Sports Section

Jaspal Rana equals world record to win gold

IANS
Friday, December 08, 2006 16:11 IST


DOHA: Jaspal Rana shot a world record 590 points in the men's 25 metres centre fire pistol shooting to bag his second gold at the 15th Asian Games on Friday, and helped India win the team gold in same event.

Rana, who had won the 25m standard pistol gold on Thursday, shot 294 points in precision and 296 in rapid sections for a combined total of 590 that equaled the 16-year-old world record of Russian Sergei Pyzhianov.

Rana also equaled the Asian record of Chinese Yongde Jin, who had established the mark in October 2005.

Chinese Guohoi Liu won the silver with 587 (289+298) and Jakkrit Panichpatikum of Thailand the bronze with 586 (293+293).

The other Indians in the fray, Vijay Kumar and Samresh Jung, finished ninth and 12th respectively.

Rana's superb performance, along with that of Vijay Kumar (286+294=580) and Samresh Jung (287+291=578), helped India win the team gold with a combined total of 1,748 points in same event.

South Korea won the silver with 1,738 (Byung Taek Park 584, Seong Hwan Hong 580, Dae Kyu Jang 574) while China clinched the bronze with 1,735 (Guohui Liu 587, Penghui Zhang 576, Zhongsheng Liu 572).
 
Paes, Mirza win mixed doubles gold


DOHA: Leander Paes set the Asian Games tennis arena ablaze by grabbing two gold medals as he claimed the men's doubles title and then paired up with Sania Mirza to bag the mixed doubles crown with a hard-fought victory over their Japanese rivals on Wednesday.

Barely hours after teaming up with Mahesh Bhupathi to fetch India's a gold medal in the doubles event, the lion-hearted Paes showed no signs of fatigue as the Indian duo scripted a 7-5 5-7 6-2 victory over Satoshi Iwabuchi and Akiko Morigami in a summit showdown lasting two hours 20 minutes.

With the addition of one more gold medal, the Indians completed their tennis engagements in the Asian Games with two gold and two silver medals.

Sania had won a silver in the women's singles and India had finished second behind Chinese Taipei in the women's team event.

It was a tremendous show of stamina and grit as both Paes and Sania had played gruelling matches before taking the court for the mixed doubles event under floodlights at a nearly-packed Khalifa stadium.

Paes took the bulk of the load and displayed some acrobatic shots as the Indian pair wrapped up the first set in 55 minutes much to the delight of the crowd.

But the Japanese pair came back strongly to claim the second set in 47 minutes to force a decider.

The top seeded Indians, however, found the going relatively easier in the third set as their Japanese opponents wilted under pressure to lose 6-2, triggering off scenes of celebrations in the stands.
 
Lee-Hesh made it for 2nd time consecutively !!!

Paes and Bhupathi thriller

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in celebratory moodIndians Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi survived seven match points in a gripping men's tennis doubles final against Thai twins Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana, to win the gold medal 5–7, 7–6, 6–3 at Khalifa Courts on Wednesday. The Ratiwatana brothers had the consolation of silver, while Cecil Mamiit and Fredrick Taino of the Philippines and Korea’s Jun Woong Su and Kim Sun Young won bronze medals.

Paes and Bhupathi, top seeds and defending champions, edged into a 2–0 lead in the first set, but the Thais settled and started to improve. With the score at 3–2 they broke the Indian serve and repeated the feat at the end of the set to win 7–5.

The second set lasted for more than one hour and regularly had a boisterous crowd on their feet. The majority were flag and banner-waving Indians, reeling from Sania Mirza’s defeat in the women's singles final earlier in the day and hungry for gold.

The four players displayed some brilliant doubles play with fast rallies, sharp volleys, beautiful passing shots and fierce returns. At 1–1, with Sonchat serving, Paes and Bhupathi had a chance to break the Thai's serve. After six deuce points, the Thai twins won the game with a strong serve and gained in confidence, with the Indians refusing to surrender.

Thailand's twins secured three match points later in the set, but some thunderous smashes and a subtle Paes volley brought the score to deuce. The Thais failed to claim three match points after that, before Paes and Bhupathi eventually won the game and forced a tie break. The Indians survived one more match point before winning 9–7 to take the match to a third set.

Paes and Bhupathi won the first game of the final set before rain interrupted play for about half an hour. When the match resumed, the Indian pair immediately broke the Thais serve for a 2–0 lead. Ratiwatana and Ratiwatana bounced back and broke service, but Paes and Bhupathi again broke the twins' serve to lead 3–1. The Thais broke back in the subsequent game, only to lose their service again immediately afterwards.

Paes served for the match at 5–3, but the pressure got to him and he produced some weak serves. At 15–40, Ratiwatana and Ratiwatana looked like they had the game, but Paes volleyed to go to 30–40, before Bhupathi had a lucky break when the ball bounced off the frame of his racquet and landed just over the net for deuce. The tension around the stadium was evident as Paes finished off the match with two good serves to send the sizeable Indian contingent wild with delight.

After the thrilling win, Paes said, "I am just relieved. It's been a really long week, and to come up with the win is just great. I must say we have worked hard all week. We have done a lot of practice and you can see that we have come up with wins.

“We must have saved six or seven match points in the second set. It just goes to show that we fought hard, and won by the skin of our teeth. I must congratulate the Thais, they threw everything at us, including the kitchen sink. But once we won the second set I knew we were going to win. They were very unlucky not to win the match in straight sets."

Sanchai Ratiwatana said: I had a great feeling about today. I tried everything I could to win, but we just lost. They played really good, and on the important points they were just unbelievable. It's a great feeling to play here, and especially to play at this level."
 
Playboy not game anymore


Shane Warne, who has likened his life to a soap opera, always entertained and excited his fans.

The game of cricket will not be the same again. After the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney starting January 2 cricket will be duller no doubt, what with it’s greatest spinner and arguably greatest bowler no longer set to appear on centre stage. Shane Warne, 37, the holder of the world record of 699 Test wickets has almost had enough of bamboozling batsmen.

Soon, the game of cricket will be unrecognisable to itself. Soon, it will be plainer and quieter. Soon, abandoned by the front page, the opinion page and the social page, it will return to the back. Soon it will also be a finale for Glenn McGrath, 36, who is quitting all forms of cricket to spend more time with his wife, Jane, who is battling cancer.

Warne took a dead art and revived it, McGrath made fashionable the virtues of line and length. Together they have been the most lethal combination of bowlers the game has ever seen. After the Ashes cricket’s greatest double act will no longer feature together. Warne, named as one of five cricketers of the 20th century by the sport’s respected Wisden almanac in 2000, hinted at retirement two days ago after Australia beat England in Perth to reclaim the Ashes following its defeat 15 months ago.

Warne, who has likened his life to a soap opera, is set to accept a position on the Nine Network’s commentary team, the Herald added. Last year, Warne was dumped from a A $300,000 television contract with Nine after the breakup of his 10-year marriage, following reports in UK newspapers that he had a series of extra-marital affairs in England.

His dismissal of England batsmen Mike Gatting in the 1993 Ashes series with a delivery that pitched outside leg stump and spun to hit off stump was dubbed “the ball of the century.” Warne has taken a Test hat-trick, won the man-of-the-match award in a World Cup final and been the subject of seven books. He was the first cricketer to reach 650 Test wickets and scored more runs than any other player without making a Test century.

Away from the field, controversy has never been far away from the blond surf-lover who played Australian Rules football as a teenager. Warne was stripped of Australia’s vice-captaincy in 2000 after making lewd telephone calls and was fined 10 years ago for taking payments from a bookmaker. He also was caught smoking at a time when he was endorsing an anti-smoking product.

In 2003, he was suspended for a year for testing positive to a banned substance on the eve of the World Cup in South Africa. At the time, Warne said he swallowed a fluid-reducing tablet given to him by his mother without realizing it contained a prohibited substance. Sometimes, on being hit for four, Warne would groan and throw up his hands as if to wonder where he had gone so wrong. The next ball would scuttle through the unsuspecting batsman’s defence. It was all a deadly plot.

Above all, he had the temperament for the big stage.

In his unauthorised biography, Paul Barry said Warne’s triumphs amounted to 1000 women — although his source was anonymous. But his affable nature, willingness to voice an opinion and, it has to be said, even his infidelities, have conjured an image of a loveable rogue.
 
Harmison quits one-day cricket, Vaughan recalled


SYDNEY: England fast bowler Steve Harmison announced his retirement from one-day internationals on Thursday, while injured captain Michael Vaughan was recalled for next month's triangular series here.

Harmison, 28, said he wanted to concentrate on Test cricket as he quit ahead of the series with Australia and New Zealand and next year's World Cup.

"After careful consideration and having taken advice from several people who have been close to me throughout my career, I have decided to retire from one-day international cricket with immediate effect," he said.

"This has been a difficult decision but I want to play at the highest level for as long as I can and believe that concentrating solely on Test cricket is the best way forward for me during the next phase of what will hopefully be a long England career," he said.

Harmison has struggled with his form, taking just one wicket in the first two Ashes Tests against Australia. He took five in Perth but was unable to prevent Australia taking an unbeatable 3-0 series lead.

He has taken 67 wickets in 46 one-day matches for England at an average of 30.7 runs.

Selectors said Vaughan's inclusion in the 16-man squad for January's series with Australia and New Zealand was subject to fitness.

They will delay appointing a captain until after the Ashes Test series against Australia, scheduled to end on January 6.

"Michael Vaughan has been included in the one-day squad subject to fitness," said chairman of selectors David Graveney.

"He has made excellent progress with his recovery from injury but we feel that it would not be appropriate to announce the captaincy of the one-day side at this stage and will delay any announcement until after the Test series."

Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who took eight wickets at Perth, has been included in a one-day squad for the first time.

Squad
James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, James Dalrymple, Andrew Flintoff, Ed Joyce, Jon Lewis, Sajid Mahmood, Paul Nixon, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Chris Read, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett, Michael Vaughan.
 
Goodbye to Test cricket

Goodbye to Test cricket


Warne & McGrath

It could only happen in Australian cricket. The most successful bowlers in Test history — spinner Warne and paceman McGrath — will be saying goodbye to international cricket on January 6, the last day of the fifth Test at Sydney of the ongoing Ashes series.

Warne has spun his way to 699 Test wickets and is expected to be the first player in the history of the game to cross the 700 mark by then. McGrath is the world’s most successful fast bowler with 555 Test wickets.

Since cricket is a team sport, you only have to add up the wickets taken by the two to get an idea of the contribution made by them. To date, the tally of Warne and McGrath adds up to a whopping 1,254 Test wickets.

It takes 20 wickets to win a Test. Divide 1,254 wickets by 20 and the dividend is close to 63 Tests. Since it started playing the game, Australia has won 318 Tests out of 685 Tests.

Divide 318 Tests by 63 and the hypothetical answer is that the total number of wickets taken by McGrath and Warne add up to almost one out of every five wickets taken in Tests won by Australia!

Even if you take the total number of 685 Tests played by Australia and multiply it by 20 wickets, McGrath and Warne have together taken 1,254 wickets or over 9% out of a possible 13,700! Not bad for two out of the 397 players who have so far represented Australia!

Figures cannot capture the magic wrought by the two. Cricket commentators still go into raptures over Warne’s “ball of the century” when his first Test delivery bowled in the English summer of 1993 pitched way outside Mike Gatting’s leg-stump and turned sharply to dislodge the off-bail!

And McGrath is rated as the most accurate fast bowler ever when it comes to consistently pitching the ball on the right length just on or outside the off-stump. January 6 will bring the curtain down on the careers of Test cricket’s most successful spinner and fast bowler.
:SugarwareZ-299:
 
BCCI to take decision on Commonwealth Games invite

BCCI to take decision on Commonwealth Games invite

Mumbai, Dec 21. The Cricket Board will decide tomorrow whether to accept the proposal for inclusion of the willow sport in the Commonweath Games, to be held in 2010 in New Delhi, after a gap of 12 years.

The BCCI's working committee, which will meet here tomorrow, will discuss the issue and decide whether cricket will be a medal sport at the next CWG after having made its debut in 1998 at Kuala Lumpur, a Board source said.

"(BCCI Chief Sharad) Pawar had met the Commonwealth Games Federation Chief (Michael Fennell) along with Arun Jaitley last month and a letter has been received proposing cricket's inclusion in the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi. The matter is to be taken up at the meeting," the source said.

After its debut in Malaysia, cricket was not part of the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and Melbourne respectively but may return in 2010 if the BCCI accepts the proposal.

However, it is not clear whether any discussion will be held at the meeting over Pawar's likely nomination to succeed Percy Sonn as the next President of the International Cricket Council though BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah had indicated this would be discussed at the meeting, the source said.

"It's not listed on the agenda," the source said.

Pawar has received support from the three other South Asian cricket boards -- Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh -- to succeed South Africa's Sonn, who had taken over the reins of the ICC earlier this year -- as the next chief of the world body.

But Pawar has been non-committal on the issue saying it was too early to talk about as Sonn has a three-year term to run, though the deadline for submitting the nominations to the ICC for the South African's successor is January 1, 2007.

The working committee will also discuss and ratify the decisions taken at the meeting of the finance committee, headed by Sudhir Nanavati, to be held tomorrow morning, the source said.

The tour programmes and fixtures committee's decision on allotment of matches to different centres during the forthcoming one-day international series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, will also be taken up for ratification.

Nagpur (Jan 21), Cuttack (Jan 24), Chennai (Jan 27) and Vadodara (Jan 30) have been allotted matches in the best-of-four series against the West Indies while the ODIs against Sri Lanka are to be held at Pune (Feb 8), Rajkot (Feb 11), Goa (Feb 14) and Vishakhapatnam (Feb 17).

The decisions taken at the umpires' sub-committee meeting held earlier this week, including the recommended punishment for dereliction of duties by not allotting any more matches this season to match referee Sambaran Banerjee and Mumbai umpire Sameer Bandekar, will also be discussed.

The report and recommendations of the National Cricket Academy, which met here on Monday, are also to be put up for ratification, the source added.
:tea:
 
Warne captured his 700th victim in Test Cricket against England at Melbourne

'One of the best days I've ever had' - Warne
December 26, 2006

Almost everything Shane Warne touched at the MCG turned to farewell gold, but he didn't quite fulfil his plan to dismiss Andrew Strauss for his 700th wicket. Glenn McGrath asked Warne early in his spell how he was going to dismiss Strauss and the bowler's answer was half wrong.

"I said I'd bowl him through the gate sweeping," Warne said. "In that over I bowled him through the gate but it wasn't sweeping, it was driving. When that sort of stuff happens you know something is going right for you."

Strauss' dismissal sent Warne on a sprint towards the Great Southern Stand but he "got puffed" and had to stop before he was mobbed by his team-mates and celebrated by the crowd. Among the 89,155 spectators were his three children, parents and brother and he was still amazed by the emotion when he spoke after play.

"There are some special days that happen in your life and some special things that happen and that is definitely one of them," he said. "The birth of your children, getting married, playing your first Test, they're pretty special. From an individual point of view that's got to be one of the best days I've ever had."

Strauss wasn't feeling as comfortable with his new place in cricket history. "It's a great achievement for him and something that will live long in many people's memory, but probably not mine," he said. "It was a very full ball and I'm not quite sure how I missed it. I probably didn't hit it as straight as I could have done."

Warne's fingers were affected by the cold but he became more comfortable as they warmed after tea and some misplaced slogs from the tail-enders and the wickets of Strauss, Kevin Pietersen and Chris Read pushed him to 704 by stumps. The 5 for 39 was only the third time Warne had collected five wickets on his home ground - the first was in his opening game at the ground in 1992-93 - and it was a special occasion from the moment Ricky Ponting let him lead out the team.

His day began at 6am when he woke to host a breakfast for the Shane Warne Foundation and the guest list also included the early risers Glenn McGrath and Kevin Pietersen. Like everything else Warne did today, the function was a success.

As Australia knocked 48 runs off England's advantage of 159 Warne was struggling to believe his first-day impact on a seaming surface. "Today was something to get pretty excited about," he said. "We knocked them over for 150, I got five-for and took my 700th wicket, it's pretty hard to keep those emotions in. I just enjoyed it. To take five-for on a seaming wicket on the first day as a legspinner makes you feel pretty good."

Despite reaching the untouched milestone, Warne expects the record will be lost quickly to Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 674 victims. Warne again predicted Muralitharan would reach 1000, but he wasn't sure how long his own mark would remain out of reach to the next generations of bowlers.

"Fifteen to 20 years ago you would have thought 'who would get to 400 or 500?'" he said. "Someone might keep coming up getting 800, 900, 1000 and I might be way down the order. Who knows?"
 
Ishant Sharma likely to join squad in SA
December 26, 2006

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Ishant Sharma, the 18-year-old Delhi medium pacer, is likely be sent to South Africa ahead of the final Test at Cape Town.

Sharma, currently playing in only his fifth first-class match, is likely to join the squad before the final Test. With Irfan Pathan being sent back to India to play domestic cricket, and Munaf Patel yet to regain full fitness from an ankle injury, Sharma may be asked to step in and fill the breach in the squad, should the need arise, through another injury.

When contacted, Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, would neither confirm nor deny the story. "If the need arises for a replacement, and the team management feels the shortcoming, then the selectors will discuss the matter over the telephone and decide on a replacement," Shah told Cricinfo. Dilip Vengsarkar also echoed his views, telling reporters in Durban that Sharma won't be joining the team.

Rahul Dravid, speaking at the toss ahead of the second Test, said that Munaf was not yet fully fit, but did stress that he was only "two or three days" from where the team wanted him to be, suggesting that he would be fit in time for the next Test.

However, it is learnt that the preparations to get Sharma across to South Africa are already under way. "We want him [Sharma] to see what happens at the highest level," said a senior Indian board official and an unimpeachable source, who did not want to be named for obvious reasons. "We believe it will be good for his development." Although this goes against the grain of what the board secretary told Cricinfo on the record, it corroborates all the other indications received from the team management and sources in South Africa.

Should he go, it is unlikely that Sharma will figure in the playing eleven, but it is believed that he is being sent to South Africa to get a feel of international cricket and the Indian dressing-room and to obtain firsthand guidance from Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, and Ian Fraser, a member of the support staff.

Sharma plays for the Rohtak Road Gymkhana Club in Delhi and, though in his debut first-class season, has a couple of Under-19 tours under his belt. He's currently playing for Delhi against Saurashtra in Rajkot, where he has 3 for 117 from 36 overs; prior to this match he'd picked up 19 wickets from four games, with one five-wicket haul against Baroda. His USP is the ability to extract unnerving bounce, thanks mainly to his build - Sharma is 6'4" tall and lanky, and is nicknamed Lambu for obvious reasons.

Sharma's cause has probably been helped by the fact that Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, was in Delhi a couple of weeks ago watching him bowl in a Ranji trophy match against Tamil Nadu. On a shirtfront of a Kotla wicket, where the ball barely carried through to the keeper, Sharma put in a good effort.

Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Indian U-19 team, was impressed with Sharma's bowling, and apart from praising the bowler in the media had also conveyed his thoughts to the BCCI.
 
Pawar files nomination after Asian bloc meeting

December 29, 2006



Sharad Pawar, the president of the Indian board (BCCI), has filed his nomination for the post of ICC president as the 'common representative of the Asian bloc' after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) met in Singapore and agreed on his nomination.

"All the Test playing nations in Asia - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - have decided on the nomination of Mr. Pawar and it has been sent to the ICC," Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the BCCI, told PTI. Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said that the BCCI also hoped to rope in the West Indies board to back Pawar.

Earlier Syed Ashraful Huq, the ACC chief executive officer, said that the ACC wanted Pawar to be the ICC president. "The ACC cannot nominate", Huq told The Times of India. "So it is likely that India will nominate and we will support it."

Mahmud-ur-Rehman, the Bangladesh board chief executive, also confirmed his board's support to Pawar. "We are for it and have informed the BCCI too," said Rehman.

The last date for filing of nominations is January 1. The ICC will vote in its new president in its annual meeting in London in July next year for a term of two years beginning 2008 . The nominations committee is headed by AC Muttiah, the former president of the BCCI.

:bigsmile:
 
World Cup probables to be selected on Jan 12 at Rajkot


MUMBAI: Thirty probables for the Cricket World Cup and a team for India's first two one-dayers against the West Indies will be selected at Rajkot on January 12.

The probables' names will be sent to the International Cricket Council by January 13, the deadline to submit the list, and it would be further pruned to 14 members a month before the start of the mega event in the Carribean on March 11.

The first of the four-match ODI home series against the West Indies will be played on January 21 at Nagpur and the second will be a day-night affair on January 24 at Cuttack.

"The selection committe meeting will be held at Rajkot because captain Rahul Dravid would be playing for Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy four-day match against Saurashtra from January 10-13," BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said.

The Indian team will return after the three-Test series against South Africa, presently poised at 1-1, which ends with the Cape Town match from January 2 to 6.

The BCCI has made it mandatory for all the players presently in South Africa to play for their respective teams in the Ranji Trophy four-day cricket tournament's seventh and last round beginning January 10, Shah said.

SOURCE : DNA
 
Justin Langer announces Test retirement

:SugarwareZ-159:

SYDNEY: Australian cricket will lose a fourth leading player to retirement with opening batsman Justin Langer announcing Monday he was quitting Test cricket after the fifth Ashes Test against England.

Langer's decision follows the recent retirement announcements of leg-spinner Shane Warne and paceman Glenn McGrath, and the sudden departure of batsman Damien Martyn after the second Adelaide Test.

Langer, who turned 36 last November, will be playing his 105th and final Test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground from Tuesday.

"As hard and emotional as it is to not wear the baggy green cap again I know in my heart it's the right thing to do," Langer told a press conference.

"I know that I'm on top of my game. Statistically it hasn't been a great Ashes series, but I know how that I am hitting the ball and catching the ball as good as ever.

"They say to go out on your own terms and when you're on top of your game and I feel as if I'm doing that."

He goes into the Sydney Test with 7,650 runs, 20th all-time and the sixth highest Australian run-getter. His 23 Test centuries has him 15th all-time.

Langer has formed part of Australia's most prolific opening partnership with Matthew Hayden, who last week said he was not yet ready to quit cricket.

Langer and Hayden have combined for 5,574 runs at an average of 51.61. Only the West Indian duo of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes have made more runs (6,482) than Langer and Hayden, but they played together for 13 years while the Australian duo joined forces only in 2001.

Langer, one of the sport's more passionate players, said cricket was not just a game for him.

"I've had the same baggy green cap for 13 years. Yeah, it is a game of cricket, the greatest game in the world, and I'll be involved in it probably till my last breath," he said.

"It's not just a game for me. It's been the vehicle that I've learned how to handle success, criticism, failure, how to fight back from adversity. I've learned about mateship, leadership, I've learned so many things. And hopefully I've forged a strong character and that's all because of the baggy green cap and it's going to be hard to not wear it again after this Test. But what it's given me is that I've got no doubt that (when) I'll walk out in five days' time, whatever I take on I'll be able to do it all the better because of the experience... it's sad, but thanks very much."

Langer said he intended to finish the season with his state side Western Australia and play for Somerset in the next English county season.

"There's an amazing challenge at Somerset. They're at the bottom of everything, and I've got a great regard for the coach over there and I'm looking forward to that challenge.

"It would be impossible for me not to play cricket. I love the game and that's why it was so hard to make this decision not to play Test cricket any more, but I love cricket and I'm certainly going to play it for the next eight to 10 months and then we'll see what happens after that."

Another factor in Langer's thinking was that Australia's next Test match after the Ashes series will not be for another 11 months against Sri Lanka in Australia.

Phil Jaques is the favourite to replace Langer and partner Hayden opening the Australian Test batting, although Chris Rogers of Western Australia is another strong contender.

Jaques has scored eight centuries in 37 matches for New South Wales along with two centuries against England on this tour, while Rogers has amassed 13 hundreds in 51 matches.

SOURCE : DNA
 
Batsmen reflect on facing a legend

Warne 'a deeply intelligent bowler'

January 5, 2007

For 14 years and 145 Tests, Shane Warne teased, taunted and tormented batsmen, ordinary, good and great. He ends his career with 708 wickets, many of whom, like his final victim Andrew Flintoff, are illustrious names. Here, a collection of batsmen, past and present, pay tribute to the genius of Warne.



Kumar Sangakkara -


The thing that worried me most when facing Warne was his unerring accuracy and ability to exploit every single advantage. You never got a freebie from Warne. You always knew he was plotting hard about how to get you out, weighing up your attitude, the conditions and the state of the game.

He was one of the shrewdest bowlers I have ever faced and this deep bowling intelligence got plenty of wickets he should not have got over the years. Sometimes he'd even let you know how he was trying to get you out, adding some extra pressure, toying with your mind. It was a game of bluff and double bluff.

In recent years he rarely bowled a googly or flipper, but the stock legbreak was so dangerous because he had such control of spin. He relied heavily on clever variations in flight, drift and pace. And of course, like all the truly great bowers, he also had that special ability to step up when it mattered most. Out of the blue, when Australia needed it most, he would conjure up something unplayable to put you on the backfoot.

Shane Warne dismissed Kumar Sangakkara four times in Tests and never in ODIs.



Mohammad Yousuf -
 -

He is one of the greatest bowlers ever. And as he is one of the greats, it is difficult to pick out just one thing about him which makes him special - it was everything about him. His drift, his accuracy, his stamina - other bowlers have these qualities but no one has had them all together in one body.

When I first faced him, in 1999-2000, he was a little bit older and some said that he had lost the zip he had in the mid-90s. But he was still amazing then and just always at you, never giving you any space. He is so accurate that as a batsman you can never switch off against him. My best century I consider to be the one against Australia at Melbourne in 2004 and that was because it was against great bowlers like Warne and McGrath.

He bowled so many great balls it is difficult to pick out just one. I guess it would be the delivery to dismiss me in that Melbourne Test. He bowled it round the wicket and it drifted past my pads and I was stumped. It was when he produced it more than anything else because I was well-set by then.

Shane Warne dismissed Mohammad Yousuf twice in Tests and four times in ODIs.




Daryll Cullinan -
 -

Shane Warne retires as one the greatest cricketers of all time. He holds just about every possible record for a bowler. Most wickets, most away wickets, most wickets in a calendar year, most wickets in won Test matches... it goes on and on. Having failed miserably at his hands in Test cricket he has always been a point of discussion wherever I have gone.

Seldom has my good one-day cricket record against him been given credit but that was eventually achieved by discovering two things: the sweep shot, which came easier in one-day cricket, and the first thing a kid is taught in cricket: watching the ball out of the hand. However, by then the story had been told: Daryll Cullinan was Shane Warne's bunny.

The media thrived on it, in particular Neil Manthorp. His second best story about me was the Melbourne moment when, arriving at the crease on our second tour of Australia, Warne greeted me with the famous words: "I've been waiting six months to bowl at you." The reply was: "I can see you spent it eating!"

As the over finished, I met Gary Kirsten, my batting partner, in the middle and we had a chat about the big man's comments. Kirsten, full of smiles, then made the comment to me that yes he could see he had been spending the time eating. This comment was subsequently attributed to me in Kirsten's weekly column in a Cape Town newspaper which was been ghost-written by Manthorp. In Warne's cricketing history it always comes up as one of the best sledges.

Shane Warne dismissed Daryll Cullinan four times in Tests and eight times in ODIs.




Nasser Hussain -


I'd actually seen Shane Warne out here in Australia before he appeared in England in 1993. I was playing club cricket in Adelaide and used to head down to the Oval to get some nets in, and Shane would be there with the academy. He just looked like a big blond beach bum, to be honest, but every day he'd be in there working on his legbreaks, googlies and flippers.

No-one ever thought he'd be as fantastic as he was for the game, though. For me, batting against him was why I played the game. I love to be in a challenge, I love to be in a fight. With Warney at the end of his run, with the zinc on, the beached hair, the weight-gain and the weight-loss, sledging you, testing you physically and mentally - it was the greatest challenge going.

When I saw that Gatting delivery, my only thought was: "Thank God I wasn't at the crease!" In that 1993 series, there was a lot of mystery around the England dressing-room. We hadn't faced a legspinner for ages, we didn't know what a flipper was. That was the difference really. We were just learning on our feet out there. As for the greatest ball I ever received from him, well, there were umpteen. You can't just remember a few from Shane Warne.

Shane Warne dismissed Nasser Hussain 11 times in Tests and twice in ODIs


Source : Cricinfo
 
Munaf declared unfit, Board questions his honesty


MUMBAI: The l’affaire Munaf Patel is turning curiouser and curiouser. The latest is that the 23-year-old pacer may have hidden his injury from the Indian team’s physio before the start of the third Test between India and South Africa in Cape Town last week.

Munaf was cleared for the Test but hours after he arrived in India, the Maharashtra bowler was declared unfit for two weeks. Munaf, as a consequence, will miss the first two ODIs against the West Indies.

On Monday, Munaf was taken to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s doctor, Dr Anant Joshi, who ruled him out for at least two weeks. Dr Joshi even asked Munaf to come for an MRI test on Tuesday.

Dr Joshi’s report raises the obvious question — who is to blame for declaring Munaf fit before the crucial third Test in which the bowler looked pedestrian?

The BCCI, however, gave a clean chit to team physio John Gloster, who had cleared the bowler. “If the players hide their injuries, the physio cannot help,” said a top Board functionary. “The player has to reveal everything to the physio.”

It is learnt that Gloster told the Board that Munaf was not honest with his injury. “He had conducted all possible tests on Munaf and did not find anything wrong.

The five per cent that the physio cannot detect depends on the player’s honesty.

The physio cannot be blamed if the player is lying,” BCCI secretray Niranjan Shah told DNA.

Contacted, Gloster, who had a busy day on Monday having had to test the fitness of Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar besides Munaf, refused to comment. “As far as I’m concerned, Munaf was fit in Cape Town,” the physio told DNA.

“I will submit my report to the BCCI on the his latest condition.” He, however, would not comment if the fast bowler had faked fitness in Cape Town.

Munaf had in fact bowled only one over in South Africa’s second innings. His absence robbed India of a key bowler during the important stage of the series-deciding Test which the visitors lost by five wickets.

Meanwhile, BCCI’s Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty confirmed that Tendulkar too has been advised rest.

It means the little master, who had apparently taken to field in Cape Town taking pain killers for his buttock injury, could be doubtful for the first two ODIs against the West Indies.

The matches will be held on January 21 (Nagpur) and 24 (Cuttack). The team for the first two matches will be selected at Rajkot on January 12.
 
Sehwag out, Ganguly picked for ODIs


Virender Sehwag was left out of the Indian squad of 15 for the first two matches of the four-match home ODI series against West Indies, sent home to Delhi to "sort out his batting." Irfan Pathan was also left out of the squad while Joginder Sharma, the Haryana allrounder, earned a spot.

There was no place for Mohammad Kaif or Dinesh Mongia, in a selection that went largely along expected lines. Significantly, in Sehwag's absence Sachin Tendulkar was named the vice-captain. Sourav Ganguly, as expected, returned to the one-day set up.

Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, announced the 15-man squad, and also read out the list of 30 probables for the forthcoming World Cup in West Indies, and then opened floor to Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors.

"Virender Sehwag has been out of form for quite some time," said Vengsarkar. "He has to go back to the nets and sort out his cricket, his batting basically. He is a fine player and am sure he will come back. I'd like to say that he will have to go to the nets and sort out his batting."

When asked about Pathan's exclusion Vengsarkar said, "He has to bowl well, has to get wickets also. He has been out of form and I am sure he will find his way again and has a chance to come back." Vengsarkar also clarified that Anil Kumble was not dropped, but that he was "being given a break and will be there for the third and fourth ODI." Equally, he did not mince words when asked about the absence of Mongia and Kaif - "they have been dropped," he said.

The team for the first two ODIs contains four openers - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa - and Vengsarkar said it was for the captain and the coach to decide who would open the innings when the time came. He also clarified that Dinesh Karthik was picked as much as a batsman as a reserve wicketkeeper.

Vengsarkar also said that it was unlikely that Yuvraj Singh would regain match fitness in time to play against the West Indies and that he would come into contention for the home series against Sri Lanka if fit.

VVS Laxman was once again left out of a one-day squad, something that will irk him, but Vengsarkar only reiterated his early stance when asked about the issue. "His fielding is a problem. As is running between wickets. He is a fine batsman. No question about his ability as a batsman. He is not a good mover in the field and that went against him."

Despite having to field a volley of questions from a packed hall of media-persons, Vengsarkar was in his element, explaining things candidly and lucidly. When one reporter asked him why there were no legspinners in the list of 30 World Cup probables (other than Kumble) he replied by asking, "Can you name one?" Similarly, when another reporter put it to Vengsarkar that Ashish Nehra played well in the last World Cup, and wondered why he was not included in the squad, pat came the reply. "The last World Cup was four years ago. This is 2007. Even I played in the World Cup in 1987."

The drama began at 11am when the selectors reached the ground, and were whisked away to a room on the second floor, just above the dressing-rooms. There they spent just under two hours deliberating, along with Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid. At around 11.20am Dravid, who was fielding at first slip, was called in by Shah. At 1.19pm the meeting ended, and Vengsarkar addressed a packed press conference.

Squad for the first two one-day internationals against the West Indies -
Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-capt), Robin Uthappa, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Joginder Sharma, Ramesh Powar, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh

World Cup probables -
Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Rudra Pratap Singh, Dinesh Mongia, VRV Singh, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Joginder Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara.
 
Gibbs appeals against ban

Cricinfo staff
January 17, 2007


Herschelle Gibbs has appealed against the two-Test ban imposed by the ICC, claiming that he had not made any racist remarks during the first Test against Pakistan at Centurion. Gibbs communicated his appeal through the South African Cricketers Association.

"Gibbs says he has not made any racist remarks nor has he been racist to any one and therefore he has not transgressed any rule of the ICC regarding racism," Tony Irish, secretary of the South African Cricketers Association, said. Irish added that the association was also concerned about the negative effects of stump microphones, as far as the privacy of players is concerned.

With the ban suspended till the ICC takes a decision on the appeal, Gibbs could still play in the second Test at Port Elizabeth starting January 19. The disciplinary hearing with Cricket South Africa, originally scheduled for January 23, is likely to be held between the second and third Tests. The ICC has announced that the name of the Appeals Commissioner and the date for the appeal will be announced in due course.
 
Paes, Damm crash out of Australian Open

Paes, Damm crash out of Australian Open

Sunday, January 21, 2007

MELBOURNE: Leander Paes and his Czech Republic partner Martin Damm's run at the Australian Open ended after they lost their third round men's doubles match to Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut of France in straight sets.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Czech pair went down 5-7 6-7 (9) to the French duo in a two-hour long battle.

The Indian star then joined hands with Stosur to defeat Switzerland's Yves Allegro and Russian Elena Bovina 6-2 6-2 to moved into the second round of mixed doubles.

The Indo-Australian pair, seeded third, next face South African Chris Haggard and Greece's Elini Daniilidou who beat Czech Republic's Leos Friedl and Frenchwoman Tathiana Garbin 6-3 6-1.

Paes and Stosur were never really troubled as they served well and won 87 per cent and 73 per cent of the points on the first and second deliveries respectively.

They also converted all four break points they got without giving their opponents any such opportunity.
 
More One Retirement from International Cricket

Astle announces his retirement


Nathan Astle has retired from international cricket, citing a lack of motivation just six weeks before what would have been his fourth World Cup. Astle told a press conference at Perth his international career was over but he was undecided on whether to continue at first-class level.


"I have been fighting this day for about eight months," Astle said. "I so desperately wanted to go to my fourth World Cup, but deep down inside I knew that I was lacking motivation and the enjoyment levels were just not there.


"Probably the first indications were last year when I was having a good run and not really enjoying the success that I was having. But because I wanted to go to the World Cup I probably fudged over these feelings, which was fine until about a month ago when it really started to hit home that this was no longer the place for me. Enjoyment has always been a huge factor for why I play the game and when that faltered I knew it was time to move on.


"Once I had made the decision that I would not be going to the World Cup, for the sake of the team, I needed to go as soon as possible to make way for another player. I don't believe it would have been fair on my team mates to hold on."


One of New Zealand's most successful limited-overs cricketers who also built a respectable 81-Test career, Astle called it quits after a disappointing start to the CB Series in which he scored 0, 45, 0 and 1. He has also struggled in Test matches recently, averaging only 24.30 from his last eight games.


Astle, 35, leaves the game as New Zealand's third-most capped player and second-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket, with 7090 runs at 34.92 from his 223 appearances. In Test matches, he is fourth on his country's list of most games and fourth on the run tally. His 4702 Test runs came at an average of 37.02 from 81 matches.


His 16 ODI centuries - by far the most of any New Zealand player - rank him equal ninth on the all-time list and above such legends as Viv Richards and Adam Gilchrist. His most recent hundred came early last year when he finished unbeaten on 118 as New Zealand wrapped up a series win against West Indies at Christchurch.


A destructive top-order batsman and nagging medium-pace bowler, Astle first appeared on the international scene in 1995 when at the age of 23 he made his limited-overs debut under Ken Rutherford against West Indies at Auckland. It took four games to make his mark - 95 opening the batting against Sri Lanka - and in early 1996 the Canterbury batsman was given his first taste of Test cricket.


Back-to-back hundreds on a tour of West Indies in his third and fourth Tests earned him a permanent place in the side and he peaked in 2002 with the fastest Test double-century. He reached the milestone in only 153 balls against England at Christchurch and went on to finish with 222, his highest Test score.


The later stages of his career have been far from smooth sailing and it was just over a year ago that Astle was dropped from the one-day side to make way for Stephen Fleming, who was returning from paternal leave. John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said at the time he wanted to expand the team's depth ahead of the World Cup. But Astle returned with a string of outstanding scores, including the 118 against West Indies, before struggling to have any impact at the Champions Trophy and in the CB Series.


Fleming said he would miss his most experienced offsider out on the field. "Nath was a very uncomplicated, naturally aggressive player who was just great to watch," Fleming said. "He was also a great sounding board for me as a captain because of his calmness and consistency. He will be missed."


Bracewell said it would be hard to fill the gap Astle had left. "Statistically his record puts him into the position of greatness but probably the greatest loss will be his stability and influence inside the team," he said. But Bracewell said the timing of Astle's announcement left a lot to be desired.


"It was a bit of a shock to all of us and quite disruptive to our plans but I respect his decision," Bracewell said. "Timing's never great this close to a big tournament and Nathan was going to be a serious part of that because of his experience and the younger players he was assisting to mentor."

Source : Cricinfo.com
 
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