NEW DELHI, Nov 23: Amid the bribery scandal rocking Indian cricket, it was today the turn of selectors to feel the heat with two players alleging that they were asked to pay money for a place in the team even as Maharashtra Cricket Association virtually gave a clean chit to Abhijit Kale and demanded the two selectors to undergo..........more

Vermeulen steers shaky
Zimbabwe to level series

BULAWAYO (Zimbabwe), Nov 23: Zimbabwe batsman Mark Vermeulen steered his shaky colleagues to victory in a run-starved match at Queens Sports Club here today to level the five-match one-day series against West Indies at 1-1..........more

Anjali aiming Olympic gold

CHENNAI, Nov 23: Hectic activity since last year, a few rewards and a new hope have propelled India’s top shooter Anjali Bhagwat to set her sights on Olympic gold medals in both air rifle and.......more

Indian no challenge
for their Aussie hosts

UNDATED: "God will not sleep a wink when we are touring Australia," is what Michael Holding had said once. His skipper Clive Lloyd who knew a thing or two about beating Australia..........more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 23: Six cueists today made their way into the second round of the senior snooker competitions in the ongoing 13th State Billiards and Snooker Championships.....more

Despite Ian’s bold innings,
J&K lose by innings in U-17

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 23: After giving his splendid performance in under-19 age groups and under-15 age groups, Ian Dev Singh has played bold innings in the under-17 year too.......more

Lanka win series
as English hopes
washed away by rain

COLOMBO, Nov 23: The third and final one-day cricket match between England and Sri Lanka was called off an hour before it was due to start because of rain today, giving the hosts a 1-0 win in the series after an earlier game was also called off because of the weather......more

Former Pak captain
Latif in trouble again

KARACHI, Nov 23: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif is in trouble with the country’s cricket authorities again and could face......more

Lagan beats Sethi for world Billiards title......

NZ women’s team starts off India tour on high note......

MCA asks Kale, selectors to undergo lie-detector Test.....

Players question selectors’ integrity

NEW DELHI, Nov 23: Amid the bribery scandal rocking Indian cricket, it was today the turn of selectors to feel the heat with two players alleging that they were asked to pay money for a place in the team even as Maharashtra Cricket Association virtually gave a clean chit to Abhijit Kale and demanded the two selectors to undergo lie-detector tests.

Hyderabad all-rounder Vanka Prathap and promising under-17 youngster Ritesh Yadav rattled the already shaken cricket world with accusations that they had been asked to cough up money in exchange for places in teams.

As the spotlight turned from the accused to the accuser, MCA said it would back Kale saying it feared he was being made a "sacrificial goat".

MCA chairman Balasaheb Thorve said Kale had been denied justice because he was suspended from playing cricket merely on the basis of allegations levelled by the selectors.

"I feel Kale is innocent and he has been denied natural justice. The only way truth can come out is if both the selectors and Kale undergo lie-detector tests," Thorve said.

In Hyderabad Prathap alleged that a mediator had approached him and asked him to pay money for a place in the India ‘A’ team.

"Someone approached me on behalf of the selectors. I would not like to name the selector but everybody in Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) knows who he is," Prathap said.

"In the national team it is always happening. When performance is overlooked, belief sets in that something is wrong," said the cricketer who has played 83 first-class matches scoring 3957 runs at an average of 36.30 with 136 being his highest score.

In another stunning accusation, Ritesh Yadav said he was asked to pay for a place in the under-17 side for the Vijay Merchant Trophy.

"They asked me to pay Rs 50,000. When I said I can’t, they said `thank you. You may go,’" Ritesh Yadav said.

"When I gave this in writing to Jagmohan Dalmiya, he assured me that he would look into the matter. But now it seems no action was taken," Yadav said.

With more worms appearing to come out of the can, there was growing criticism of the cricket board’s decision to slap a suspension on Kale without establishing the veracity of the allegation.

MCA’s initial protest against the suspension found support from Indian Cricket Players Association (ICPA) and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev forcing BCCI to call an emergent meeting of its working committee on Sunday here to go into the entire bribery controversy right from scratch.

An MCA representative was also asked to attend the meeting as a special invitee.

Rapping the BCCI action to suspend the first class cricketer before any evidence was found against him, Kapil said in Kolkata "if it (the allegation) is not proved, I wonder how the board will compensate him. Will the board officials levelling the charges be punished?"

The former all-rounder also questioned the haste with which the board meted out the punishment to Kale.

"If a finger was raised against a board official, would BCCI have acted against him without the case being proved?" (PTI)

Vermeulen steers shaky Zimbabwe to level series

BULAWAYO (Zimbabwe), Nov 23: Zimbabwe batsman Mark Vermeulen steered his shaky colleagues to victory in a run-starved match at Queens Sports Club here today to level the five-match one-day series against West Indies at 1-1.

Vermeulen stood firm against Vasbert Drakes, Ravi Rampaul and Corey Collymore while team-mates crumbled.

He scored a match-winning 66 not out, including 18 fours, which enabled a home team lacking in confidence to scrape past the West Indies total of only 125 after winning the toss.

Only Marlon Samuels contributed to that meagre total with an innings of any substance and he was undefeated on 36.

The remainder of a much-vaunted long batting lineup collapsed, much as they did in their second innings of the second Test here last week.

Wavell Hinds, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ricky Powell all failed to get going. And the tail was left to its own devices.

Zimbabwe bowlers had a wonderful day. Andy Blignaut and Heath Streak made early breakthroughs. Ray Price took 2-16 in his 10 overs and Trevor Gripper took two maiden wickets in internationals.

It was a day of reversals. On Saturday, during the first one-day international, Vermeulen was out first ball. Chris Gayle struck a personal best 157 not out and Brian Lara went to 113 with his 18th ODI century. West Indies took 347-6 off a ragged Zimbabwe attack at almost seven an over.

In the second match today, Vermeulen steered his side to victory with his stubborn though sometimes streaky half century. Gayle made only eight and Lara just two. And West Indies were struck out for only 125.

Zimbabwe lost gripper in a bizarre run-out and Vusi Sibanda got a duck, causing West Indies to sense an unlikely win.

With the home side 8-2, later 31-3 when Craig Wishart fell to Collymore, another rout, not to mention a West Indies victory seemed just possible, especially when Stuart Matsikenyeri managed only three runs.

Vermeulen watched all this happening from the other end.

But the arrival of Streak gave direction to Zimbabwe. These two moved the home side from 54-4 in positive fashion to and beyond the victory line of 126.

Streak said: "We were honest with ourselves in team talks yesterday and we were then excellent."

Lara gave credit to Zimbabwe - "the better side on the day. We were always up against it."

The series is there for the taking in Harare next weekend by either side. (AFP)

Anjali aiming Olympic gold

CHENNAI, Nov 23: Hectic activity since last year, a few rewards and a new hope have propelled India’s top shooter Anjali Bhagwat to set her sights on Olympic gold medals in both air rifle and three positions.

The sharp shooter started working towards achieving the self-set goals ever since she became the first Indian to earn the ‘Olympic quota’ last year, which has been the most productive in her career so far.

The year also saw her being ranked top in the world in air rifle by the International Shooting Federation in June.

Anjali’s credentials to sport the Olympic medals are enormous. The 34-year-old Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) employee has acquired her berth for the Athens Olympics, along with compatriots Abhinav Bindra (Air Rifle) and Maj R S Rathore, in trap events.

In an intensely competitive world of shooting, Anjali expressed her confidence of going for a double crown, not wanting to miss out the opportunity in ‘three positions.

Like every champion, Anjali thrives on pressure during training sessions and competitions and has a clear idea about the benefits of being under pressure.

"Pressure is a great thing. You can never have a top performance without any pressure and hard work. It is absolutely necessary. It has to be the right amount and too much is bad and too little is bad too," Anjali said in an exclusive interview to PTI here.

Moreover, a series of competitions including the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad last month and systematic training for about a fortnight with Stanislav Lapitaus, the world renowned Kazak coach, at Mhow, have helped Anjali draw the right strategy for the Olympics in Athens next year.

"My confidence levels have increased after my training sessions with Lapitaus. He is very systematic and his assessment of individual requirements of shooters has been excellent. He has coached Olympic gold medal winners of his country and presently coaching the Indian army shooters," Anjali said adding "he does not want any remuneration for coaching me".

Anjali said "it is not the training aspect of Lapitaus alone that had helped me decide the right strategy. He is so meticulous about everything I do. He has also suggested the events that I should compete in".

Pointing out that she used the Afro-Asian Games to get familiar with her new weapon and that she has now moved from the competitive frame of mind to the training mode in the run up to the Olympics, Anjali said "my schedule up till the Athens Games in next August has been finalised".

"We don’t have the knowledge of certain things. Our Government is more interested in our participation in tournaments. They are more interested in our winning medals but Lapitaus gives more credence to aspects like proper planning and preparation for participation and insists on a break at the right time," said Anjali, who qualified for Olympics with a silver in the world championship in Sydney.

There were instances of her not willing to compete in certain events being misconstrued, forcing to revise her plans, she said. (PTI)

Indian no challenge for their Aussie hosts

UNDATED: "God will not sleep a wink when we are touring Australia," is what Michael Holding had said once. His skipper Clive Lloyd who knew a thing or two about beating Australia at cricket was of the opinion that a team had to be twice as good as the host to beat the Aussies in their lair.

But then things have changed much since the exploits of the Afro-Caribbeans down under. For one, the umpires are neutral. Touring teams do not have to grapple with home team bias in the umpiring. So much were the Aussie umpires dreaded that Ian Botham once said that the only umpires he respected were the retired ones.

Some things remain the same though. There is a blokeishness about the Aussies and their sports that leads to what sociologists call laddism. A healthy contempt for those who take on Australia in sport is one of its prime components. The shouts from bays of the colosseum of a stadium that the MCG is are not likely to be very humorous.

"It was beating the english at cricket in the mid-19th century that lifted our idea of ourselves from a dwarf bastard convict race," was how an analytical academic puts it. Since then, sport has become a steeped culture down under as much as winning at sport has become the highest national pursuit.

It is against this backdrop of a nation eternally seeking sporting excellence that Sourav Ganguly’s Indians tour Australia.

I think they have as much chance of winning the Test series as we have of seeing snow in Chennai. Let s face it, with due reverence to India’s batting reputation, the batsmen will let us down because they cannot withstand the pressure of performing on sporting pitches with bounce in them.

On the slow pitches of the Caribbean and England last season, Ganguly’s men may have enjoyed an outside chance of winning a Test series overseas for the first time in several long years.

It is a fair comment on the state of the psyche of the Indian cricket team under pressure that the series was lost 1-2 in the West Indies while a 1-1 draw was achieved in England. Such a winning chance is, however, unlikely to come the way of our national team down under where the ball comes on a bit more than knee-high which is about the height at which our batsmen are accustomed to tackling the leather sphere on our pitches.

The contrast in surfaces cannot be greater than say between the Eden Gardens, where India had a good opportunity to win a one-day final, and Brisbane where touring teams usually first come a cropper.

There has been a sort of analysis paralysis in the Indian team this season. For months on end, what was debated was how is the team going to fare in the new season. Well, we drew a home Test series against New Zealand and failed to win a home tri-series final for the first ever time. So much for all the bluster.

Of 28 Tests played in Australia in seven series since 1947-48, India has won three to australia s 19. One of those wins was a memorable comeback triumph in Melbourne in 1981 while two others came against an Australian team denuded by the walkout of its packer players in 1978.

Having witnessed two drawn Test series down under in 1980-81 and 1985-86, I might be able to assert with some confidence that this Indian team that is currently in Australia could be about the worst when it comes to battling it out in the Test arena.

The 80-81 tour had men of steely character like Kapil Dev who left his bed and thigh muscle strain to bowl the Aussies out in the face of a measly fourth innings target and skipper Sunil Gavaskar who fought on despite having smoke coming out of his ears in the wake of a dubious lbw decision.

India dominated the cricket in 85-86 and should have won the series too if not for believing the weather forecasters in Melbourne where rain denied the late victory charge and underestimating the tailenders who merely kicked the ball away in the mandatory overs in Sydney.

The last two tours down under have been 4-0 and 3-0 disasters. On the first, Sachin Tendulkar was the budding genius who came good with two centuries and on the second he was the typically beleaguered Indian cricket captain who was even given out lbw when the ball struck his helmet as he ducked.

The truth is a touring team still has to be twice as good as the Aussies to beat them in a Test series on their soil. That is the exalted and nearly unbeatable status to which Steve Waugh’s team has evolved. But, let us just pray that god does not sleep a wink when the Indians are in Australia. They would need him like never before. (UNI)

13th State Billiards & Snooker Championships
Sr Snooker starts as six cueists register wins

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 23: Six cueists today made their way into the second round of the senior snooker competitions in the ongoing 13th State Billiards and Snooker Championships at Billiards Hall, M A Stadium, here.

While Sohail Plassar, Aditya Mahajan, Arif and Aris won their first round matches in straight sets, Sahil Arora and Amardeep Singh had to face resistance from their opponents before they beat them up.

Sahil’s match against Ankush Langer lasted for full five frames which former won 3-2. Winning the first frame 57-45, Sahil further improved his lead taking away the second frame by a big margin of 97-26 but only to lose next two successive frames to fighting Ankush bring the score to 2-2.

However, in the deciding fifth frame, Sahil managed an early lead and well maintained it till he won the frame 56-22 and match too.

In another match, Amardeep Singh lost his opening frame to Abdul 26-55, but made a great comeback winning three successive frames thus making it a 3-1 victory.

These 13th Billiards and Snooker Championships are being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Billiards and Snooker Association.

The detailed results: Sohail Plassar bt Mehraj-ud-Din 44-35, 63-34, 56-43; Sahil Arora bt Ankush Langer 57-45, 97-26, 32-55, 39-49, 56-22; Aditya Mahajan bt Sahil Sharma 44-18, 67-60, 67-58; Arif bt Surinder Singh 53-15, 57-20, 54-21; Amardeep Singh bt Abdul 26-55, 55-53, 52-20, 107-63; Aris bt Sahil Aggarwal 57-14, 56-17, 61-46.