SYDNEY, Dec 22: New Zealand’s highly respected captain Stephen Fleming is not prone to making rash statements so when he predicted Australia’s domination of Test cricket would start sending tremors around the world he was not being flippant............more

Dravid won’t be
keeping: Sourav

CHITTAGONG, Dec 22: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is set for his India debut as captain Sourav Ganguly today reaffirmed that the team would not go back to Rahul Dravid to take up the additional role of wicketkeeper in the one-day series against Bangladesh............more

India will look to continue
domination in ODIs too

CHITTAGONG, Dec 22: Unmoved by the Harbhajan Singh episode, India will seek to maintain the domination they established in the Test matches when they take on Bangladesh in the first encounter of the three-match one-day cricket series here tomorrow.........more

Woolmer asked to
refrain from making
too many statements

ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: The Pakistan Cricket Board has asked coach Bob Woolmer to avoid making unnecessary statements in the media, saying these were only making things more complicated for everyone............more

PALAKKAD, Dec 22: Captain Sreekumar Nair’s brilliant 132 and his 101-run eighth wicket partnership with M Sureshkumar 52 helped Kerala score 319 runs in their first innings against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy plate group ‘A’ cricket match on the opening day here today............more

Distt volleyball finals today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Dec 22: Finals of district volleyball (boys and girls) championships, organised by Volleyball Association of Udhampur, shall take place at Master Madan memorial volleyball complex, here tomorrow.............more

MAM, Science College enter
inter-college football final

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 22: Government MAM College and GGM Science College today entered into the final of inter-college football tournament being held at University ground, here. .......more

Aussie women team
defeats India

SURAT, Dec 22: Fine bowling by Australian off-spinner Lisa Keightley (4-19), helped the visitors defeat India eves by 32 runs in their fifth one-day international at Pithwala Stadium here today.......more

ICC deviated from its objective....
By Wasim Akram

Latif ban reduced to one month by PCB......

Weightlifters’ year was a doping saga......

Australia’s domination shows no sign of ending

SYDNEY, Dec 22: New Zealand’s highly respected captain Stephen Fleming is not prone to making rash statements so when he predicted Australia’s domination of Test cricket would start sending tremors around the world he was not being flippant.

Fleming spoke with conviction, his team having just been crushed in successive Tests, and his gloomy forecast was quickly proved right.

A fortnight later, Ricky Ponting’s all-conquering team destroyed Pakistan by 491 runs and this time even the Australians felt the shockwaves.

The magnitude of their victory immediately raised concerns about the state of Test cricket and the widening gap between Australia and the rest.

Australia have lost just one of 20 Test series. They haven’t lost a series at home in 12 years and have beaten every country away on their last visit, including India. If that wasn’t enough, they have also excelled in the one-day game, winning the past two World Cups.

Their performances over the past decade have been nothing short of remarkable but their superiority has come at a price. Attendances have been steadily declining and interest in the game is starting to wane.

The prospects of a change seem remote, at least in the short term. Australia hold a commanding lead in the world rankings for both Test and one-day cricket.

Their nearest opponents in Test cricket are England. The english haven’t beaten Australia in a series since 1986 and when they last met two years ago, Australia wrapped up the Ashes in just 11 days.

It’s little wonder the International Cricket Council has arranged a series between Australia and the rest of the world next year.

Australia coach John Buchanan says he is concerned by the trend but dismissed the notion his team’s domination was bad for the game.

"It’s up to the other teams and the International Cricket Council to work out ways and means to accelerate their progress," Buchanan told reporters in Perth this week.

"While people might say it isn’t healthy, I think it is. It’s important because that sets a new standard — they’re the new benchmark — that’s what everybody wants to be."

Ominously, Buchanan said the Australians were determined to keep on improving, predicting their best was yet to come.

"Our job is not to mark time, tread water and wait for other teams to look at what we’re doing and catch up," he said.

"If all we did was keep doing what we’re doing, then we’re doing a disservice to the game and certainly a disservice to Australian cricket."

"Our job is to keep improving, individually and collectively, and I always believe we can."

Not everyone in Australia agrees. Former Test skipper Greg Chappell says he is alarmed by the widening gap and wants Australia to actively help the rest of the world catch up.

"The game is in serious trouble," Chappell warned. "I know some administrators are very concerned about it and some are sitting back rather complacent about it."

"Australia has a good track record in developing the game, but we can’t assume that we can just look after our house and not look after everyone else."

The biggest threat to Australia’s domination is likely to come in the next few years when players such as Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath retire.

The transition was seamless after the departures of Steve and Mark Waugh and Mark Taylor but Warne and McGrath, in contrast, are all-time great bowlers.

The rest of the world will have to hope that they prove less easy to replace.

Australia’s current domination of world cricket can be traced back to the 1980s when West Indies were the driving force.

But unlike their rivals, the Australians learnt their lessons from defeat and had the resources to do something about it, developing academies of excellence and specialist coaches to ensure they have a steady stream of talent ready to take over. (AGENCIES)

Dravid won’t be keeping: Sourav

CHITTAGONG, Dec 22: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is set for his India debut as captain Sourav Ganguly today reaffirmed that the team would not go back to Rahul Dravid to take up the additional role of wicketkeeper in the one-day series against Bangladesh.

"Dravid won’t be keeping," Ganguly said on the eve of the first one-day international at the M A Aziz Stadium here.

The second and third one-dayers were to be played under lights in Dhaka on Sunday and Monday.

Ganguly said although the playing eleven was yet to be finalised, the team management has decided to rotate the seniors in the side so that the youngsters get a chance in the series.

"All the youngsters on the tour will get to play in the three games. They will swap around the seniors in the team," he said.

"Senior members like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar will be rotated alongwith the newcomers in the side."

"We will decide on whom to play in each match based on the right combination, after deciding whom to rest and such things."

Ganguly said Harbhajan Singh’s reported suspect bowling action would not affect the team in anyway.

"There is nothing special about it. Harbhajan had a talk with the board who has taken up the matter now. Several bowlers have been reported in the past, it is not a major threat."

The youngsters will have a big incentive for performing well in the low-key series as Ganguly said those who do well here might get to play against Pakistan at home in February-March next year.

Asked if Dhoni would be used as a pinch hitter, the captain said "we will work on that in the course of time... Ultimately we have to arrive at the best 14 for the Pakistan series."

Sridharan Sriram, who played his latest ODI in 2000-01, and uncapped Joginder Sharma are the other newcomers while Punjab skipper Dinesh Mongia is also on a comeback trail.

Dhoni, born in Almora, Uttaranchal and brought up in Ranchi, Jharkhand, called himself a "natural strokemaker". He earned rave reviews after his performance on the India `A’ tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya earlier this year.

The 23-year-old is ready to bat at any position.

"For India `A’ I have opened the innings and also batted at number three. But throughout my career, I have batted at seven, eight," said Dhoni.

"I am open to bat at any position to suit the team’s needs. I can bat in the middle order. At times, the team wants me to go up as pinch hitter, I have done that also."

He was in full flow during the three-day warm-up match between the Board President’s XI and the touring South Africans at Jaipur last month where he smashed six fours and a six for his 39.

Bangladesh have decided to rest paceman Mashrafe Mortaza and were toying with the idea of promoting veteran spinner Mohammad Rafique to the opener’s slot.

Mohammad Ashraful, the diminutive batsman from Dhaka who played an enterprising knock of 158 not out in the second Test, had been given the No. 4 slot. (PTI)

India will look to continue domination in ODIs too

CHITTAGONG, Dec 22: Unmoved by the Harbhajan Singh episode, India will seek to maintain the domination they established in the Test matches when they take on Bangladesh in the first encounter of the three-match one-day cricket series here tomorrow.

Harbhajan was reported for suspect bowling action during the second Test but that seems to have had little or no impact on the Indians who were preparing to sweep the series and end what has been a roller-coaster year on a positive note.

"It is a routine, a number of bowlers have been reported in the last few months. It has become part and parcel of the game," coach John Wright said.

"Harbhajan and the whole team is pretty relaxed. We want to try and replicate the performance of the Test series. We are looking for a 3-0 result."

Bangladesh on the other hand would be drawing hope from their spirited performance in the first innings of the second Test which saw young Mohammad Ashraful hit a dazzling 158 not out.

The 20-year-old right-handed batsman became the top scorer for Bangladesh in Tests and the disdainful manner in which he batted against Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan should inspire more confidence in the hosts.

Bangladesh, after coming close to avoid the follow on mark, then collapsed in the second innings as they lost nine wickets in 26 overs on the same day.

Yet, if their graph should come anywhere near to the heights of that third day’s performance, the lowest ranked test team could pose a more serious challenge in the series.

Bangladesh’s weakness has been its batting against the new ball. But in the shorter version of the game, a team that holds itself firm for a session could match the best.

"Yes, we expect ourselves to put up a better fight," said coach Dave Whatmore, who called for consistency from his players. "We need to show the resistance like we did in the first innings."

From India’s point of view, the spotlight would be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni who replaced Dinesh Kaarthick as the wicketkeeper-batsman.

The Jharkhand player, who originally hails from Uttaranchal, has earned rave reviews for his batting exploits, which is the primary reason why he was being tried out.

"From all reports that we have received, he is suited for the one-day game, and the selectors thought it was time to give him a chance. It is tough on Dinesh (Kaarthick) but that is what the selectors had to decide, and it is not a bad thing," Wright said.

There were also a few comeback cases, including that of Yuvraj Singh who returns to the Indian team after being dropped from the Test squad.

His Punjab captain Dinesh Mongia is another player who is back in the team after a gap of nearly 18 months. Incidentally, Mongia’s last appearance in a one-day match was also in Bangladesh in the TVS Cup triseries in April, 2003. Mohammad Kaif would be in the thick of action for the first time in two weeks he has been in this country while Murali Kartik, as well as Ajit Agarkar, might also play as the strike bowlers could be rested in turn.

Sridharan Sriram, who has played six one-day internationals, the latest being way back in 2000-01 in Rajkot against Zimbabwe, and Joginder Sharma, the Haryana player hoping to make his debut, are the other two players in contention.

The second and third one-dayers were to be played under floodlights in Dhaka on Sunday and Monday.

India enjoy a cent per cent record against Bangladesh, having won all their 11 matches. The slate is likely to be as clean when they return home for the new year.

The teams (from):

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Sridharan Sriram, MS Dhoni (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik, Joginder Sharma.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (captain), Khaled Mashud, Rajin Saleh, Khaled Mahmud, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahman, Tapash Baisya, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nafis Iqbal, Manjural Islam, Aftab Ahmed and Nazmul Hossain. (PTI)

Woolmer asked to refrain from making
too many statements

ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: The Pakistan Cricket Board has asked coach Bob Woolmer to avoid making unnecessary statements in the media, saying these were only making things more complicated for everyone.

Sources in Pakistan Cricket Board said PCB chief Shaharyar Khan, disturbed over the spate of statements appearing in the international and Pakistan press quoting Woolmer, had spoken to him on this particular issue.

"Basically the PCB chief told Woolmer he should only speak to the press when it is absolutely necessary and only give issue-related statements," the sources said.

"Shaharyar told him that too many statements did not help the team or PCB and only made things more complicated for everyone."

"He also spoke to Woolmer with reference to his frequent statements and replies on his website and his recent war of words with former coach Javed Miandad," the sources were quoted as saying in local daily `The News’.

Woolmer’s outspokenness had also led former Pakistan skipper Zaheer Abbas to remark that unnecessary comments like talking about the threat posed by Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie only added to the pressure on the players.

The coach has already sparked off a debate by stating publicly that he wanted Shoaib Akhtar to cut down his run-up as there are many who believe this was an issue which should have been discussed privately in team meetings.

The sources said former captain Imran Khan had also passed on an advice to Woolmer before the Australian tour through PCB manager cricket operations Zakir Khan to avoid giving too many statements in the press.

"Zakir had conveyed this message to Woolmer in November when the team was playing in Karachi," they added.

Shaharyar has also called up Miandad and requested him to refrain from giving any statements regarding Woolmer, they said.

"Shaharyar reminded Miandad that he was a person whose every word was taken seriously by the cricket public and he should avoid criticising the team or Woolmer at this stage as it would have a demoralising effect on everyone." (PTI)

Sreekumar Nair belts ton, helps Kerala score
319 against J&K

PALAKKAD, Dec 22: Captain Sreekumar Nair’s brilliant 132 and his 101-run eighth wicket partnership with M Sureshkumar 52 helped Kerala score 319 runs in their first innings against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy plate group ‘A’ cricket match on the opening day here today.

At close of play, J&K had made 23 for 1.

Electing to bat, Kerala were in trouble losing opener Sebastian Antony (1) with just eight runs on board. JK medium pacer Abid Nabi then struck twice, removing the other opener M P Sorab (12), Mausam Nathani (4) (35/3).

Sunil Oasis (11) along with Sreekumar Nair tried to revive the innings with a 29-run partnership for the fourth wicket, before Sameer Khajuria clean bowled Oasis. Nair and Ramakrishnan (15) then realised 51 runs for the fifth wicket before the latter was stumped by Arshad Bhat off Jagtar Singh.

Kerala lost Chandrasekhar (4) and Ananthapadmanabhan (20), when Nair along with Sureshkumar did the rescue act and helped the side to a healthy score.

Sreekumar Nair and Sony Cheruvathoor (34) added an invaluable 62 for the ninth wicket.

SCOREBOARD

Kerala (first innings):

Sebastian Antony c

Kanwaljeet Singh b P Mahajan 1

M P Sorab b Abid Nabi 12

Mausam Nathani c Arshad

Bhat b Abid Nabi 4

Sreekumar Nair c Arshad

Bhat b Abid Nabi 132

Sunil Oasis b Sameer

Khajuria 11

Ramakrishnan st Arshad

Bhat b Jagtar Singh 15

K Chandrasekhara c D Mahajan

b Sameer Khajuria 4

Ananthapadmanabhan c Arshad

Bhat b Jagtar Singh 20

M Sureshkumar b Dhruv

Mahajan 52

Sony Cheruvathur b Abid

Nabi 34

Prashanth Chandran not out 5

Extras (b 7, lb 8, w 6, nb 8) 29

Total: (all out in 75.1 overs) 319

Fall of wickets: 1/8, 2/20, 3/35, 4/64, 5/115, 6/120, 7/141, 8/242, 9/304

Bowling: Abid Nabi 18.1-1-83-4; P Mahajan 16-3-51-1; Majid Dar 4-1-3-0; Sameer Khajuria 18-4-96-2; Jagtar Singh 12-2-48-2; Dhruv Mahajan 7-1-23-1.

Jammu and Kashmir (first innings):

Sajjad Sheikh batting 16

Fayaz Hazari lbw b Sony Cheruvathur 0

Kanvaljeet Singh batting 0

Extras (b 4, nb 3) 7

Total (for 1 wicket) 23

Fall of wicket: 1/14

Bowling: Prashanth Chandran 5-1-15-0; Sony Cheruvathur 6-3-4-1; Sreekumar Nair 1-1-0-0. (PTI)