JOHANNESBURG, Oct 8: As Sachin Tendulkar announced his return to international cricket with a century after an injury-induced two-month lay-off, a batting legend of yesteryears has joined his ever-growing list of admirers..............more

Hussain, Flower,
Foster reprimanded

HARARE, Oct 8: England Cricket captain Nasser Hussain, wicket-keeper James Foster and Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower have all been reprimanded by the match referee overseeing the third one-day international between the two countries yesterday..............more

7th Junior World Cup Hockey from today
Aussies favourites, Indian
excude optimism

HOBERT (AUSTRALIA), Oct 8: Defending champion Australia start as favourite while runners up India hope to clinch the title for the first time as the 7th Junior World Cup Hockey.................more

Zaheer Khan has to
prove his fitness
first: Shah

MUMBAI, Oct 8: Disappointed with the poor performance of its fast bowlers in the tri-series opener .....more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 8: Degree College, Bhaderwah outplayed Post Graduate Departments of University of Jammu in straight.......more

Sainik School Nagrota
starts 25th Annual
Athlete Meet

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 8: Sainik School Nagrota in its unique style today started the celebration of its three day long..........more

JKCA elections
‘Clubs come out of
hibernation just to
reap the harvest’

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 8: Reacting sharply to a statement issued jointly by the heads of KCC, WCC and RCC regarding the proposed.....more

6 NSS volunteers to attend
pre-RD Parade camp

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 8: The Regional National Services Scheme (NSS) Selection Committee has selected six volunteers......more

SPMR College of Commerce defenders making an unsuccessful attempt to defend a smash from Degree College, Doda in a match on opening day of the Inter-college Volleyball Tournament at University of Jammu courts on Monday. -- Excelsior/Ashok

One more legend joins Tendulkar Fan Club

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 8: As Sachin Tendulkar announced his return to international cricket with a century after an injury-induced two-month lay-off, a batting legend of yesteryears has joined his ever-growing list of admirers.

Graeme Pollock’s international career was rudely interrupted by apartheid which isolated South Africa’s cricket team for nearly two decades, but in a relatively short test career, he made a name for himself. He scored 2,256 runs in 23 tests with seven centuries at an average of 60.97, second only to Sir Donald Bradman’s 99.94 in the game’s history.

Declared South Africa’s cricketer of the century, Pollock, an uncle of the current national captain Shaun Pollock, is now a national selector.

"You know when he is playing, the indian side is hell of a lot better side," Pollock said today referring to Tendulkar with whom he shares a special bonding — both figure in the don’s `all time Best XI’.

Describing him as "fantastic", Pollock says Tendulkar is "certainly the best player in the world at the moment".

Pollock said he was keen to watch the Indian champion in action on the fast, Bouncy pitches here but "I was just concerned that his injury would keep him out of the tour".

"Why I’ve always liked him (Tendulkar) is that batsmen tend to be negative at times and I think batting is not about not getting out - it is to play positively. I think you got to take it to the bowlers and Sachin is one such player," he said.

"When you do so, you change game, you change bowlers because they suddenly start bowling badly, because they are under pressure.

"Sachin has certainly done that. He has done so many times where he has changed games, by scoring at a good rate," Pollock said.

The South African legend said the one thing that he has observed about Tendulkar is he keeps batting so simple. "One of the key factors about batting is that you got to be balanced on your feet and you keep your head still. If you do these two things correctly, it goes a long way towards playing well."

"Some batsmen get too technical. I don’t think batting needs all those technicalities. It is pretty simple. The simpler you keep it, I think more successful you are going to be."

Pollock feels if test cricket is to survive, batsmen and teams must always look to score runs at a good clip. "You look at the current Aussie side. They are always scoring 300-plus in a day and that’s what you got to do. It gives your bowlers time get the opposition out."

"When you do so, you change game, you change bowlers because they suddenly start bowling badly, because they are under pressure".

"Sachin has certainly done that. He has done so many times where he has changed games, by scoring at a good rate," Pollock said.

The South African legend said the one thing that he has observed about Tendulkar is he keeps batting so simple. "One of the key factors about batting is that you got to be balanced on your feet and you keep your head still. If you do these two things correctly, it goes a long way towards playing well."

"Some batsmen get too technical. I don’t think batting needs all those technicalities. It is pretty simple. The simpler you keep it, I think more successful you are going to be."

Pollock feels if test cricket is to survive, batsmen and teams must always look to score runs at a good clip. "You look at the current aussie side. They are always scoring 300-plus in a day and that’s what you got to do. It gives your bowlers time get the opposition out."

Pollock had a chat with John Wright the other day as the Indian coach caught up with the South African batting legend and sought his views, among other things, on batting.

"I had a long chat with John Wright. We just generally talked about batting. I said the same thing to him. If he passes this on to your batsmen, that’s good. I just like to see good cricket. If I can make a contribution to it, I am ready to do so."

Pollock also spoke to captain Sourav Ganguly and said he really thought India was a formidable batting line-up.

"I was just speaking to your captain and saying it is nice that guys like (V S S) Laxman are coming for the test side. Your top six, when everybody is fit, is very formidable. It’s a very good top six batting. Also, a lot of your batsmen play positively. That’s nice to see."

Pollock also felt India were well-served by the presence of spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh on this tour.

"These two spinners are as good as any. Kumble is a little different from the leg-spinner of the 60s and 70s in the sense that men like Richie Benaud were greater turners of the ball. They didn’t bowl all that quickly.

"Kumble bowls quicker than most leggies, he doesn’t give much away, he keeps it tight and obviously is helped by the bounce he gets.

"He is a tall guy and bowls over the top and has been incredibly effective. He, along with (seamer) Javagal Srinath, has played a major part in Indian cricket for the last 10 years."

Pollock, however, cautioned the Indian spinners they would not get any turning wickets on this tour.

"It is unlikely they would get any turning tracks on this tour - they would probably not because it would not suit South African cricketers."

Pollock’s advice to Indian spinners is not to try too many things on these wickets.

"I have always maintained that if you are bowling maiden overs and if you tie people down, no batsman likes to be tied down for long periods of time."

"If you don’t try to do too many things and concentrate on your line and length, you are doing fine."

Pollock said for long Indian batsmen have been criticised for not playing well on bouncy tracks outside the Indian subcontinent.

"These people have suggested they should try and leave a bit of grass in India but then there is a different set of people who say we play 80 per cent of our cricket at home and why shouldn’t we pick up the wickets we want?"

"That’s a very fair argument. You play according to your own conditions," said Pollock, admitting though it is a little different for Indian batsmen when they play away from home.

Looking back at his career, Pollock said the two best batsmen he had seen during his career were fellow South African Barry Richards and West Indian Sir Garfield Sobers.

"Gary’s 254 in melbourne for rest of the world against Australia in 1971 was the best innings I have seen," concluded Pollock. "Dennis Lillee had just started and was charging in -I haven’t seen anyone better than that." (PTI)

Hussain, Flower, Foster reprimanded

HARARE, Oct 8: England Cricket captain Nasser Hussain, wicket-keeper James Foster and Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower have all been reprimanded by the match referee overseeing the third one-day international between the two countries yesterday.

Nasser and flower were found guilty by Col Naushad Ali of Pakistan of bringing the game of cricket into disrepute and warned as to their future conduct.

Foster was also warned according to a statement issued by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union today. No financial penalties were imposed.

Nasser violated a code that captains are responsible for play being conducted in the spirit of the game and flower and foster that their conduct was unbecoming to their status, and which could also bring the game into disrepute.

The incident, which got the three into trouble, happened in the 22nd over of the Zimbabwe innings.

Flower, then having scored 99 on his way to a century, was given not out by one of the umpires following an appeal for a catch behind.

Foster then told Flower he believed the batsman should concede his wicket by "walking". Flower’s response was sharp and this resulted in heated exchange between the two players.

Ali had earlier on the tour expressed doubts to a journalist about the bowling action of england seamer James Kirtley but after watching a video he took no action. (AFP)

7th Junior World Cup Hockey from today
Aussies favourites, Indian excude optimism

HOBERT (AUSTRALIA), Oct 8: Defending champion Australia start as favourite while runners up India hope to clinch the title for the first time as the 7th Junior World Cup Hockey Championship get underway here from tomorrow.

We definitely have the advantage of playing on home ground but to be considered as favourite retain the title will put pressure on the team, Aussie coach Colin Batch told UNI here today.

I watched Germany and Holland play a practice match yesterday and found that these teams have some awesome talent, he said adding that Dutch players like Balder Bomas, Thomas Boerma and Germany’s Thomas Jahn and Forian Keller are surely going to make a mark in this tournament.

About India, Batch said, judging from the amount of exposure players like Gagan Ajit and Bimal Lakra have had playing in senior tournaments, India is the other team I will be looking out for.

Indian coach Rajinder Singh excuded cautious optimism on the eve of the championship saying. We cannot take any team lightly and will have to play our best to win. The weather today is the only worrying factor and i hope it gets as sunny as it was in sydney where we trained prior to coming here.’’ "The acclimatization at Sydney followed by the two days of practice at Hobart and the draw makes us fell confident," said the Indian coach Rajinder Singh after the Indian teams final practice session.

"I feel we have to pace ourselves properly to perform at our best during the second phase of the competition, which is bound to be very competitive," he said.

"The Group C matches against Canada, Spain and Scotland will help us peak for the final stages," he said the eve of India’s first match against Canada, to be played on the opening day of the tournament tomorrow.

The only factor that may be worrying the Indian team was the sudden worsening of weather over the weekend. A severe southerly brought heavy rain to the Tasmanian Hockey Centre, disrupting an otherwise perfect build up to the tournament.

The Tournament Director, Peter Paul Lathouvers, from the Netherlands, met with the tournament organising committee and approved the organisation of the tournament. All the teams have tested the facility with practice sesions. The Indian team has had two practice session—one on Sunday and one today and seemed pretty satisfied with the surface.

"The surfaces are fast and clean and should make for interesting matches’ said Indian skipper Gagan Ajit Singh."

We are having a comfortable stay at the montgomery’s hotel which is close to the venue, said coach Rajinder Singh the last practice session.

In other pool ‘C’ match tomorrow, Scotland will meet Spain. Other matches that will be played will be between poll "A" teams. Chile will lock horns with England while Australia meets Ireland.

Indian team: Devesh Chauhan, Bikramjit Singh, Kanwal Preet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Prasbodh Tirkey, Bismal Lakra, Rasquinha, Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Sonkhla, Inderjeet Singh, Rajpal Singh, Arjun Hallappa, Tejbir Singh, Prabhjot Singh, I. Tirkey, Bharat Kumar, Vikram Pillay and Bipin Fernandoz. Coach—Rajinder Singh Physio—therepist-Sampat Kumar Doctor-in-charge-Dr Rajkumar Jaipal and Team Manager-G Satyanarayana. (UNI)

Zaheer Khan has to prove his fitness first: Shah

MUMBAI, Oct 8: Disappointed with the poor performance of its fast bowlers in the tri-series opener against South Africa, the touring Indian team management has asked for left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan to be sent in as a reinforcement.

But, before going there to figure in the remaining matches of the series, Zaheer Khan will have to prove his fitness, according to Cricket Board Secretary Niranjan Shah.

Shah told PTI that there were some procedures to be followed when a player comes back after an injury. "Zaheer is yet to produce the fitness certificate. Then the board doctor will examine him and the doctor will intimate the selectors whether the player is fit or not."

"Even in the case of middle order batsman V V S Laxman, the player sent me the fitness certificate and then I, in turn, informed the selectors about it after learning that he had played a couple of league matches in hyderabad before he was picked to lead the rest of India team against Ranji trophy champions Baroda at Pune from 12 to 16," Shah added.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly had yesterday asked for Zaheer’s inclusion in the team for the remaining one-day fixtures in South Africa.

Zaheer, who was not at his best in the third test against Sri Lanka recently due to inflammation of a tissue, was not picked for the triangular series as he was asked to take rest for three to four weeks by his doctors. (PTI)

Bhaderwah pip PG Deptts to enter QFs of Volleyball

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 8: Degree College, Bhaderwah outplayed Post Graduate Departments of University of Jammu in straight sets to occupy seat in the quarter-finals of the Inter-college Volleyball Tournament in men group which began at University of Jammu courts, here today.

It was nearly a one-sided contest due to the extra efforts put-in by the smasher Mudassar Maqbool Bhat, while Hafizul Rehman played a fine game as defender for the winners. The score: 25-11, 25-10, 25-10.

In the second match of the day, Degree College, Kathua outclassed Degree College, Rajouri 3-0. Except in the first set, Udhampur college hardly faced any difficulty in winning the match in straight sets. Satvir Singh exhibited hard smashes of which Rajouri defenders had no reply, especially in the second and third set. The score: 25-22, 25-15, 25-11.

The third match was played between the teams of Degree College, Doda and Government SPMR College of Commerce, which former won in easy straight sets of 25-9, 25-15, 25-11.

However, the fourth scheduled match for today could not be played because both the contestants, Acharya Shri Chander Medical College and College of Education failed to report at the venue.

Now, in the first quarter-final, last year’s runners-up, MAM College will take on Degree College, Udhampur at 11 am on tomorrow. In the second match Degree College Bhaderwah will meet GGM Science College in another quarter-final to be played tomorrow.

The defending champion, Degree College, Poonch will play its first match against Degree College, Doda on October 10. In all, 12 teams from different college of Jammu Province are taking part in this tournament which is scheduled to conclude on October 8.

Today’s matches were officiated by Shashi Sharma and R C Sharma, while

Subash was scorer. This tournament is being organised by the Directorate of Physical Education, University of Jammu.