MUMBAI, Nov 15 : England skipper Nasser Hussain today said his team had no worries except.........more

Sehwag-hayward face-off
promises to be thrilling fare

PORT ELIZABETH (SOUTH AFRICA), Nov 15 : The face-off between South African pace demon Mornantau Hayward and India’s Virendra Sehwag...........more

Ganguly hopes to lead by
example in second test

PORT ELIZABETH, Nov 15: Short of match practice and struggling to find the right opening.......more

Martin, Joshi to
lead board Presidents
XI and India ‘A’

MUMBAI, Nov 15 : Middle order batsman Jacob Martin of Baroda and left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi of Karnataka will lead the Board ........more

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 15: Handball Association of Jammu and Kashmir has dissolved its adhoc body and elected new body with Mr Ramesh Mahajan as its new president.....more

Shoaib not to be treated
as a special case: ICC

LONDON, Nov 15 : Refusing to buy pakistan Cricket Board’s arguement that the suspect action of Shoaib Akhtar was due to an abnormality in his bowling arm, the International Cricket Council today confirmed that it would not treat the bowler as a special case......more

Gripper’s ton takes
Zimbabwe to a
comfortable position

DHAKA, Nov 15: Trevor Gripper (112) hit his maiden test ton to put Zimbabwe in a comfortable......more

No worries except Tendulkar: Hussain

MUMBAI, Nov 15 : England skipper Nasser Hussain today said his team had no worries except India’s batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar in the forthcoming three-test series and hoped that his young side would get used to the heat quickly.

"People may feel that we have an inexperienced side but I think this can be to our advantage and I have no worries except Sachin Tendulkar", the English skipper said here, a day after arriving for the 39-day tour.

Admitting that the three-test series would be a big challenge, the Chennai born Hussain said "the returns (from the tour) will be even more greater and satisfying".

"To bowl to guys like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman and face bowlers like Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh will be a good education.

"Many of us haven’t played these players. We are depending on video analysis to study them," Hussain said.

Hussain felt that it is for each player to get acclimatised to Indian conditions as early as possible and help each other out and that would not be difficult as the boys were young and enthusiastic.

" I would like the boys to play as much as possible in the heat and get acclimatised to the conditions soon," he said.

Asked whether the team had any game plan to tackle the Indian bowlers in general and the spinners in particular, Hussain said, "not really. We have watched Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad when they played in County cricket while we have seen a few video clippings of Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan and others and I think we are ready to face them."

Hussain, whose family was in Chennai before migrating to England, said his father wanted him to lead the side on a tour to India and feel the beautiful country.

"In fact, he (father) will be here to see me in action during the third and final test at Bangalore and hopefully for the Chennai one-dayer as we still have lots of relatives here," Hussain said. The skipper also said that he was more than happy with the security arrangements.

England coach Duncan Fletcher said the visitors would use the same tactics they employed successfully against Pakistan and Sri Lanka early this year to counter the Indian spinners, spearheaded by leggie Anil Kumble and off spinner Harbhajan Singh.

"How well my boys will be able to sort out the spinners will be known only during the test series", Fletcher added.

The coach did not agree with the view that team is playing too many three-day games before the start of the test series. "That is the pattern we follow and I think it is perfectly alright," Fletcher said.

On problems with the hot and spicy Indian food, which had affected the English players on their previous tours, Fletcher said " I don’t think we will have any problems with the food as we have handled this part (food) quite well in Pakistan and Sri Lanka where the food is almost similar to the one served here". (PTI)

Sehwag-hayward face-off promises to be thrilling fare

PORT ELIZABETH (SOUTH AFRICA), Nov 15 : The face-off between South African pace demon Mornantau Hayward and India’s Virendra Sehwag promises to provide an exciting fare as the two indulged in some good-humoured off-field sledging on the eve of the second cricket test here today.

Test debutant Sehwag, who scored a strokeful century in the first test at Bloemfontein, had rated Hayward a poor second to Australia’s champion paceman Glenn McGrath in a recent interview which left the eastern province express hissing in anger.

"I love it when a youngster has a mouth like this," said Hayward, a fast bowling Tornado who regularly touches 150kmph and is currently rated alongside Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan and Brett Lee of Australia among the fastest bowlers in the world. In his 105-run knock at Bloemfontein, Sehwag faced 38 deliveries from Hayward and scored only 17 runs. Importantly, 33 of these deliveries were dot balls with one racing to the third man while the remaining four were belted for boundaries past the off-side cordon. Hayward has taken exception to Sehwag’s seemingly harmless remark in which he has praised Glenn McGrath for his pace, control and movement while describing Hayward as an out-and-out fast bowler with little variation. "He is the fastest bowler I have ever faced in my life," Sehwag had said on Hayward in a recent interview. "But McGrath is a different fast bowler altogether."

Hayward, stung by the comparison, retorted, "Sehwag must remember I have a ball and I can do a lot worse damage with that."

The colourful Hayward, who regularly wears a beaded band around his neck "for good luck and charm" also said he did not think much of Indian batting, Sehwag included.

"I would say I only rate two Indians as top class batsmen and they are Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid," said Hayward, who scalped four frontline Indian wickets in the Bloemfontein match.

Hayward then chose to spoke about the chances Dravid and V V S Laxman had if they decided to open the Indian innings in the second test. "In my view Dravid should not open," said Hayward. "As for Laxman, he plays and misses too much to be a quality opener."

Hayward, who comes from a small town uitenhage in the eastern province, a town known for assembling big branded cars, said he could not wait for the second test to unroll. "I can’t wait for the test to start. It is green and it is lively and I would love to have a bowl on it," commented Hayward wryly.

Hayward, unlike the Indians, hasn’t been sitting idle. "I took part in a club game and my returns were alright...I had 8 for 30."

The bowler said he has never felt the need to cut down on his pace in a bid to gain more variation in his deliveries. "I have never felt the need for it. If I can beat the batsmen with pace why should I try to swing it"? (PTI)

Ganguly hopes to lead by example in second test

PORT ELIZABETH, Nov 15: Short of match practice and struggling to find the right opening combination, India have their task cut out as they go into the second test against South Africa, starting here tomorrow, chasing their first win in this country.

Captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision to take the bull by its horns and come in as an opener has already generated a lot of interest in both camps. With Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman reluctant to open the innings and connor Williams, who was flown in for the test series as a specialist opener, still untested after India’s both first-class fixtures were washed out, Ganguly decided enough was enough and announced his intention to open the innings along with Shiv Sunder Das.

" I am not an escapist. Whatever happens out there, I am willing to face," Ganguly said today. A regular opener in one-dayers, Ganguly has opened the innings just once in his 47 tests. But he said the need of the hour was to set an example, the captain has to take extra responsibility and lead by example," Ganguly said.

South African coach Graham Ford did not read too much into Ganguly’s decision. " It is an interesting choice... But we still have to get his wicket," he said. Ford said the Indian captain was a class player and "it doesn’t matter whether he comes at number one or six". Ganguly’s decision has removed a headache for Dravid, who has never been successful as an opener and flopped in both innings of the first test.

Now that he has been relieved of that burden, Dravid can be expected to play his usual pillar role in the middle order. Laxman too will have to advance beyond the attractive 20s and 30s and make a big score.

He has been throwing away his wicket after getting set and such suicidal instincts is doing no good either for him or to the team. Sachin Tendulkar was in ominous touch in that magnificent 155 he produced in the first innings of the bloemfontein test to rescue his team from deep trouble. As usual, his performance would be central to India’s prospects in the match.

India’s latest star Virendra Sehwag showed tremendous temperament and adaptability in compiling that debut hundred in the first test. He is in terrific nick and, coming at number six, lends solidity to the middle order.

The visitors are all set to include Harbhajan Singh in the side and go into the match with two spinners. The absence of the Punjab off-spinner in the first match was felt acutely as the Indian bowlers were thrashed by the home team. There were indications that Ajit Agarkar may be included in the eleven while both left-arm seamers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan would be left out. After the nine-wicket defeat in the first test, both coach John Wright and Ganguly had admitted that it was probably a mistake to leave out Agarkar, who had an impressive one-day series, and they look all set to rectify it.

Veteran speedster Javagal Srinath took a five-wicket haul in Bloemfontein and also completed 200 wickets in tests and is a certainty for tomorrow’s match.

Ganguly later shrugged away the lack of practice for his team and said the boys were ready for the match. " Even though we didn’t have much of practice due to rain, the boys are raring to go and we would try to win this test," he said. "Hopefully our bowlers would do a good job and we should be able to pile up important runs." Ford also said South Africa were not under-estimating the Indians after the comprehensive win in Bloemfontein. "In my opinion, India ran us very close which was not reflected in the eventual result. If India had made a few more runs in the second innings, it really could have become interesting towards the end," he said. Ford felt instead of becoming a handicap, the lack of practice could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Indians. " I am sure they are hungry and would come out blazing in the second test."

The South African coach said his team was not unduly concerned by the inclusion of Harbhajan Singh. "We have seen a fair bit of him in the practice game and in the one-dayers and have a reasonable idea what to expect," he said.

Even though the pitch looked overtly in favour of the pace bowlers, Ford said the spinners could play an important role. "When it is blazing hot, the medium-pacers do get tired and thus spinners have an important role in a five-day test." Ganguly felt the wicket at St. George’s Park was quite sporting. "It is a spongy kind of wicket but such wickets are good because they help the bowlers as well as encourage strokeplay," he said.

South Africa were planning to retain the same side that won the Bloemfontein test. There is a certain interest for the number five batting slot with Boeta Dippennar being handed a challenge in the form of young left-hander Jacques Rudolph who has been included in the squad.

Dippenaar, while welcoming the challenge, said he was not going to concede his position easily to anyone.

There was slight confusion in the home camp with paceman Mornantu Hayward said to be suffering from a mystery virus and being sent to a doctor for a check-up. Hayward was later declared to be fully fit.

"It was obvious he was not at all well so I sent him off to a doctor to find out what it is," said team physiotherapist Craig Smith. "It seemed to be some kind of virus. I suspected it might be food poisoning... I decided to play it safe and sent him to a doctor for a check-up."

Teams (from):

India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Shiv Sunder Das, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Virendra Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (capt), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil Mckenzie, Boeta Dippenaar, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Jacques Rudolph, Makhaya Ntini and Mornantau Hayward.

Umpires: Ian Howell and Russel Tiffin

Third umpire: Rudi Koertzen

Match referee: Mike Denness. (PTI)

Martin, Joshi to lead board Presidents XI and India ‘A’

MUMBAI, Nov 15 : Middle order batsman Jacob Martin of Baroda and left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi of Karnataka will lead the Board President’s XI and India ‘A’ teams to play the two three-day ties against England at Hyderabad (Nov 22-24) and Jaipur (Nov 27-29) respectively.

Off-spinner Sharandeep Singh, who switched over to Delhi from Punjab and Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer have been named in the Board XI team while Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir and Karnataka medium pacer Dodda Ganesh get chances to play for the India ‘A’ side, said BCCI Secretary and convenor of the selection committee, Niranjan Shah, here today.

The teams:-

Board President’s XI: Jacob Martin (capt), Irfan Pathan (jr) and Rakesh Patel (all from Baroda) Wasim Jaffer (Mumbai), S Sriram (Tamil Nadu), Dinesh Mongia and Pankaj Dharmani (both from Punjab), Sanjay Bangar and Murali Kartik (both from Railways), Rohan Gavaskar (Bengal), T Yohannan (Kerala), Sharandeep Singh (Delhi), Surendar Singh (Jammu and Kashmir) and R Druv (saurashtra). Manager: Madan Lal.

India ‘A’: Sunil Joshi (capt), Dodda Ganesh (both from Karnataka), Vinayak Mane and Ramesh Powar (both from Mumbai, Abhijit Kale and Iqbal Siddique (both from Maharashtra), N P Singh and S Yadav (both from Hyderabad), Gautam Gambhir (Delhi), Yere Goud (Railways), P R Parida (Orissa), Ajay Ratra (Haryana), Reetinder Singh Sodhi (Punjab) and Gagan Khoda (Rajasthan). Manager: Shivlal Yadav. (PTI)

Handball Association announces team
for 31st National Games

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 15: Handball Association of Jammu and Kashmir has dissolved its adhoc body and elected new body with Mr Ramesh Mahajan as its new president.

This was stated by Mr S M Bali, general secretary Handball Federation of India while addressing a press-conference here today. He disclosed that Association has unanimously decided to withdraw all court cases pending in the court of law.

"We have appealed all the handball players not to involve themselves in politics and pay attention towards game", he said and made it clear that Association will not tolerate any indicipline among the officials and players and strict action will be taken against them by reporting to their respective departments.

He further said that both the factions will work together in future and informed that today a meeting of adhoc committee took place wherein Secretary J&K State Sports Council Sheikh Fazal was also present and it was unanimously decided to dissolve body and elect new body with Mr Ramesh Mahajan as its president.

Mr Bali declared that in the month of February next year, 30th National Handball Championship will be held at Jammu and said that in consultation with the players and outgoing members of the body list of players who will take part in 31st National Games to be held in Ludhiana from November 19 to December one has been finalised.

"Matches of handball will be held from November 26 to November 30", he said, adding "J S Soodan will represent the team as Coach and R N Khajuria as Manager".

The names of the players are Akshay Sharma, Ajay Sharma, Paramjit Singh, Vivek Sharma, Vikas Sharma, Vikas Sharma, Satnam Singh, Ashwani Raina, Anshumali, Amandeep Singh, Dev Jyoti, Chander Singh, Dheera, Ranjeet Singh, Bachan Dogra, Sanjeev Singh and Vivek Khajuria. Rajinder Kumar and Sat Paul will be taken as stand-by players.

Mr Bali further said that it was decided that last year’s millenium award which is pending will be cleared during this financial year. He lauded the services of Mr Vivek Khajuria and said that he took a number of steps to boost the morale of the players.