Hansie Cronje

‘Cronje may be prosecuted’

DURBAN, June 29: South African Department of Sports today said disgraced former cricket captain Hansie Cronje could still be prosecuted for his involvement in match-fixing despite the King Commission of inquiry not having recommended such a course of action. ......more

Wimbledon Championship
Explosive trio, grass novice in draw hot-spot

LONDON, June 29: Three of the biggest servers in the game and a Spanish seed who is a grasscourt novice occupy one intriguing quarter of the men’s singles draw - and the man left standing. . ...more

‘Dubbing match fixing ‘Asian flu’ smacks of racialism’

NEW DELHI, June 29: Match fixing and betting in cricket is not an "Asian flu’ and the blame on the subcontinent for the menace smacks of racism still pervading the ‘gentleman’s game’, ...more

South Africa looks
back on ten years of unity

JOHANNESBURG, June 29: South African cricket will look back on more positives than negatives while celebrating ten....more

J&K Karatekas win
15 medals in national
Karate meet

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 29: Jammu and Kashmir Karate team, which took part in All India Karate Tournament at Shimla organised by Tenshinkan Karate-Do Federation, has returned with 16 medals.....more

Ist Hot Weather Tamar Cup
Dogra, Shastri Club reach semis

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 29: Dogra Cricket Club and Shastri Cricket Club have qualified for the semi-finals of the Ist Hot Weather Tamar Cup Cricket Tournament winning respective quarter-finals played at M A Stadium, here today.....more

Hanan beats NIYC in opening tie of Rudra Cup Cricket

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 29: Hannan Cricket Club won the inaugural tie of the Rudra Cup under-19 Cricket Tournament beating New India Youth Club (NIYC) by seven wickets at Green Fields ground, here today.......more

State Thang-Ta Champ begins

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, June 29: The Minister for Home and Law, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone declared open the State Thang-Ta Championship at Bakshi Stadium, here yesterday.......more

Director General of Police, Mr A K Suri speaking at prize distribution
function (left) and Karatekas in action (right). Excelsior/Ashok

‘Cronje may be prosecuted’

DURBAN, June 29: South African Department of Sports today said disgraced former cricket captain Hansie Cronje could still be prosecuted for his involvement in match-fixing despite the King Commission of inquiry not having recommended such a course of action.

A private TV channel, which claimed to have a copy of the final report of King Commission, last night said Cronje had not been recommended for prosecution by the Commission.

But Graham Abrahams, spokesperson for Sports Minister Mgconde Balfour, today said the report will have to be studied by National Director of Prosecutions who will take a final decision in this regard.

"There is no clarity at this stage whether he will be prosecuted or not", Abrahams said.

The Justice Edwin King Commission of inquiry, which probed match-fixing in South African cricket, is to submit its final report to the Government today.

Cronje was expected to get indemnity if the Commission expressed its satisfaction with the credibility of his testimony. However, the King Commission reportedly expressed its inability to give an opinion on his credibility.

"Prior to the commencement of the Commission’s hearings, an agreement was reached whereby the National Director of Public Prosecutions conditionally indemnified Cronje from criminal prosecution. The Commission was required to express to the national director an opinion on Cronje’s credibility," the final report of King Commission reportedly says. (PTI)

Wimbledon Championship
Explosive trio, grass novice in draw hot-spot

LONDON, June 29: Three of the biggest servers in the game and a Spanish seed who is a grasscourt novice occupy one intriguing quarter of the men’s singles draw - and the man left standing could find himself in the Wimbledon semifinals.

Seven-times champion Pete Sampras and local hero Tim Henman should emerge from the top quarter of the draw.

Pat Rafter, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Yevgeny Kafelnikov are fancied to reach the semifinals from the bottom two sections.

But the remaining quarter features crowd-pulling third round matches today between Andy Roddick and Goran Ivanisevic, and Juan Carlos Ferrero and Greg Rusedski.

Spaniard Ferrero and American Roddick are first-timers at the All England Club but both are playing themselves into form.

Ferrero, a claycourt specialist who threatened to boycott Wimbledon because of the seedings controversy, has taken quickly to grass and overcame former semifinalist Jason Stoltenberg in five sets on Wednesday.

He will hope to embarrass his British opponent, a serve-and-volley exponent, from the back in the first match on centre court.

"I’ve won two matches on grass - I enjoy it," said Ferrero, who, before arriving at Wimbledon, had lost the only match he had ever contested on the surface."

"I have a chance because I am serving well and playing well from the baseline. But I will go to the net when I can as well. It will be interesting."

The French Open semifinalist will try to give as many tickets to Spanish fans as possible in an attempt to compete with the support generated for Rusedski, the hometown favourite.

Rusedski, who reached the last eight here in 1997, is a big-serving left-hander who is on an upward curve after his season last year was decimated by injury and loss of form.

"I’ve matured as a player and a person," said Rusedski after his 6-1 6-3 6-4 defeat of Zimbabwean Byron Black in the second round. "But my serve is as good as ever and I improved my return of serve today."

Roddick’s clash with Ivanisevic will provide the first "must-see" match of the tournament - a showdown between the past and future of Wimbledon tennis on court one.

Croat Ivanisevic is probably playing his final tournament at the All England Club and is a popular figure who suffered the disappointment of losing finals in 1992, 1994 and 1998.

Roddick, 18 and helped by a mentality that refuses to acknowledge caution, beat Swede Thomas Johnasson 7-6 6-1 4-6 7-6 in his second round match.

While his style of play - huge serves and effortless volleying - mirrors that of Ivanisevic, the two are separated by 11 years, a generation in tennis terms.

Roddick was still playing baseball as a nine-year-old when Ivanisevic was losing to agassi in the 1992 final.

"One of my favourite matches I remember was goran losing to andre," Roddick said. "I thought that was a really cool match."

Ivanisevic, who turns 30 in September, has endured a wretched 12 months but his Wimbledon magic has returned just in time.

"I have dreamed recently that I could come back here and do well," said Ivanisevic. "(Roddick) is a great kid. He’s going to be the future of tennis."

The survivor from this section should meet either 13th seed Arnaud Clement of France or Marat Safin in the quarter-finals -neither of whom would make them lose much sleep.

Russian fourth seed Marat Safin plays German David Prinosil in the third round on court 18 and Clement takes on Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands on court 14.

Safin advanced on Wednesday when Canadian qualifier Daniel Nestor retired with an ankle injury leading 6-7 6-3 2-1 - the first time he has reached the third round at Wimbledon.

The U S Open Champion has been struggling for form throughout this year and is talking down his chances.

"If he (nestor) had not retired when he did, it would have been a big problem to beat him," said the 21-year-old.

"All I can now do is look forward to my next match. You cannot make big plans for this tournament when you’re actually not playing very well." (REUTERS)

‘Dubbing match fixing ‘Asian flu’ smacks of racialism’

NEW DELHI, June 29: Match fixing and betting in cricket is not an "Asian flu’ and the blame on the subcontinent for the menace smacks of racism still pervading the ‘gentleman’s game’, says a latest book.

Since the sordid saga of match fixing unfolded last year with the Hansie Cronje episode, five Indian players and as many as nine foreign cricketers have been implicated.

"Players indeed are guilty but more guilty are the officials. The investigating agencies should study the life-styles of the officials connected with ICC and boards of the member-countries," says sports writer K R Wadhwaney in his latest book "cricket’s murky underworld."

In a separate chapter on icc, accusing it of racism, Wadhwaney says: "They consider the subcontinent as the centre riddled with bribing and match fixing ... But it is these ‘whites’ who are unable to resist the temptation of pocketing ill-gotten money."

"Indeed, there may be more betting syndicates in the subcontinent than, say, pubs in New Zealand, UK and Australia, but it is these ‘whites’ who have shown their fallibility and vulnerability."

The writer accuses the icc of converting into a commercial outfit. "It is a hot bed for politics instead of administering and promoting cricket." he says money through TV has been the root cause for the majority of evils plaguing the ICC.

He points out the corruption among officials as the root cause of the mess. "Players’ indulgence in match fixing is because of lax control by officials. Some of them are even more corrupt than the players."

Giving an example, he says for chief of South African Cricket Board Ali Bacher knew about the attempt to fix the 1996 India-South Africa match (Mohinder Amarnath benefit tie) in Mumbai. "Why did he not take any action then? why cannot he be penalised for keeping the lid on that sin, if not crime?"

He also refers to the alleged cover-up by the Australian Cricket Board of their wrongdoings by Shane Warne and Mark Waugh who are said to have given information to bookies on payment.

The writer describes justice Chandrachud Committee, set up by Board of Control for Cricket in India when the allegations first surfaced in India, as "eye wash" and says it was prejudicial to Manoj Prabhakar who had levelled the allegations.

The author has also dwelt on the turmoil in Pakistani cricket in the wake of the match fixing allegations and devotes separate chapters on Kapil Dev, who was eventually given a clean chit by CBI, and Mohammad Azharuddin on whom the BCCI has imposed a life ban. (UNI)

South Africa looks back on ten years of unity

JOHANNESBURG, June 29: South African cricket will look back on more positives than negatives while celebrating ten years of unity this weekend.

The game was divided along racial lines in South Africa before unity between the administrative bodies representing black and white players was achieved on June 29, 1991.

That paved the way for the national team’s return to international action in India later that year after 22 years of isolation.

South Africa were thrown out of world cricket in 1970 as a result of the racist policies of the apartheid government, which the then whites-only electorate voted into power repeatedly from 1948 until universal franchise was implemented in 1994.

Leading figures in the game have been invited to attend a dinner at a resort in the Pilansberg, near Pretoria, on Friday, followed by an Indaba (Conference) on Saturday and Sunday.

"The purpose of the indaba is to reflect on the transformation process since 1991, and in particular since the national vision conference in 1998," the United Cricket Board (UCB) said in a statement yesterday.

"Delegates will assess and audit the progress of transformation and map out strategies for a common way forward."

"... The road towards unity was a long and hard one, characterised by acrimonious meetings between former enemies focused on healing wounds and burying hatchets."

"But eventually the South African Cricket Board (SACB) and the South African Cricket Union (SACU) merged with a single goal of ensuring cricket would represent all South Africans."

In the ten years since unity, South Africa have enjoyed success on the field by winning 39 of the 84 test matches they have played while losing only 15.

Of 229 one-day internationals, they have won 143 and they have reached one quarter-final and two semifinals in the three World Cup tournaments they have contested.

The country has delivered some of the most exciting and universally recognised players the game has to offer, including electrifying fielder Jonty Rhodes, pace bowler Allan Donald and batsman and fielder Herschelle Gibbs.

But South Africa was also the focus of cricket’s darkest days when former national captain Hansie Cronje admitted in April last year to being involved in the match-fixing scandal.

Cronje was banned from the game for life, while Gibbs and seamer Henry Williams were suspended and fined for accepting offers of bribes made to them by Cronje.

South African cricket has recovered impressively from that crippling saga, and under new captain Shaun Pollock the national team has won seven of 14 tests and 23 of 36 one-day internationals.

But the unification process is seen in many quarters as incomplete, as shown by the racial quotas enforced in team selection at first-class level and the fact that only a sprinkling of black cricketers have played for the national side since 1991 despite an intensive development programme aimed at unearthing black talent.

"Unity in cricket will never be complete because South African society is not unified," the president of the UCB, Percy Sonn, told Reuters from Pretoria. "But we must continue on the course we have set for ourselves. We are seeing results."

"I think the UCB has done well since its birth and the teams that have represented us have done our country proud," UCB chief executive Gerald Majola was quoted as saying in the statement. "I look forward to the party on Friday night as well as to the Indaba, in which we can really assess how far we have come and look ahead to where we are going." (REUTERS)

J&K Karatekas win 15 medals in national Karate meet

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 29: Jammu and Kashmir Karate team, which took part in All India Karate Tournament at Shimla organised by Tenshinkan Karate-Do Federation, has returned with 16 medals.

The 24-member team of the State won four gold, two silver and nine bronze medals four-day tournament. In all, 735 participants from 16 States took part in this tournament.

State team, which bagged the 2nd best team, was trained by Senpai Brijesh Bhau, Ist don Black belt.

On their return, the Tenshinkan Karate organised a prize distribution and cash awards function. In this function, Director General of Police, Mr A K Suri was the chief guest, who honoured the players for their achievement.

Dr S P Vaid, chairman of the Tenshinkan Karate was also present on the occasion.

The medal winning team included Aadhar Koul, Anchal Sharma, Pardeep Parihar and Sankalp Kamal (gold), Sehar Gupta, Mayank Gupta (silver), Shayaan Aslam Bhat, Riyaz Ali, Vivek Mengi, Sambhav Koul, Arnav Gupta, Abhay Parihar, Raghav Mahajan, Rakesh Kumar and Goutam Dhaluja, all bronze medals.

Others, who got participation certificate were Arjun Gupta, Shashank Khullar, Gurmeet Singh, Vansh Malhotra, Akash Mahajan, Aman Sharma, Gopal Dass, Azhar and Gaurav Jain.