Daily Excelsior.........sports

Social transformation, the cricket way

NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Cricket has been the most unifying religion in India for a long time, but with boys from small towns and humble backgrounds making it to the Indian team, it is fast becoming a vehicle for social transformation too.

When Harbhajan, orphaned son of a junior clerk in the Railways says after winning the first man of the match award that it would now be easier for him to get his three sisters married, its luminous inspiration for a thousand other boys from struggling families, says a new book.

Every time Irfan Pathan, son of a humble muezzin, opens the bowling for India, he lights up the possibilities for a thousand young dreamers or when Virender Sehwag does something audacious with his bat, a thousand children in the back-alleys of the boondocks know that they are defined only by the limits of their potential. Cricket has been binding spirit for the nation, an expression for the inarticulate and the voiceless... It has been social mobility, tolerance and secularism, priciples that are integral to the survival and flourishing of the modern Indian state, says the book.

The book tells the story of cricket through pictures: which depict the high and low of Indian cricket. Everyone from Ranji and C K Naidu to Vijay Merchant and Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar to Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni can be seen

The book covers every milestone of cricket: From reducing England 19-3 in India’s very first test at Lord’s in 1932 to the famous victories against the West Indies and England in 1971; and from winning the 1983 World Cup to India’s performance in 2006 against Pakistan, England and the West Indies.

Majumdar also talks about what he describes as "the shift" - the transformation of South Asia into the nerve centre of global cricket power - a process that started in earnest in 1990s and has been consolidated since.

"The English win (Eng vs India, 3rd test, Mumbai, 2006) brought me a new truth about the game. Not even an hour had elapsed since England won in Mumbai... Being the cricket mad Indian that I am, I had expected that one and all on the London underground would be discussing cricket and how Flintoff and his men had done the country proud."

But Majumdar says little did he realise that cricket in england was hardly the game it once was. "... Only South Ssians, it turned out, bothered about cricket action back home and got up in the erly morning london chill to watch the action on pay Sky TV."

For the English, he says it was hardly a matter of life and death, more a leisurly pastime in contrast to India where "no hyperbole is sufficient to capture the importance of cricket in country’s national life."

However, the book says that cricket has also been corruption, power play and infamy. As monetary stakes have increased, so have accusations that Indian cricket officials are not above taking a kickback or two to award telecast rights or even select a player for the national team.

"Politicians who wouldn’t know the difference between googly and gully have been muscling into the cricket establishment, scenting the money and the power. State Cricket Associations that did not vote for the ruling coalition at the National Cricket Board are routinely punished by not giving them international match to host," writes Sandipan Deb, well-known journalist in an introduction to the book.

Th match-fixing scandal ripped through the heart of cricket and the knowledge that the roots of it are in India has left millions of cricket lovers cynical about the honesty of Indian players. "That dark doubt will always fester in some corner of the Indian cricket fan’s mind," he writes.

But despite all this, Indians buy products that their cricketers tell them to.

Majumdar says that if cricket is religion at home, Bollywood is India’s best known brand name and both are now too important politically to be left to cricketers and film stars.

"The change of guard at BCCI under maratha politician Sharad Pawar, who also heads the maharashtra cricket association, is indeed a pointer to what lies ahead. In Delhi and Bihar, the Cricket Boards are already headed by politicans."

In the years ahead, the marriage between cricket and nationalism, entertainment and patriotism, culture and passion will certainly dominate the face of India both at home and in the diaspora, he says.

On the future, he says, "judging by the body language of India’s younger lot of cricketers, the game is in safe hands." (PTI)

Chappell is ‘stubborn’, over indulgent
experimentor’: Kapil

NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Team India coach Greg Chappell is a ‘stubborn’ and ‘over indulgent experimentor’ who is dominating Indian cricket due to a ‘weak’ skipper, Rahul Dravid, and an equally below par selection panel, which failed to act decisively on Sourav Ganguly under pressure from the Australian, feels former captain Kapil Dev.

In an interview to India TV, Kapil said Chappell’s frequent experiments have left top cricketers in the team insecure about their place in the side and their position in the batting order.

"Insecurity may work in a culture like Australia where people pick up a box and shift cities next day," a caustic Kapil Dev observed.

"Insecurity doesn’t work in a culture like ours, where our entire existence is based on our craving for security, our DNA of not being shaken up too often, where a house once built is not deserted for the next ten generations. But Greg does not seem to understand this culture," he added.

Kapil said Chappell has not been able to understand this craving for security and his experiments have ended up doing more harm than good to the cricketers.

"He does not understand that (in India) insecurity can’t give you solid results. Instead, it shakes people’s confidence amongst themselves. But Greg doesn’t seem to understand. Such a man is either very stubborn or his level of thinking is so high that it isn’t understood by ordinary people like us," Kapil explained.

"Look at the constant shaking up, the constant experimentation. I have seen Irfan Pathan coming out to bat at number three 15-18 times out of 25! what am I to make out of it?" he quipped.

Expressing his exasperation with Chappell for the manner in which Ganguly was stripped of captaincy and Dravid was installed, Kapil said, "this isn’t just about greg. This is about the five national selectors. Greg should be only giving them his input. It was for the five selectors to take the final call. If our selectors are weak, I won’t blame greg for dropping Sourav Ganguly."

On being asked about Dravid’s alleged surrender before Chappell and his resultant elevation to the position of Indian skipper, the former captain said if Dravid had bowed to such pressure then he was being weak.

Speaking on Sachin Tendulkar’s comeback, Kapil reiterated that the master blaster was past his prime but denied that he wanted sachin to retire.

"Retirement is a thing you decide on your own. All I would like someone like Sourav or Sachin to do is to go with their head held high. Sachin will never bat like we saw him a few years back in Sharjah or Australia. He is no longer 18. He is 33. The domination we have seen from Sachin will never be seen again," he said.

"Gavaskar had to go. I had to go. Even Bradman had to go. We should give Sachin all the respect for what he has already achieved. Instead, we expect him to play on until he’s 50 years old!," he added. (UNI)

Gayle disappointed with fine

AHMEDABAD, Oct 22: Dashing West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle is "disappointed" by the fine imposed on him by an ICC match referee for arguing with Australian batsman Michael Clarke as he believes such banters are part of the game between two competitive teams.

Gayle also said Clarke should have also been heard in the same meeting which was conducted after West Indies stunned world champions Australia in a Champions Trophy match in Mumbai on Wednesay.

"I’m unable to speak about it any real detail as I might be fined again and go home with no money! but I would just say that I was disappointed by the fact I was fined 30 per cent of my match fee and that we should both have been in the meeting together but they were conducted separately," Gayle said in a column on a cricket website.

Gayle said it had all started off a joke which became a "bit more heated".

"Everything started off as a joke and then things became a bit more heated, but that’s all part of the game between two competitive teams. I don’t think I crossed the line that night as was suggested but I’ve had to accept my punishment and I will move on and try to forget it."

Gayle also said the victory against Australia had given the team a big boost, but India, whom they play next, would prove to be "tougher" opponents.

"The India match we have next though will be even tougher as they are in their home conditions and will have a very passionate crowd supporting them. We’ve been here before and know how intimidating the pressure can be for an opposing team taking on India in India," he said. (PTI)

Aussie batsman Hayden mauled in "vicious" dog attack

BRISBANE, Oct 22: Australian test opener Matthew Hayden has suffered a gashed ankle after being attacked by a dog ahead of next month’s Ashes cricket series opener against England, reports said today.

Hayden, who broke a finger while playing in his first match of the season here this month, was set upon while jogging on Friday, the reports said.

Tests have revealed there was no ankle tendon or ligament damage.

Hayden said the wound, about five centimetres (two and a half inches) long, would remain open for several days to minimise the risk of infection before being stitched.

"It was a vicious attack," Hayden told Brisbane’s Sunday Mail newspaper.

"I was was out for a leisurely run. You are always a bit shocked by that sort of thing but I was more disappointed than anything.

"It just hasn’t been my week."

Hayden was already out of cricket for a couple of weeks after breaking a finger taking a catch in last weekend’s sheffield shield match against Tasmania in Brisbane.

"The hand injury would have kept me out for longer than this one (gashed ankle) anyway," said Hayden, who added there was no doubt surrounding his fitness for the first test against England at the Gabba on November 23. (AFP)

16th Jammu Distt Open Billiards, Snooker
Sumesh, Ankush, Nikhil, Ishuk enter semis of Jr Snooker

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 22: Sumesh Turki, Ankush Gupta, Nikhil Kapahi and Ishuk Chowdhary today sailed into the semi-finals of the Junior Snooker in the 16th Jammu District Open Billiards and Snooker Championship being played at Billiards Hall of MA Stadium, here.

In the first quarter-finals, Sumesh Turki defeated Vidit Gauri by 3-0. Though Vidit fought well throughout the match yet he lost all the frames with a narrow margin. He lost the first frame by seven points, second by 10 points and third by one point. The score was 58-51, 56-46 and 80-49.

Ankush Gupta secured berth in semi-finals by defeating Ishan Sharma in a very tough competition. The match generated much interest among the audience as Ankush won the first frame by 55-13 and lost the second by 36-67. He again won the third frame by 58-31 and lost the fourth one by 22-50 thereby leaving the fate of the match on the fifth frame.

With two frames each in their credit, both the cueists played well to dominate the match yet Ishan lagged behind in the process and lost the match by 29 points.

In the third quarter-final, Nikhil Kapahi defeated Ishan Chowdhary in yet another tough match. None of the cueists could dominate each other for a long and the match was decided in the fifth frame. Amidst tough challenge, Nikhil managed to clinch the frame by 20 points.

In the last quarter-final, Ishuk Chowdhary defeated Sahil Arora with much difficulties. Ishuk won the first two frames by 61-31, 71-43 and lost another two by 30-61, 37-59. In the final frame, he scored 46 points as against 23 of Sahil thereby winning the match and securing berth in the semi-final.

Ankush to meet Sumesh in the first semi-final while Nikhil Kapahi to take on Ishuk Chowdhary in the second semi-final to be played tomorrow.

Earlier, in pre-quarter final matches, Ishan Chowdhary defeated Vishal by 3-0 and Nikhil Kapahi beat Akhil Tandon by 3-1.

According to the organisors, Junior Billiards will start from October 24 while Senior Snooker will begin on October 26.

JU registers 136 runs win over Lucknow University

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 22: Jammu University registered 136 runs victory over Lucknow University in its first match of the Inter-University North Zone Cricket Tournament being played at Aligarh Muslim University.

Lucknow University won the toss and invited Jammu University to bat first. JU scored 237 runs by losing five wickets in the stipulated time-frame. Anoop Magotra, captain of the team, scored unbeaten 71 runs. He was followed by Anil Sharma scored 31 runs with the help of four hits to the fence.

Anil Raina scored 28 runs and Raj Kumar contributed 25 runs to the total.

For Lucknow University, Pardeep Sachin was the most successful bowler and he clinched two wickets in seven overs at the cost of 65 runs.

Lucknow University could not chase the intended target and lost its all wickets at a total score of 99 runs in 21.5 overs.

For Jammu University, Gourav clinched four wickets while Ajit Pal took three wickets. Vikram Singh and Anoop Nagotra got one wicket each.

International cricketer Surinder Singh Bagal is accompanying the Jammu University team as coach.

Jammu Distt Open TT Championship from Oct 26

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 22: Jammu and Kashmir Table Tennis Association is organising Jammu District Open Table Tennis Championship at Indoor Sports Complex of MA Stadium from October 26 to 29, 2006.

The interested players are required to send their entries to Satish Gupta and Sunita Goel, Table Tennis coaches and Sandeep. The entries must be submitted to these persons before October 25.

The draws will be held at Table Tennis hall on October 25 at 7 pm and Tournament will be played according to the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) rules.

Musharraf in line of fire for Pak cricket chaos

KARACHI, Oct 22: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is used to domestic opposition but he has recently faced a different type of criticism — for harming his country’s cricket fortunes.

After two months of crisis ending in a doping scandal, some experts say that Musharraf, the chief patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), should be stripped of his ability to personally appoint the Chairman of the Board.

The call is led by cricketer-turned-lawmaker Imran Khan, a persistent opponent of Musharraf who complains that the military ruler runs both the nation and the Cricket Board undemocratically.

"The country is run without a constitution and so is cricket. It is so unfortunate that the President of Pakistan appoints the head of cricket, who is not accountable," said Khan, a former star all-rounder.

Pakistan’s latest controversy erupted last week when two of its premier fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, were sent home from the Champions League in India after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.

Less than two months earlier, Pakistan forfeited the fourth test against England at the Oval after Australian umpire Darrell Hair accused the team of ball tampering and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq kept them off the field.

Inzamam was subsequently cleared of tampering but was banned for four one-day internationals for bringing the game into disrepute. It was the first forfeit in the 129-year history of test cricket.

His replacement, Younis Khan, publicly refused to lead the team as a "dummy captain" and Mohammad Yousuf was appointed skipper.

But then PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan resigned and his replacement reappointed Younis as captain.

Last week, a prominent legal expert lodged a petition with the Supreme Court to challenge, among other things at the pcb, the appointment of Nasim Ashraf — a doctor and magistrate — as the new chairman.

Ashraf "doesn’t know anything about cricket," said Farooq Hassan, a specialist in international law and former advisor to four Pakistani Prime Ministers including now exiled Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf — who speaks of his love for cricket in his recent memoirs "in the line of fire" — was quoted as saying that he picked Ashraf because he was a close friend and had a "bold" personality.

The President has been PCB patron since he overthrew Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seven years ago. Sharif had suspended the PCB’s normal constitution in July 1999, and Musharraf has since appointed four different heads of the PCB.

Musharraf has even espoused "cricket diplomacy" with rival India — although when invited to New Delhi in April 2005, he says in his memoirs, he had to curb his instinct to "jump out of my seat shouting and clapping" when star batsman Shahid Afridi hit the Indian bowlers around the park.

Cricket and politics are therefore inextricably linked in Pakistan — but they also both arouse fiery passions among millions of people and cannot be ignored by the country’s leadership.

Sirajul Islam Bukhari, secretary of the influential Karachi Cricket Association since 1983, called for the PCB to be set up with a council of members from 12 different cricket associations around the country and three Board officials.

"The PCB was formed in 1948 but field Marshal Ayub Khan (Pakistan’s first military ruler from 1958-1969) started to nominate its head and since then this trend has continued," said Bukhari.

Despite the recent chaos, Pakistan surprisingly beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in their opening Champions Trophy match in the Indian city of Jaipur on Tuesday.

"It’s amazing that we are still a top world team despite lacking a system. Think of it, if we had a good system we could be like Australia, world-beaters all the time," said fan Khurrum Ali.

"When the game is run without planning, crisis will be there. Our first class cricket system is faulty and the team just thrives on natural talent," added Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to its only World Cup win in 1992. (AFP)