Monday 11th May, 2009 13 Swann is a showman in the mould of

by Simon Hughes ter without . more than the sum of its con- at Lord’s How could the man with the stituent parts. crunching bat and the crushing There may be a simple expla- ne of the more baffling ball and the bucket-like hands nation. Flintoff ’s presence is so statistics revealed before not enhance their fortunes? And colossal that others tend to peck Othe first Test at Lord’s yet here it has happened again. A about in his shadow. When he’s was that England tend to do bet- Freddie-less England becomes not there, they emerge, like crows from a nest, to forage for them- selves. Look at ’s bat- ting. He was a cygnet at the crease before this game, shuffling uncertainly. After encouraging words from spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed, urg- ing him to enjoy himself, he arrived at the invigorated. A couple of thumping drives later he looked fully fledged. He hauled the initiative away from the West Indies with a buccaneer- ing innings. Swann is an extrovert, a natu- ral showman. In his , that is important. Epitomised by Shane Warne, spinners bowl with their personality as much as with the ball. It is what has let down. He doesn’t lack Graeme Swann skill with the ball but he does lack charisma. Beginning in Madras on his Test debut, Swann has used his wit and swagger to steal . He was not intimidated by the had rebuilt after early wickets could bat all week. Swann flicked all out. crowd or the reputations of the and were 99 for two. the ball from hand to hand mis- Playing for expected turn that supreme Indian run machines. Swann’s first ball floated down chievously,and tinkered with his didn’t materialise yesterday, There were two big wickets in in blithe innocence, then snaked field. Chanderpaul fell to Swann cheap- an then, and there were two wickedly between bat and pad Knowing Chanderpaul likes to ly again. His cheeky confidence more here on Thursday.It was and cannoned into middle stump. play from the crease, he tossed up has created uncertainty in the the crucial moment of the game. It wasn’t a deliberate , an inviting morsel to drive. most indefatigable batsman in Cheeky enough to have bowled but Swann’s total self-conviction Chanderpaul swallowed the bait the game. He has a mercurial two overs with the new ball, he implied it was. Like Warne, he is and edged a perfectly pitched off- streak. A hidden gem is begin- Shane Warne reappeared again in mid-after- an impressive conman. break to . ning to glint. noon to tease his left-handed In strolled the left-handed West Indies were 99 for four. (C) The Telegraph Group, bunny,. West Indies , who An hour and a bit later they were London, 2009

ICC to discuss day-night cricket Tests Safina defeats Kuznetsova

LONDON (AP) - Cricket's governing duced in one-day international cricket the opportunity to ask for umpires' deci- to win Rome title body will consider introducing day-night three decades ago, test matches have sions to be reviewed by the TV umpire, Stuttgart, Germany. She also lost two test matches and review a system that always been played in daylight. took place in four test series during the other finals this year, including the allows players to call for television The committee will also discuss steps past nine months. Australian Open. reviews, when it meets this week in to boost one-day international cricket The meeting will be chaired by for- “I had in my head that I lost three London. amid the growing popularity of mer West Indies Clive Lloyd and finals this year,” Safina said. “I was The ICC Cricket Committee will also Twenty20 format, the statement said. include former test players Mark Taylor, like, ‘OK, I don’t want to have this, discuss steps to improve over rates in The results of the recent trial of the Ranjan Madugalle and Simon Taufel. that I’m losing the finals.’ I’m really international cricket, regulations govern- television review system will form a key The committee will send its recom- happy that I could win today.” ing bad light and whether there should part of the ICC agenda, it said. The meet- mendations for approval to the Chief be a maximum weight of bats, the ICC ing will be held in London on Monday Executives' Committee and the ICC Safina comfortably controlled a said in statement. and Tuesday. Board, which are scheduled to meet in match in which Kuznetsova commit- While day-night matches were intro- The trial, which saw players given June. ted 30 unforced errors, almost twice as many as her opponent. “I think that (Kuznetsova) gave me many free points, she was not at Toyota threatens to England adds Bell, her best today,” said the 23-year-old Safina. “But she’s not an easy oppo- Sidebottom to test squad nent, especially on clay-court. I think pull out of F1 in 2010 I played really good today.” BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Toyota is threatening LONDON (AP) - Batsman wicket victory over the West Indies Safina closed out the 43-minute to pull out of Formula One from 2010 because of a and left-arm seamer Ryan at Lord's on Friday have all been first set with a smash and won five dispute over a proposed budget cap. Sidebottom have been recalled to retained. straight games in the second as her Team president John Howett said Sunday that the England squad for second test "Both Bell and Sidebottom have opponent committed a string of unless the teams and governing body FIA could against the West Indies which been in form in the early part of unforced errors. She converted her reach an agreement over next season's cost-cuts, starts Thursday at Chester-le- the season and have been a part of third match point, after saving two the Japanese team could not guarantee its future Street. the England setup in recent years," break points in the final game. in the sport. Bell, dropped after a test defeat national selector Geoff Miller said. “It was a little bit like "From Toyota's perspective, there are a number in Jamaica in February, provided " has recovered Christmas,” Kuznetsova said. “I was of concerns that really need clarifications before selectors with an extra batting from surgery after the Caribbean giving too many presents.” we commit to the future," Howett said ahead of the option at the seam-friendly tour and reports that he is now Safina, who ousted Venus Spanish Grand Prix. "We want to be here. (But) I Riverside. bowling pain-free." Williams in the semifinals, had a would say it is very likely we won't enter unless Sidebottom, whose tour of the Left-armer Monty Panesar was something changes significantly." Caribbean was cut short by an in the 12 for Lord's but has been shaky start to the tournament but Teams who sign up to the voluntary $60-mil- Achilles tendon injury, is also overtaken as first-choice spinner in her form improved along the way. lion cap will be given more technical freedom, included in the 13-man squad after the Test team by Graeme Swann. She rallied from one set down in which a majority of teams and drivers believe will the selectors weighed up bowling "Panesar is unlucky but it was three straight matches before create an uneven playing field. options for the final match of the always highly unlikely that we Saturday’s final. "In the case of Toyota, we don't like the idea of series. would play two spinners at Chester- “Sometimes these kind of match- a two-tier F1," Howett said. The XI which secured a 10- le-Street," Miller said. es bring you into the game, because F1 teams met Sunday to discuss the issue, and you have to bring something to win Russia’s Dinara Safina reacts after Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is expected the match. I think yesterday’s match defeating Russia’s Svetlana to have a separate meeting with FIA president Max 's Patrick Ivuti wins Kuznetsova in the final match of the gave me a lot of confidence,” she Mosley before the Monaco GP. Rome Masters tennis tournament in said. Ferrari has been one of the biggest critics of PRAGUE (AP) - Patrick last year's winner Rome, Saturday, May 9, 2009. Safina Safina enters the French Open on the scheme, and has been backed by the teams who Ivuti won the Prague Kenneth Mungara was won the final 6-3, 6-2. May 24 looking to back up the No. 1 cannot envision the sport's future without the icon- International Marathon third in 2:10:29. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) ranking by winning her first Grand ic Italian car. in a new track record on The old track Slam title. She lost in French Open "I think we are at a critical time for F1," said Sunday as Kenyans record of 2:08:52 was by Alessandra Rizo final to Ana Ivanovic last year. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh after swept the top three set in 1998 by Kenya's “The clay-court season started emerging from a Formula One Teams Association places. Elijah Lagat. ROME (AP) — Top-ranked Dinara and (I have) one final and one title,” meeting. "There is a lot of challenge there and we Ivuti pulled away Olga Glok of Russia Safina won her first title of the year Safina said. “Can not be better.” have to continue to press." from countryman won the women's race Saturday by defeating fellow Russian Safina took over the top ranking Howett said more transparency was necessary. Stephen Kibiwott in the in 2:28:27, ahead of two Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-2 in the on April 20, joining older sibling "I think really as a company we want to final stretch to finish in 2 Ethiopian runners. final of the Italian Open. Marat Safin the only brother-sister remain in F1 as I understand it," Howett said. "But hours, 7 minutes, 48 sec- Mulu Seboka was sec- Safina avenged a loss to there are issues that need clarifying. We are totally onds. ond in 2:30:39 and duo to have been ranked No. 1. Kuznetsova in the final of the in favour of continuing cost reduction and shall Kibiwott was six sec- Eyerusalem Kumu Kuznetsova will climb one spot to Porsche Grand Prix last weekend in onds back in second, and Mutala third in 2:32:43. No. 7 in next week’s rankings. we say reducing the cost of entry to F1." Patrick Ivuti