Anand favourite to retain Morelia-Linares title

LINARES (Spain), Feb 28: With a half point lead to back him from his Morelia stint in Mexico, world champion Viswanathan Anand starts as favourite in the second half of the Morelia-Linares tournament that starts in this Spanish Hamlet.

The Indian ace currently has 4.5 points from his first seven games in the category-21 event and a similar result in Linares should definitely be enough to retain the title.

In Morelia, Anand was devastating with black pieces as he won three out of four black games and in Linares he will have four white’s which will make the task of his contemporaries much difficult.

Former world champion Veslein Topalov of Bulgaria and Alexei Shirov of Spain follow Anand a half point behind. Another half point adrift are Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and Armenian Levon Aronian with 3.5 points each while Temour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine are now joint fifth on 3 points apiece.

With just 2.5 points in his kitty, Peter Leko of Hungary is currently at the bottom of the tables and would certainly like to better his present status.

Topalov and Shirov have in them to live up things and give Anand a run for his money in the second half of the tournament.

However, Anand’s huge plus score against Shirov might be a deterrent in the aspirations of the Latvian born Spaniard and according to experts Topalov is possibly the only one who can pose a challenge to anand in the event.

Magnus Carlsen was quite brilliant in corus tournament that he jointly won with Aronian but here both these players are a full point behind Anand and will have a lot of catching up to do before they can actually make a run for the title.

In the 8th round, Anand will take on Shirov who earlier lost to the Indian stalwart in the first round playing white. Anand would like to maintain a clean slate against Shirov and if he does so, it will be a perfect beginning in the second half.

The other pairing to watch out for in round eight is the battle between Aronian and Topalov which is likely to be a keen contest.

Aronian will play white in this game.

In the other games of 8th round Ivanchuk meets Carlsen while Radjabov will take on Leko. (PTI)

Australia seek to continue winning momentum

MELBOURNE, Feb 28: Australia will seek to create momentum for the best-of-three tri-series final against India when they take on Sri Lanka in an inconsequential league match here tomorrow.

While the hosts will be keen to use the game as a preparation for the tougher battles ahead, the Sri Lankans have only pride at stake in the game as they have already been eliminated from the title race.

The best-of-three finals will begin in Sydney on Sunday and it will be interesting to see whether the Aussies decide to rest some of their key players for the day-night contest.

Australia have won their last four matches in the tri-series and would look to iron out some of their weaknesses in an encounter which is only of academic interest.

They will also look to put the controversies about poor player behaviour behind them after another acrimonious week which saw opener Matthew Hayden launching a scathing verbal attack against Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma.

Sri Lanka have not been able to compete with the Aussies in the three previous games and it remains to be seen if Mahela Jayawardene can marshall his demoralised troops in order to finish the tour on a winning note.

Australia are treating the game as the beginning of their finals campaign.

"We’ve certainly taken the approach that our finals campaign starts now," retiring wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist said ahead of the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"You could say it would be better not playing the game and have a clear run into the finals and preparation. But we’ve got this game to use how we want to use it, and it’s not as a practice game. If we get lethargic we lose momentum," Gilchrist said.

It would be up to individual players on how they want to approach the game, he said.

"I’m sure every individual is looking to have their own specific things. I’m sure Ricky (Ponting) will want to back up now, the runs that he’s scored, and Symmo (Andrew Symonds). I’ve had a few tens, twenties scores since my hundred in Perth, so it would be nice to get a bit of momentum back up."

Australia lost the tri-series finals to England last season and would be keen to win the tournament the last time it is played.

"We don’t have that trophy in the cabinet and it’s the last tri-series that there will probably ever be.

"It’s been an integral part in the success of Australian cricket and the Australian cricket calendar, and indeed the world cricket calendar. Countries used to covet this trophy and loved to be here," Gilchrist said.

The fact that left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg will join the retirement bandwagon after the competition could also inspire the Australians to give a winning farewell to the tweaker.

Sri Lanka have lost four consecutive games since beating India in Canberra more than two weeks ago and Jayawardene wants his team to finish the series on a high.

"No team wants to lose four-five games in a tournament and not have a successful run. Every game we play, we play to win and give everything. Things haven’t gone our way, we have one more chance to rectify those things," the Lankan captain said.

Left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson will return to the side after missing the game against India in Sydney last Sunday while Sri Lanka may rest Farveez Maharoof, who has a side strain.(PTI)

Shah Rukh feels cricket is commercially viable

PUNE, Feb 28: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has explained that the chance to make money from cricket and channelising it to other sports was the main reason for him to get involved with the cricket board-promoted Indian Premier League.

"Commerce and business are very important in today’s world. Cricket is commercially viable and we need to make money from this sport," said the actor, who has bought the Kolkata franchise of the IPL, here last night.

Shahrukh said this in the presence of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president and MP Suresh Kalmadi who, in turn, appealed to the superstar to share his celeb status with other sports also.

"I am very happy with `Chak De India’ and the work you did for hockey. But I’m disappointed you went back to cricket. I want you to be made the ambassador of the Commonweath Games and Olympic sports in India," said Kalmadi at the inauguration of the Abhijit Kadam Memorial Football Cup.

"There are around 10 nations playing cricket at the moment and over 200 countries competiting in Olympic sports. Cricket has many fathers and I would love to have you as the brand ambassador for the Commonwealth Games," he added.

However, the comments did not go well with the actor, who took a jibe at the IOA president.

"Please don’t feel bad that I am backing only one sport. Sports should be part of our second nature and I am a sportsperson by heart," he said.

"(My) next step would be to take it (money earned in IPL) to hockey, football, kho kho, also kabaddi and gulli danda," he remarked.

"I have played hockey and a bit of cricket. I have something to clarify to Kalmadi also ... Please don’t feel bad that I am backing the cricket team. I need to make money from this sport and then move to other sports," Shah Rukh said.

The movie star said he believed that the next step for sports-loving persons like him was to take the money he earns from IPL to other sports.

The film star said one should not look down upon any sport and added he wanted to see the football team playing in the World Cup.

"We should not look down upon any sport. We need to use this sport (cricket) to uplift other sports." (PTI)

Henin, Kuznetsova, Ivanovic,
Mauresmo in Dubai quarterfinals

DUBAI, Feb 28: Top-ranked Justine Henin was stretched to the limit by Slovenia qualifier Katarina Srebotnik 7-5 6-7 (6) 6-3 to reach the Dubai championships quarterfinals.

In an enthralling match that lasted exactly three hours, Henin beat Dubai-based Srebotnik to remain perfect at the Aviation Club. The four-time defending champion, who had a first-round bye, improved to 17-0 in Dubai. Henin will next face Italian Francesca Schiavone.

Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised past Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-1 6-2 and will meet unseeded Amelie Mauresmo, the 2002 champion and last year’s runner-up. Kuznetsova upset Mauresmo in the 2006 quarterfinals.

Mauresmo, showing why she’s no longer in the top 25, struggled past lucky loser Akiko Morigami of Japan 4-6 6-1 6-4.

No 3 Ana Ivanovic, the Australian Open runner-up, showed no sign of the ankle injury that forced her out of last week’s Qatar Open when she dominated Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-4 6-0 in her Dubai debut.

No 4 Jelena Jankovic, a former finalist, needed all her grit and experience to beat Indian wildcard Sania Mirza 4-6 6-3 6-4.

Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Dementieva, seeded No 6 and 8, also won. Chakvetadze overcame compatriot Dinara Safina 6-7 (3) 6-4 6-3, and Dementieva beat Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko 6-2 6-1.

In the quarters, Jankovic plays Chakvetadze, and Ivanovic meets Dementieva. (AGENCIES)

Anandrathi Corporate Cricket Tournament
A to Z Securities suffer humiliating defeat

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 28: Atul struck a breezy ton as GMT demolished A to Z Securities by whopping 255 runs margin in the ongoing 2nd Anandrathi Corporate Cup Twenty20 Cricket Tournament being played at Jammu University Ground here today.

GMT won the toss and opted to bat first. They rode on the fire works of Atul who made 100 off just 54 balls to help his team piled up 294 runs in the allotted overs.

Atul pierced 14 hits to the fence and a towering six. Karan (63) and Aftab Malik (58) were other notable contributors.

For A to Z Securities, Ikhlaq and Sameer grabbed three and one wicket respectively.

Chasing 295 to win, A to Z Securities team failed to post even a fifty on the board as they perished for paltry 39 runs to suffer a humiliating defeat.

Sheikh Musafer was the only batsman who reached double figures (10). For GMT, Vikram was the wrecker-in-chief with four scalps while Ejaz snared three wickets.

The umpires in the match were Pappu Dogra and Santa Singh. The scorer was Rajeev Pakhetra.

LPS organises prize distribution function

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 28: Lawrence Public School (LPS) today organised its Annual prize distribution function in the school premises today.

Minister of State for School Education, G M Saroori was the chief guest on the occasion while Dr A K Raina Director, School Education was the guest of honour.

I D Soni, State Commissioner, Scouts and Guides was the special guest.

Prof J L Kotwal presided over the function.

The students presented colorful cultural items, songs and skits on the occasion.

Principal, S Joshi read out the annual report of the school.

Later, all the meritorious students were given awards.

Megha Bali, Aditi, Lakshav Bharti, Vansh Baru, Chaitanya, Saksham, Omar, Uman, Aditya, Sudhanshu, Paruoy, Anum, Jameel, Udhay, Kiran, Auchit Heera, Taiba Khan, Jatinderpal Singh, Auviksha, Radhika, Apurva, Palak, Ritvik, Pranav, Nirdosh, Surbhi Gupta and Richa Sandhu were adjudged as all-round best children.

Manish Joshi, Administrator, Lawrence Public School presented the vote of thanks.

Shivalik, Himalaya teams register wins

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Feb 28: Shivalik team and Himalaya team emerged winners today in Kabaddi and Tug-of-War disciplines (boys) in the ongoing 14th Annual Sports Meet of Dogra College of Education.

In Kabaddi, Shivalik team led by captain Prabhjit Singh cruised past Himalaya team (36-33) led by Suresh Dhaka.

In Tug-of-War, Himalaya team got the better of Shivalik team 2-1 to emerge winners.

Shivalik team was led by Daljeet Singh.

Meanwhile, the matches in badminton discipline (girls) will be played tomorrow.

Untried South Africans in line for ODIs

CHITTAGONG, Feb 28: South Africa today named untried batsman Hashim Amla and left-arm spinner Paul Harris in a 14-man squad for upcoming one-day clashes against Bangladesh.

The selectors opted to include the two, who are yet to play one-day international cricket, with an eye to future commitments on the sub-continent.

Pakistan are hosting the Champions Trophy this autumn while the next World Cup, in 2011, will be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

And India are hosting South Africa for a Test series starting next month.

"Selectors were keen to try Amla in one-dayers and see how he fares. Also, we always wanted to try out two spinners in view of two key events to be hosted by the sub-continent," South African media manager Michael Owen Smith said.

"We wanted to expose Harris to the sub-continental conditions with an eye on the tour of India. We need to be fresh and ready for that challenge."

Off-spinner Johan Botha is the other spinner in the squad, playing their first ODI series since the retirement of pace bowler Shaun Pollock this month.

Veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and paceman Makhaya Ntini are rested, with Graeme Smith continuing to lead the side.

There was speculation that Smith would be among the seniors who would fly back home after the second Test against Bangladesh beginning here tomorrow, ahead of the three-Test tour of India.

But owen said an experienced senior player as needed to guide the young team in tough conditions.

"With the likes of Kallis and Boucher out of the team, it was important to have some experience left. It is quite a young squad and some kind of experience is a must."

Smith will also play in the much-hyped Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, slated to start on April 18.

Opener Herschelle Gibbs, who comes in for Neil McKenzie, fast bowler Charl Langveldt and all-rounder Vernon Philander are expected to join the squad on March 2.

The first one-day match will be played here on March 9, followed by the remaining two in Dhaka on March 12 and 14.

Transformation policy to continue

The transformation policy in South African cricket would go ahead even though some forces were against it, board president Norman Arendse has said.

The Cricket South Africa boss said he was not trying to push his own agenda but merely following the transformation policies of the board.

The issue came to a head during team selection for the tour of Bangladesh with national coach Mickey Arthur protesting the policy of having a pre-decided number of coloured players in the squad.

"I had on three occasions, before the team left for Bangladesh, asked for the policy to have six players of colour in the team to be met. But on three occasions my call was rejected by some of the selectors and that is why there was a deadlock," said Arendse.

He reaffirmed his committment to transformation of South African cricket and said he would continue to campaign for it irrespective of what others have to say.

"I will not deviate from our commitment to give all cricketers a chance in South Africa. Transformation does not mean that we will have quotas," Aerendse said.

"We are committed to having a free and fair South Africa without fear - we don’t want to create a Kenya or a Zimbabwe here - but there is a section of the community that pushes us to the limit and tries to make us regret what Nelson Mandela has done for this country, and we don’t want to regret that," portfolio committee chairperson Butana Komphela said. (Agencies)

Gilchrist comes in support of Dhoni on ‘gloves’

MELBOURNE, Feb 28: As Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s wicketkeeping gloves failed to match the ICC’s regulation, Adam Gilchrist has come in support of his Indian counterpart saying, "he (Dhoni) hasn’t intentionally done that.’’

"I don’t think they were glaringly obvious to be different to what I use or anyone else at the moment or what is legal at the moment,’’ Gilchrist said.

"But they were just a bit too big. And it was an outstanding catch.’’

Dhoni pulled off an outstanding diving catch to dismiss Gilchrist in the Sydney match which India lost by 18 runs.

It was later reported by the match referee Jeff Crowe that the wicketkeeping gloves that Dhoni was wearing in that match were illegal and did not match the ICC’s regulations.

His gloves were found to have extra webbing between the thumb and the forefinger and was asked during Sunday’s game to switch to a different pair.

In the last decade ICC has altered the amount of webbing allowed in the wicketkeeping gloves.

"The guy that makes [Dhoni’s] gloves makes my gloves as well,’’ he said.

"Not for a moment am I insinuating that MS Dhoni intentionally wore them out there. Whether it’s a manufacturing error I’m not sure. I know the gentleman that makes them and he’s the best in the world, they’re brilliant.

"Maybe just in the manufacturing process - they’re all hand-made and hand-stitched - so they may have just used a little bit too much leather in that area,’’ he added.

Dhoni was not penalised for wearing those gloves by the ICC and Gilchrist said, "it was the appropriate result.’’

"They’re nothing like what we were wearing when I first started my career,’’ he said.

"We were wearing gloves that were almost like a baseball mitt. They were getting out of hand and the ones that Dhoni used the other day were nothing like that. I have absolutely no doubt that he hasn’t intentionally done that.’’ (UNI)

Pietersen shines in lacklustre England batting effort

DUNEDIN, Feb 28: Kevin Pietersen stood out with a half century as England was dismissed for 131 on the first day of a two-day cricket tour match against an Invitation New Zealand XI today.

Only four other players reached double figures and Alastair Cook’s 19 was the second-highest score, after Pietersen’s 50, as the tourists were hurried out in 40.1 overs.

New Zealand seam bowler Iain O’Brien took 4-34 and recuperating international Mark Gillespie returned 3-62.

The invitation side was 177-4 at stumps. Test opener Matthew Hell made 40 and his New Zealand teammate Jamie How made 65.

The match is England’s last warm-up ahead of the first match of a three-Test series starting next week at Hamilton. (AGENCIES)

Bond off to join rebel ICL

WELLINGTON, Feb 28: Fast bowler Shane Bond left New Zealand to play in the rebel Indian Cricket League, clinging to hope the ICL will eventually be officially recognised and that his international career may resume.

"I’m sure the restraint of trade things will eventually be tested and who knows what will open up. The landscape is changing all the time," Bond said.

New Zealand has joined all Test-playing nations in refusing to sanction the ICL, while allowing its players to join the Indian Premier League which will operate under the auspices of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Bond, 32, will receive a reported USD 800,000 a year for playing in the ICL. In doing so, he has had to give up his international career because New Zealand cricket has instructed its national selectors not to consider players with ICL connections.

Bond is shortly to join the English county Hampshire on a short-term contract but that involvement might also suffer because of his icl involvement.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has warned that players with an ICL affiliation may not receive the necessary clearances to be registered for county play.(PTI)

Haas knocked out in Memphis

NEW YORK, Feb 28: Twice defending champion Tommy Haas was knocked out of the Memphis championships losing 3-6 6-2 7-5 to fellow German Benjamin Becker.

Haas, who also won the tournament in 1999, lost his serve four times to end his 11-match winning streak at the event,yesterday.

"Obviously, this is a big win for me,’’ Becker told reporters. "It could have gone either way but I’m fortunate to get the win.’’

Haas underwent shoulder surgery in November but had appeared to be in fine form in his first-round match.

"I made a few too many unforced errors,’’ Haas told reporters. "He started picking up his game, he started serving better and didn’t give me much time to play.’’

"He was serving up a storm,’’ Roddick said. "I was lucky to get through.’’ (Agencies)