the skaters.

President of the Roller Athlete Skating Club, Arya Vir Singh Jandrahia speaking on the occasion appreciated the role of the sponsors for encouraging the budding talent of the State through their sponsorship.