CARSON (California), Aug 7: Serena Williams has pulled out of the JPMorgan Chase Open, denying her the opportunity to get ready for the US Open by competing in her hometown tournament...............more

England win Ashes
Test thriller

BIMINGHAM (England), Aug 7: England beat Australia by just two runs to win the second Ashes Test on the fourth day at Edgbaston here today..............more

Roddick and Blake
advance to
Washington final

WASHINGTON, Aug 7: Top seed Andy Roddick and comeback king James Blake recorded impressive straight-set semi-final triumphs to reach the final of the 600,000-dollar ATP Washington Classic here...........more

Yuvraj, Kumble put
India in final

COLOMBO, Aug 7: Yuvraj Singh marked his return to form with a rollicking century as India warded off a spirited fightback by the West Indies to move into the final of the Indian Oil Cup cricket........more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 7: Member Parliament and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah today distributed prizes among the winners...................more

District Judo meet ends

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 7: The two-day Jammu district Judo championship, which was organised by the Jammu District Judo Association..........more

Distt sport climbing
meet from Sept 3

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 7: Mountaineering Association of J&K is organising 5th Jammu District Sport Climbing championship................more

Veteran footballers
continue support
to Chuni Lal’s family

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 7: Setting examples for others to follow, a group of veteran footballers once again came to the rescue of the family of known footballers of............more

Davenport, Williams withdraw from Los Angeles

CARSON (California), Aug 7: Serena Williams has pulled out of the JPMorgan Chase Open, denying her the opportunity to get ready for the US Open by competing in her hometown tournament.

World No 1 and defending champion Lindsay Davenport also withdrew from the Carson event with a back injury.

Reigning Australian Open champion Williams grew up in crime-plagued Compton which is the neighbouring suburb of Carson where the Home Depot Center facility is located.

Williams is sidelined with a left ankle injury that has also forced her out of the last two WTA events.

She won back-to-back titles here in 1999 and 2000 and was the runner-up to Davenport last year.

Davenport aggravated her lower back injury last week at Stanford and pulled out of this week's event in San Diego.

"I am very disappointed that I have to withdraw from the JPMorgan Chase Open and will be unable to defend my title," Davenport said. "My back is just not ready yet for competition.

"I look forward to returning next year and trying to regain my title." (AFP)

England win Ashes Test thriller

BIMINGHAM (England), Aug 7: England beat Australia by just two runs to win the second Ashes Test on the fourth day at Edgbaston here today.

England's victory, the closest in Ashes history, was achieved with more than a day to spare, and saw them level the five-Test series at 1-1 after their 239-run defeat at Lord's last month.

Australia resumed the day on 175 for eight, still needing a further 107 runs to win.

But their last two wickets added 104 to take them within sight of a famous victory.

Brett Lee, who top scored with 43 not out, almost saw Australia home after stands of 56 for the ninth wicket with Shane Warne (42) and 59 for the tenth with Michael Kasprowicz (20).

England, who had dominated most of a game they so nearly lost, won through when Kasprowicz gloved a Harmison delivery down the legside and was caught by by wicket-keeper Geraint Jones.

Earlier Warne and Brett Lee launched a superb rearguard action lasting 56 balls with both batsmen scoring well-struck boundaries.

But after Warne trod on his stumps against all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, Australia still needed 62 runs to win.

Then Simon Jones at third man dropped last man Kasprowicz on 18 off Flintoff with 15 runs needed.

Shane Warne was 20 not out and Lee yet to face when play began today after Michael Clarke had his stumps knocked over by fast bowler Stephen Harmison off the last ball of yesterday's play.

Both Warne and Lee gave England several anxious moments with some well-struck boundaries before Warne, walking across his stumps on 42, trod on his own wicket with his back foot while facing man-of-the-match Flintoff.

The Lancashire all-rounder, who took four for 79, produced a magnificent display that was vital to England's first Test victory against Australia with the Ashes still up for grabs since their win at Edgbaston eight years ago in the 1997 series opener.

After scoring 68 in England's first innings 407 and then taking three for 52 in Australia's reply of 308, Flintoff starred in dramatic style with both bat and ball on yesterday.

First he struck a whirlwind 73 off just 86 balls with four sixes, he hit nine in the match, and six fours in a total of 182 where no other batsman scored more than 21 although Simon Jones (12 not out) played his part in a valuable last-wicket stand of 51 in just 49 balls.

Flintoff's display yesterday was all the more impressive given he had injured his left shoulder early in his innings when on seven after following through with a square cut off Shane Warne.

And still far from fully fit, he bowled Justin Langer with his second ball of the day.

Then five deliveries later the Lancashire paceman had Australia captain Ricky Ponting caught behind for nought off a fast leg-cutter. (AFP)

The day featured several high quality performances from players on both sides, including Warne's six for 46 that left the leg-spinner just one short of becoming the first bowler to take 600 Test wickets.

Australia, winners of the last eight Ashes series, suffered a major blow before this match started when they lost leading fast bowler Glenn McGrath, who took nine for 82 at Lord's, during the warm-up before play on the first day Thursday after he trod on a cricket ball on the outfield and tore ligaments in his right ankle.

Nevertheless, Ponting chose to field first after winning the toss.

McGrath is unlikely to be fit for the third Ashes Test which starts at Flintoff's Old Trafford home ground on Thursday. (AFP)

Roddick and Blake advance to Washington final

WASHINGTON, Aug 7: Top seed Andy Roddick and comeback king James Blake recorded impressive straight-set semi-final triumphs to reach the final of the 600,000-dollar ATP Washington Classic here.

Fifth-ranked Roddick unleashed a barrage of sizzling serves in sweltering heat to defeat Thailand's 42nd-ranked Paradorn Srichaphan 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 while 101st-rated Blake ousted 36th-ranked Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-3 yesterday.

Blake, 25, reached his first ATP semi-final since 2003 at Long Island and his first since a 2004 illness that affected his hearing and vision and caused temporary facial paralysis.

"My heart is with James. He has been through a rough year," Roddick said. "I cheer for James. He's one of the good guys on tour. I want good things for him. That said, I want to beat him badly. He's athletic. He's dangerous."

Blake has never defeated Roddick, losing all five prior ATP matches against Roddick, having taken only one set off the 22-year-old powerhouse.

Roddick seeks his 19th career title in the all-American final. Blake bids for his second crown, his first won here in 2002. Roddick, the 2001 champion here, won earlier this year at San Jose, Houston and Queen's.

Blake and Roddick each surrendered only one point on their own serves in the second set of their semi-final victory. Blake lost his lone point in the third game while Roddick dropped his in the final game of the match.

Roddick displayed firepower at 44 degrees Celsius, blasting 13 aces with no double faults and a 73 per cent first-serve accuracy rate.

"I feel like I'm in a groove," Roddick said. "I feel like I've turned the corner to playing well. I hit the ball well, got it doing what I wanted."

Roddick lost only four points on his own serve in the 82-minute match.

"It was tough. He was serving well. That's why I got only four points," Paradorn said. "It's hard to read his serve. I thought he would come up the 'T' and he would hit it wide where I couldn't get it. It's his big weapon."

Roddick improved to 43-9 this year and 6-1 lifetime against Paradorn, who has lost five in a row to Roddick since his lone triumph came in a 2002 Paris quarter-final.

Paradorn sent a forehand wide on Roddick's first set point opportunity in the tie-breaker and hit a backhand wide to hand Roddick a break in the first game of the second set.

"I lost it at the beginning of the second set," Paradorn said. "It was tough to get back because his serve was pretty big and tough to return. I knew it would be tough."

Paradorn surrendered another break with a wide forehand to fall behind 4-1.

Paradorn, 26, fell to 20-22 for the year but enjoyed his deepest ATP run since losing to Carlos Moya in the Chennai final in January.

Berdych saved three set points on his own serve in the final game of the first set before sending a forehand long. He saved two more in the fourth game of the second set but sent a forehand wide and Blake, who fired nine aces, rode the break to victory.

Blake, 18-15 this year, fell to 210th in the rankings but returns to the top 100 tomorrow. Berdych, 21-22 in 2005, will crack the top 33 for the first time. (AFP)

Yuvraj, Kumble put India in final

COLOMBO, Aug 7: Yuvraj Singh marked his return to form with a rollicking century as India warded off a spirited fightback by the West Indies to move into the final of the Indian Oil Cup cricket tri-series with a nail-biting seven-run victory.

After posting the highest total of the tournament so far of 262 for four, the Indians had to dig deep into their reserves to quell the late resurgence of the young West Indians, just about managing to stop them at 255 for nine.

The islanders needed 12 runs from the last over to continue their giant-killing act but Ashish Nehra ensured that India secured a place in Tuesday’s final by giving away just four runs in the thrilling day-night encounter at the Premadasa stadium.

The Indians seemed to cruise along comfortably at one stage having reduced West Indies to 112 for six but Runako Morton (84) and Denesh Ramdin (74 no) staged a remarkable recovery with an 83-run partnership.

The Indians will now take on hosts Sri Lanka in the flood-lit final at the same venue on Tuesday.

The Indian batting came good for the first time in the tournament with Yuvraj cracking a combative 110 to lift India from a precarious 51 for three.

Yuvraj, who missed the previous two matches due to a viral fever, stroked 11 fours and a six and added 165 runs for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Kaif who made 83 not out.

Anil Kumble, playing his first match on the tour, then produced an incisive spell of three for 38 to break the back of the second string West Indian side.

Irfan Pathan (2-34) and Ashish Nehra (2-60) blew holes in Caribbean top order but the latter proved expensive in his return spells before making amends with the tight final over.

The inexperienced Caribbean team did not let the absence of their skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul affect their resolve.

West Indies, to be fair, kept up a good rate to keep themselves in the game with a fair shout before running out of steam.

India began their quest horribly, losing their first three wickets for 51 runs by the 17th over and losing Sourav Ganguly by way of injury when a short ball from Darren Powell smashed on to his left-arm.

Ganguly was taken to hospital and X-ray revealed no fracture but the left-hander was put out of the match.

Virender Sehwag (6), VVS Laxman (7) and Rahul Dravid (10) meanwhile were not worth their reputation in the middle. Sehwag was out of sorts; Laxman typically loose outside the off-stump and Dravid, for the second time, losing his wicket to an off-spinner.

Yuvraj Singh gave an early insight into his mindset when he cut and flicked left-arm pacer Deighton Butler for boundaries in the 11th over. Kaif was an ideal foil and the two took recourse to aggression to bail India out of mess.

They batted together for nearly 30 overs, running hard between the wickets and pouncing for big shots on anything loose. They put on 165 runs from 177 balls.

Yuvraj was the first one to reach his half century from 58 balls with seven fours and the century stand between the two came in 124 balls.

This was Yuvraj’s third hundred in his career of 120 matches. It has taken him another 15 months and 44 games to reach the three figures after his 139 against Australia in the VB series February last.

A feature of Yuvraj’s innings was his crashing off-drives and thumping pulls whenever the fast bowlers pitched it short. The running between the wickets of the two young batsmen also caught eye.

Kaif ran swiftly in his customary style between the wickets and cleverly hit his shots between the fielders. He shifted his gears admirably and with Mahendra Singh Dhoni who smashed an unbeaten 28 from 13 balls with two sixes and a four.

The unbroken fifth wicket stand of 46 runs came in the last four overs.

West Indies began the chase brightly enough but once Irfan Pathan struck twice in his opening spell, removing Xavier Marshall (19) and stand-in captain Sylvester Joseph (4), they began to lose way.

Ashish Nehra removed Narsingh Deonaraine (6) through a fine catch at mid-on by Kumble, who then began gobbling up wickets like someone who has been away from it for long.

Kumble took his first two wickets by way of leg before wickets, Omari Bank (4) and Dwayne Smith (26) were the victims, the latter a dispiriting presence for Indians in the middle as he smashed Nehra for two sixes on the onside, the first one such a monstrous pull it cleared the stadium at the square leg area.

Kumble’s third success came in the fourth over when Ricardo Powell (4) popped a catch at forward short leg. West Indies were 112 for six and India hadn’t even worried about their fifth bowler.

Morton waged a lone battle bringing up his half century with a straight drive off Kumble, and had raised visions of an upset win when Ashish Nehra had him caught at midwicket for 84, made from 105 balls with six fours and a six.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Ramdin was another one who kept the West Indies reply going till the final overs even as the run-rate was climbing all the while.

They needed 48 runs from the final five overs with two wickets remaining.

The equation came down to 30 from the last three overs and when Ramdin took boundaries off the first two balls from Nehra, anything appeared possible.

The golden arm of Mohammad Kaif then ran out Deighton Butler (9) at the non-striker’s end but the West Indies were still on and needed 12 runs from the last over but Nehra conceded only four runs as India emerged winners by seven runs. (PTI)

Farooq distributes prizes amongst winners

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Aug 7: Member Parliament and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah today distributed prizes among the winners of 2nd Bodh Raj Bali memorial cricket tournament of which the final was played yesterday at Government Medical College hostel ground, here.

In the final, MCC thrashed YCC by a huge margin of 112 runs. Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, MCC set a target of 174 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs, which, in reply, YCC could not chase and was bowled out for 61 runs.

Vijay Dogra was adjudged man of the match.

Cricket coach

next month

On the side-lines of the prize-distribution function of the 2nd Bodh Raj Bali memorial cricket tournament, president, JKCA, Dr Farooq Abdullah has said that ‘a BCCI certified cricket coach will be in place in the first week of coming month (September).

He was speaking to the visiting J&K Ranji Trophy skipper, Dhruv Mahajan, who was accompanied by the senior vice-president of the J&K Cricket Players Association, Ranjit Kalra.

In reply to Dhruv’s request for early selection of the probables for the State Ranji Trophy team, Dr Abdullah responded positively. However, he made it clear that there will be no 25 probables this time and the selected 14 plus 2 will play throughout without any change.

The JKCA president also disclosed to the Ranji skipper that more decisions are yet to taken in a scheduled meeting to be held on coming Friday i.e. on August 12 at Jammu.