PORT ELIZABETH, Nov 19: South Africa were on the verge of victory against India after declaring on the rain-affected fourth day of the second test today...........more

6 Indian players
punished

PORT ELIZABETH (SOUTH AFRICA), Nov 19: In an unprecedented and highly controversial action, six top Indian players including skipper Sourav Ganguly and master batsman Sachin Tendulkar were tonight handed down harsh punishments by the match-referee for the second India-South Africa test here.........more

Pakistan send Shoaib sos
to Aussie bowling experts

KARACHI, Nov 19: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has again turned to Daryl Foster and the University of Western Australia to help try to rescue controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s career.........more

Zimbabwe clinch
test series against
Bangladesh

CHITTOGONG, Nov 19: Zimbabwe extended Bangladesh’s dismal run in test cricket today by post.....more

Excelsior Correspondent

Jammu, Nov 19: The Minister for Sports, Harbans Singh, today, lauded Punjab Government and Indian Olympic......more

State Table Tennis Championship
Ankur bags Sub-jr boys title
* Aditya upsets title holder Anil to reach Junior boys final

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 19: Ankur Sachdev bagged the boys singles Sub-junior title, while Chandpreet Kour retained here Junior girls title in......more

Engineers’ Sports Forum
holding Badminton
tourney from Nov 26

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 19: To exploit the hidden sports talent among the engineers, the newly.....more

Kanvaljeet, Ashwani take
J&K out of troubling water

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 19: Kanvaljeet Singh and Ashwani Gupta sailed the hosts Jammu and Kashmir.......more

Ankur Sachdev making a fore-hand shot in the Sub-junior boys singles final at Jammu on Monday. -Excelsior/Ashok

South Africa on verge of victory over India

PORT ELIZABETH, Nov 19: South Africa were on the verge of victory against India after declaring on the rain-affected fourth day of the second test today.

At the close of play, which came 23 overs early due to bad light, India were 28 for one in their second innings in search of an unlikely victory target of 395. Deep Dasgupta was 22 not out with Rahul Dravid on three.

South Africa declared their second innings closed on 233 for five having scored 362 in their first. India made 201 in their first innings.

India need to win to keep the three-match series alive after South Africa won the first test in Bloemfontein by five wickets.

The home side resumed on 211 for five, but all but 2.3 overs of the morning session were lost to rain while the second session’s action was restricted to 4.3 overs.

That prompted the declaration with Jacques Kallis on 89 not out and Shaun Pollock on 55 in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 94. Kallis faced 229 balls and hit six fours and a six, while Pollock’s runs came off 80 balls and also included six fours and a six.

India were one for nought just five balls into the innings when Shiv Sunder Das sparred at a wide delivery from fast bowler Shaun Pollock and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher for a duck.

South African captain Pollock set attacking fields in the 18 overs India faced before the enforced close and his bowlers responded by keeping to a tight line and length.

Pollock led by example in taking one wicket for five runs off seven overs, four of which were maidens, while fast bowler Kallis conceded just one run from his five overs. (REUTERS)

6 Indian players punished

PORT ELIZABETH (SOUTH AFRICA), Nov 19: In an unprecedented and highly controversial action, six top Indian players including skipper Sourav Ganguly and master batsman Sachin Tendulkar were tonight handed down harsh punishments by the match-referee for the second India-South Africa test here.

A key batsman Virender Sehwag was suspended for the third test to be played at Centurion Park from November 24 on the charge of excessive appealing. This means that Sehwag, who made a century on his debut in the first test against South Africa, will miss the final match of the series.

Sachin Tendulkar, a part time bowler, was found guilty of tampering with the ball and handed down a suspended one-match sentence and fined 75 per cent of his match-fee. He will, therefore, be able to play in the third test but would be banned for one match if he repeats the offence.

Former England captain Mike Denness, who is the match-referee for the entire series, is believed to have conveyed these decisions to the Indian team management this evening after two meetings with Sachin Tendulkar who had been accused of tampering with the ball during a three-over spell against South Africa yesterday.

Denness summoned Ganguly, who was accused of failing to control his players, as also four other Indian players -Sehwag, Harhajan Singh, Shiv Sunder Das and wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta - on the charge of excessive appealing.

Denness, who consulted ICC headquarters in London during the day, is expected to formally announce his decisions tomorrow but sources in the Indian camp disclosed the unprecedented sentences imposed by him. Ganguly was given a suspended sentence for one test match and two one-dayers. He is therefore eligible to play but could be banned for these matches if he repeated the offence of not controlling his players.

Harbhajan, Das and Dasgupta have also been found guilty of excessive appealing and slammed with a suspended sentence for one test. They have also been fined 75 per cent of their match fees.

Sehwag, who was the worst-hit by the match-referee’s action, was found guilty of excessive appealing when South African captain Shaun Pollock played forward to spinner Anil Kumble during the play yesterday. Sehwag had caught the ball which apparently came off Pollock’s boots and had kept appealing for a catch.

Denness ignored Pollock’s own conduct yesterday when he made a prolonged and theatrical appeal against the top-scorer in India’s first innings V V S Laxman. Pollock had hit Laxman’s pads and made a vociferous appeal to the umpire who took a long time to raise his finger.

The Indian team management was not available for comment on the match-referee’s excesses but a wave of anger swept the Indian camp.

The reported decision of the referee came at the end of a flip-flop earlier in the day. He had apparently told a television commentator that no action was warranted against Tendulkar and this was announced on television. Subsequently he said he would consult ICC in London and make a formal statement in the evening. (PTI)

Pakistan send Shoaib sos to Aussie bowling experts

KARACHI, Nov 19: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has again turned to Daryl Foster and the University of Western Australia to help try to rescue controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s career.

Shoaib’s short but enigmatic career is in danger of being ended prematurely after International Cricket Council (ICC) match officials reported him for a third time since December 1999 — and for the second time since March — for a suspect bowling action after the recent one-day tournament in Sharjah.

PCB chairman Lt General Tauqir Zia told Reuters: "We have spoken to bowling coach Daryl Foster and his team of experts at the biomechanics department of the University of Western Australia in Perth to view footage of Shoaib’s bowling in Sharjah and let us have some feedback.

"What we want to know is if there is substance in the suspicions raised by match officials in Sharjah and if his bowling action has undergone any deterioration in the last few months".

"We also want to know if the experts can change his bowling action or it cannot be changed because of his inherent medical problem due to which there is hyper-mobility in the joints of his bowling arm."

The biomechanics department in Perth earlier this year cleared Shoaib’s bowling action after working with him and also submitted a medical report which said he had hyper-mobility in his bowling arm joints, sometimes giving impression he was throwing the ball.

Foster, who works at the university, is also a top-class coach and was used as a consultant by Pakistan during their tour of England earlier this year.

Zia said Shoaib would not be sent to Perth for the moment. "As it is he is going to Sydney to play club cricket. If the need arises he can easily be flown to Perth for a workout with the experts after they view his footage," he said.

Zia argued that if the experts believed Shoaib’s bowling action could not be changed because of his unique physique, the ICC had to permit him to play.

Zia added that the visit to Pakistan of West Indian great Michael Holding, appointed by the ICC to work with Shoaib, would be delayed.

"We don’t want to keep holding waiting. But first we want a opinion from the Perth institute on the Sharjah footage."

If Shoaib were to be reported for a third time within a 12-month period he could face a year’s ban from the game.

The head of the PCB said he had discussed the matter at length with ICC chairman Malcolm Gray and appealed for Shoaib to be treated as a special case because he had an "inherent medical problem".

Zia added that gray intended to speak to ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed about the bowling action review process.

"Gray has said that if any flaws are found in the existing bowling action review procedure like we say, it could be debated upon and even be put to the executive board." (REUTERS)

Zimbabwe clinch test series against Bangladesh

CHITTOGONG, Nov 19: Zimbabwe extended Bangladesh’s dismal run in test cricket today by posting an eight-wicket victory in the second and final test here.

Bangladesh were shot out for 301 in their second innings, losing their last six wickets for 74 runs, before lunch on the fifth and final day at the Aziz Stadium.

The tourists, needing 11 to win, lost opener Dion Ebrahim and skipper Stuart Carlisle off successive balls in seamer Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s opening over, but the target was too small to deny them victory.

Bangladesh have lost six of their seven matches since gaining test status last year, salvaging the lone draw in the first test at Dhaka last week when rain washed out play on the last two days.

Zimbabwe, denied a victory at Dhaka, clinched the two-test series for their third win in four matches against the cricketing minnows.

Bangladesh, made to follow-on 291 runs behind, suffered a blow when opener Javed Omar (80) was trapped leg-before by seamer Travis Friend off the day’s first ball.

The remaining Bangladeshi batsmen failed to put up any resistance as the lower order tumbled after the hosts had begun the final day on a promising 227-4.

Off-spinner Douglas Marillier did most of the damage, bagging four of the six wickets to fall on the final day to finish with a career-best 4-57.

The 23-year-old spinner, with just one wicket in his previous two tests, began by removing Mohammad Ashraful for 10.

Ashraful was involved in a 37-run stand for the sixth wicket with skipper Naimur Rahman.

The Bangladesh captain contributed a defiant 28 before being trapped leg-before by Marillier, who was well supported by part-time left-arm spinner Grant Flower.

Flower kept the pressure from the other end and finished the innings with his fourth wicket when he had wicket-keeper Khaled Mashud caught by Ebrahim for 12.

The rival teams now begin a three-match one-day series with the first international here on Friday. (AFP)

J&K participating in 31st National Games
Harbans lauds Punjab Govt for hosting National Games

Excelsior Correspondent

Jammu, Nov 19: The Minister for Sports, Harbans Singh, today, lauded Punjab Government and Indian Olympic Association for organising the 31st National Games at Punjab stressing that the old glory of the games especially indigenous sports should be maintained at all levels.

Mr. Singh was speaking at ‘Meet the Press Programme’ organised at Ludhiana before commencing of the National Games today. The programme was organised to review arrangements for the 31st National Games.

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Fertilizers, Mr. S.S.Dhindse and Mr. Suresh Kalmarhi President Indian Olympic Association were also present.

The meeting was apprised that a contingent of 148 sports personnel from J&K State is participating in various National Games. In all as many as 10,000 players from different states of the country have reached Ludhiana to participate in the National Games. It was disclosed that the next National games will be held at Hyderbad in Andhra Pradesh.

Earlier, the General Body Meeting of Olympic Association was also held in which some important decisions regarding the conduct of National Games were taken. The meeting was apprised that the Olympic Association of Jharkhand, Chatisgarh and Uttaranchal were reconstituted and 8 Indian Sports Associations were affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association. It was also informed that special tests for detecting use of drugs by the players during the events are being conducted at the National Games.

Mr.Harbans Singh said that J&K State’s contingent is participating in almost all the games including Handball, Athletic, Hockey, Kinnowing and he was optimistic that the players will bring laurels for the State. He said that the State Government had initiated a number of steps to promote indigenous games in the State despite proxy war unleashed by Pakistan from across the border. He complimented the Punjab Government and different Sports Associations for making conducive arrangements for the players coming to Punjab from different States.

The meeting among others was also attended by Secretary Sports Authority of India, Mr. S.S.Sharma and members of Indian Olympic Association, Mr. S.K.Sandhu, Mr. Randhar Singh and Mr. S.Bhinder.