Ponting Relives His Street Brawler Days
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14 Wednesday 29th December, 2010 BY DEREK PRINGLE offences by the International the replay room. Australia twice Cricket Council on three separate benefited from such a move on n a day of grit and grind occasions. their recent tour of India, which that saw Jonathan Trott at Privately, Ponting has no time probably explains Ponting’s equa- Ohis cussed best as he racked for the Umpire Referral System, nimity when Prior, on 5 at the up a fine hundred, it was but he must have known that he time, was let off after Johnson’s inevitable frictions would flare up Ponting relives was questioning the umpire’s foot was shown to be a fraction of as England took hold of this decision (unacceptable in such an an inch over the back edge of the fourth Test. overt and aggressive way), and line. Less surprising, was that Ricky not a point of process in a system Prior went on to finish the day Ponting should be at the centre of he despises. He was misguided too strongly, but it was Trott, scoring them, a despairing captain in des- if he thought the perceived slight his fifth hundred in his 17th Test, perate need of a cause to keep his street might bring sympathy from a pub- who took the game and surely the him and his team going until a lic increasingly disillusioned at series, away from Australia. bitter end that cannot now be far the prospect of losing an Ashes Rarely a man to draw gasps of away for either. series at home. Instead of support admiration for his strokes, you Ponting has enjoyed a glorious over beastly bad luck, ABC cannot but admire Trott for his career as a player but his tenure Radio’s forum was jammed with dedication to long occupation of as captain has been littered with listeners registering their disgust. the crease. Arriving at the crease controversy and a near paranoid brawler days TV technology further tested during the sixth over of play, after sense of injustice, with the street his patience when it revealed that Alastair Cook had edged Peter brawler of his early years never Trott and Matt Prior, whose 158- Siddle to first slip, he ground really being banished. The run stand for the sixth wicket Australia’s bowlers down with a savoury parts of Australian surely buried any Ashes hopes studied defence and a trusty bot- aggression have been imported by still harboured by optimistic tom hand after first Siddle and many cricket teams around the Australians, were not out after then Johnson, with Siddle’s safe world, but like the rake who cher- others had deemed them to be so. hands abetting the latter at long ry-picks the more comely of the Trott was looking a permanent leg, threatened to limit the size squire’s daughters, what is left is fixture at the crease until some England’s lead. rarely pretty as Ponting, no doubt sloppy running with Paul It was an old-fashioned Test frustrated by his team’s inadequa- Collingwood, and fine throw from knock, Trott’s three figures cies, showed when he questioned Ponting, looked like it had caught brought up in 221 balls with only the umpire’s decision. him short of the crease. his sixth four. With Simon Katich The incident happened when Australia’s cricketers certainly hors de combat, Australia have England were 259-3 and Kevin thought it was out and each ran to nobody to bat like that and play Pietersen one short of his 50. long-on to mob their leader. But the situation as well as the ball, Ryan Harris was bowling and the replay, which the umpires can and it has cost them dear. Pietersen got in a tangle driving call for, gave Trott in by a hairline, Paul Collingwood used to be on the up, though he appeared to and he went on his merry way able to do that for England but at miss the ball, which darted churning out runs in the same the moment he appears unable to between bat and pad. Brad Haddin way Farmer Giles might plough a play a forward defensive with any appealed, with conviction, but field – with inevitable efficiency. conviction. Out for eight, after he there wasn’t a peep from the Prior’s reprieve, after he flirted miscued a hook off Johnson, a bowler. But with Trott and with a wide one from Mitchell mistake repeated by Ian Bell six Pietersen’s stand reaching 90, Johnson and was caught behind, overs later, he is hanging back Australia were desperate for a caused confusion at least to the deep in his crease, the sure sign of breakthrough and Haddin rushed batsman, who was marching off a player struggling to pick up the up making the referral sign to in high dudgeon when Dar told ball as quickly as he once did. umpire Aleem Dar, something him to wait while he checked Lack of confidence can be Ponting reaffirmed a few Johnson’s had not bowled a front- behind that, but so can age, and at foot no-ball. 34, England may have seen the moments later. Reaching boiling point: Ricky Ponting argues his case with umpire Aleem Dar. None of the technology, Snicko, A recent playing condition, best of Collingwood as a Test Hot Spot, or Super Slo-mo, sug- screen – revealed on Hot Spot but by Marais Erasmus, the third transferred his gripe to Pietersen brought in by the International cricketer and it wouldn’t be a sur- gested Pietersen had hit the ball, not within six inches of where umpire. All that did was spark a and then the other umpire, Tony Cricket Council, it allows prise if both he and Ponting call it yet Ponting seemed to persuade ball actually passed bat – was lengthy, unseemly and unaccept- Hill. It isn’t the first time he has umpire’s suspicious that a bowler a day after Sydney. himself that a dull white mark enough to send him on his way. able complaint from Ponting that broken cricket’s protocols and in may have been flirting with the near the bottom inside edge of It wasn’t and Dar’s original not lasted several minutes, with lots the past he’s been charged and front crease, to check on the ball’s (C) The Telegraph Group, Pietersen’s bat seen on the giant out decision was correctly upheld of finger pointing, before he fined with Level One and Two legitimacy with their colleague in London, 2010 BY ROSHEN STEELMAN position at the Middle Asia Basketball Year-end Review Championship to qualify for the FIBA Asian Premier OD Cricket Every year it is expected to have ups Tournament. They defeated Pakistan, and downs in any sport and nothing was dif- Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan in that tour- ferent in this year too. If we consider the nament. Chamara, Chinthaka overall performance of the country and glob- Basketball takes The girls’ U-18 Youth Team also per- ally in sport, it could be considered that we formed well participating in a few overseas guide Bloomfield to had another year that saw a lot of ups and basketball tournaments. downs. The fact that the history repeats is a However Ajith Kuruppu, Vice President emphatic win famous saying and in this year, 2010, too, one step forward of the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, the statement looked to have been true. But speaking to ‘The Island’ said their main when it comes to basketball in Sri Lanka, we focus would be on the National youth teams BY REVATA S. can consider that the sport made one step in the upcoming year. above par when compared with its past for- School Tournaments – SILVA tunes. It was not the best year for the Sri Sri Lanka The major highlight of this year turned Lanka Schools Basketball Association out to be the significant increase in the bas- (SLSBA) as they did not manage to stick to prospect for the ketball tournaments. The national players their original tournament schedule due to a forthcoming World and even the ‘B’ Division players had a long registration fee dispute between the Cup, Chamara run during the latter part of the year without Basketball Federation and the SLSBA. Silva, paired up much time gaps in between tournaments. The SLSBA were unable to conduct a with Chinthaka The year began with the National single tournament for six months during the Jayasinghe for a Basketball Tournament. The 47th Nationals, middle of the year due to this registration 148-run sixth wicket which was scheduled to be held in 2009, fee scenario. was conducted by the Sri Lanka Basketball However the SLSBA conducted its U-15 partnership in 25.3 Chinthaka Federation early this year. The pressure was Tournament of 2009 this year and the U-17 overs to guide their Jayasinghe on the Mercantile Services to retain their title Tournament of 2010. St. Benedict’s College, club Bloomfield over Colombo District who denied Kotahena beating Royal College, Colombo C&AC to a 15-run win under the Mercantile Services recording their 10th suc- won the U-15 ‘A’ Division Tournament while Duckworth and Lewis Method over cessive victory in the 46th Nationals. the Colombo International School, Kandy Ragama CC in Colombo on Tuesday (Dec. The Mercantile Services first won this defeating De La Salle College, Mutwal won 28). championship in 2000 and went on to win it the ‘B’ Division title. nine years in a row until Colombo District D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo The home team, Bloomfield, lost five for denied them a 10th successive victory by came up with an impressive performance to 63, when chasing a competitive 286 to win, winning the final at the 46th Nationals last win the U-17 Tournament beating Azar including the wicket of the old warhorse time.