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The Times of India, New , Wednesday,April 2, 2003

Warwicks stint stalled Thumbs up for logo Rio forced off the road Indian fast bowler will not IOC chief Jacques Rogge approved the On the field Rio Ferdinand can drive away be playing for Warwickshire as an logo for 2008 Beijing Olympics, the de- any evil force that threatens the sanctity of early season replacement for New sign an elongated version of the five the English defence. But on the road, he’s a Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond Olympic rings. Rogge said the logo’s disaster. The Man United star has been after talks between the English county “young, dynamic — bringing together the banned from driving for six months and fined and the ace speedster failed historical and cultural heritage of China” $4,000 after a string of driving offences Chance for Gambhir, Rayudu and Salvi to break into the national squad for Dhaka tournament

I’ve had two years of Boucher sacked introspection, two years of looking and seeing where I’ve gone wrong. Fresh blood for Team India as vice- — Durban: Mark Boucher has been axed as By Pradeep Vijayakar but he could be a pas- Dasgupta picked. The that of the skipper and coach at the the South African vice- SPORTS DIGEST TIMES NEWS NETWORK senger. Delhi openers selectors must rectify World Cup? captain after the coun- AFP Akash Chopra and this. But don’t be sur- It’s shocking that a genuine all- : The dropouts are snow- try’s Board decid- Gautam Gambhir, prised if they go rounder like Ramesh Powar, Mumbai’s ed against reappointing balling for the Dhaka Tri-series. Sachin who did well for India backwards by giving success story of the season, doesn’t anyone to the post for the Tendulkar was the first to make himself ‘A’ in the West Indies Vijay Dahiya another even find a place in the eleven in the tour of Bangladesh. unavailable not only for the series but and earned praise chance. Dravid’s ab- Taking a decision in for Mumbai’s Ranji semifinal that fol- Duleep Trophy. The selectors must from coach Ashok sence also means that this regard on Monday, lows. , probe this. His attacking and off- Malhotra, could be another middle-order the national selection committee of the and are out and, who spin are qualities hard to find. vying for the same batsman needs to be United Cricket Board of South Africa knows, it could be the disgruntled Anil Replacements for Srinath and Nehra spot. Railways’ Amit Gambhir picked. If you scan “elected rather to work through a process Kumble too. Rayudu are easy to find. Avishkar Salvi, the Pagnis, who played the probables, the to identify the right candidate during the would love to have a Mumbai pace sensation, has done for India ‘A’ in South Africa and has only two middle-order batsmen were tour,” a UCB media release said. similar break but that would surely lead enough on the tour of West Indies to been scoring runs in the Duleep trophy VVS Laxman and Rohan Gavaskar. The selectors have chosen to name the to a cancellation of the event by the or- win an India cap. The man he nudged deserves a break too. vice-captain on a match-by-match basis ganisers who are committed to their But the belligerent Ambati Rayudu out — Baroda lefthander Rahul Dravid’s absence means a gen- has come into the frame. Coach Ashok — should come in for Nehra. But do for the triangular One-day international sponsors and television for a good pack- series against Bangladesh and India and age. So, who will be the beneficiaries of uine ‘keeper coming into the eleven. Malhotra has praised his fielding on the they want so many quickies for the flat But how can this be done without weak- West Indies tour. So the Hyderabad lad pitch at Bangabandhu stadium? In- the two Test series against the hosts. these dropouts when the selectors meet “I expect that all players will support ening the batting line-up? could be on the shortlist. Also Laxman, stead, they could plump for left-arm at the Mumbai Cricket Association on the new captain, Graeme Smith, and that was the reserve for the World Cup. Ajay if the skipper wants some experience spinner Murali Karthik, now that Kum- Israeli soccer coach Avraham Wednesday? as the selectors try out new combinations Ratra had a good tour of West Indies around. ble seems on the way out. Sairaj Grant talks to the media in Tendulkar cannot be easily replaced. on this tour,a player will emerge who can where he led the India ‘A’ team after Or will Rohan Gavaskar get a wed- Palermo, Italy on the eve of the But India have lived with his absence Bahutule was among the World Cup take responsibility for the vice-captain- VVS Laxman was injured. He had been ding gift? Will enjoy as Euro 2004 qualifier match against from time to time. Ganguly and Sehwag probables. And he has been doing well cy,”said UCBSA CEO Gerald Majola. left out of the Cup probables and Deep much of the selectors’ confidence as France. will open. A third opener will be picked with bat and ball. Will his luck turn? “This is a young squad and the selec- tors feel it is an opportune time to allow Sachin out for two months: The finger injury suffered by star batsman different players the chance to lead the will not only keep Dravid to middle management of the squad in sup- him out of the tri-nation tournament port of Graeme,” he said. Last month, the in Bangladesh but from all engage- Ganguly nurses Cup hangover UCB had sacked from the ments for two months. Tendulkar AFP tie the knot captain’s post following South Africa’s Mumbai: India’s cricket captain Sourav Ganguly first round exit from the World Cup. Pol- said on Tuesday finger needed an Nagpur: India cricket operation which will keep him out of said on Tuesday he was still trying to recover from lock was later replaced by 22-year old left- team’s action for two months. He has al- his team’s defeat in the World Cup final against handed opening batsmen Smith. PTI ready requested the Cricket Board Australia. vice-cap- not to pick him for the Dhaka tourna- “Losing the final has taken the glory away from tain and one of the ment starting on April 11.PTI the team’s good performance in the tournament,” NZ fans campaign Ganguly said at a function here. “They (Australia) most eligi- Federation Cup basketball: The ble bache- are the best, but it does not mean we should have 20th Federation Cup Basketball lors in the lost to them.” to save Olonga Championship will be held at the Fr. country Rahul Dravid India lost only two matches in the entire tourna- Hastings (): A group of lo- Agnel Technical Education Sports was bowled by a ment in South Africa — both of them to Australia cal cricket fans are cam- Complex, Vashi, Navi Mumbai from Nagpur girl. April 22 to April 26, according to in- paigning to win rebel — in the preliminary league and the final on March Dravid, known as formation received in New Delhi on Zimbabwean cricketer 23. ‘The Wall’ for his solid Tuesday. a place in The cricket-mad country went into mourning af- defence on any pitch, Following are the teams: Men’s: Tamil Nadu, Pun- the Central Districts jab, Services, Jharkhand, Railways, , Andhra ter the team’s loss, with Ganguly coming in for se- was won over by Vijeta cricket team. Pradesh, Uttaranchal. Women’s: Delhi, Kerala, Mad- vere flak for his decision to field first after winning Pendharkar, sources hya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Andhra Olonga, the first black the toss. close to the family said Pradesh, Punjab, Champion unit of inter-railway. cricketer to play for Zim- Australia, fired by a brilliant from cap- on Tuesday. During the babwe, was suspended from his Harare tain , amassed a World Cup final just concluded World SL chief selector resigns: Sri cricket club and may face treason record total of 359-2 to crush India by 125 runs. Cup in South Africa, he Lanka’s Chairman of Selectors Guy charges carrying a penalty of death after But Ganguly said the Indian team had impressed had hinted that he was de Alwis has tendered his resignation he and teammate Andy Flower made a the entire cricketing world by its performance in going tie the nupital protesting against “persistent politi- political protest at the Cricket World the tournament, which included a six- win knot soon but kept his cal interference” in team selection Cup. over arch-rivals Pakistan in the first round. choice a closely guarded process. “The Minister of Sports has They wore black armbands during interfered in everything from the time “The way the team played, the whole country is secret. their opening match against Namibia to I took over and there is no way that I The marriage would proud. I am sure we can win the World Cup in 2007 “mourn the death of democracy in our can continue in such circum- be solemnised in Banga- in the West Indies,” the Indian captain said. beloved ”. stances,” said de Alwis, who had just lore on May 4 and the re- “It’s a young side with nine players having Cricket fan Earl Stevens said on Tues- been re-appointed chairman of a ception held in Nagpur played the World Cup for the first time. With the ex- day he was leading a campaign to get new five-man panel. AFP on May 10. Dr Vijeta has perience, we are now better placed to win in 2007.” Olonga here. done MS from Govern- The Indian team will take part in the April 11-20 “It really is a crying shame what’s hap- ment Medical College BETTING METER tri-series in Dhaka against South Africa and pened in Zimbabwe. It’s a country that here and is the daughter Bangladesh. should have everything and they’ve got FORMULA 1 of Wing Commander There is no international cricket scheduled for nothing,” Stevens said. Brazilian Grand Prix (retd) S P Pendharkar the team after that until the home Test series “Firstly, we need to see if we can get M Schumacher 11/10 R Barrichello 9/2 and Dietician Jayashree against New Zealand in October. him over here. Secondly, we need to find D Coulthard 5/1 K Raikkonen 5/1 Pendharkar. Pend- The Indian team for the Dhaka tri-series will be out where he is to get information to him, JP Montoya 7/1 R Schumacher 16/1 harkars remained tight selected on Wednesday amid reports that senior and thirdly, we would need to organise a F Alonso 33/1 lipped about the much as per ladbrokes.com players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Saurav Ganguly poses with Bollywood actress Poonam Dhillon during his felicita- job for him and accommodation and fi- awaited marriage. PTI Kumble and Javagal Srinath will be rested. AFP tion by the All India Association of Industries in Mumbai on Tuesday. nancial support to get him here.”AFP ‘I am better prepared for the challenge’ Bridgetown (Barbados): Star bats- Ajit Ninan Since then, he has been sidelined man Brian Lara has said that “two at times by injury and illness, but has years of introspection” have left him remained the team’s premier bats- better prepared for his second stint man when available. as West Indies cricket captain in the Lara said he learned a lot as “one upcoming home series against Aus- of the guys in the team” under first tralia and . Jimmy Adams and then Hooper, but “It’s a great challenge for me was looking forward to making his again,” the 33-year-old Lara said at presence felt again. Kensington Oval on Monday after his “Definitely it will be a different appointment by the West Indies style ... it will definitely be Brian Cricket Board. Lara you’re seeing out there,” he “I’ve had two years of introspec- said. tion, two years of looking and seeing He was also optimistic in his out- where I’ve gone wrong,” Lara said. look for the Australian series, which “It was a period of learning. A lot of begins on April 10 with the first Test things I had done two years ago, I in Georgetown, Guyana. don’t think I’ll be doing now.” “I wouldn’t take the job if I didn’t Lara replaces Carl Hooper, whose think we could win the series,” Lara two years at the helm ended with a said. “We’ve got a team that is full of disappointing 2003 World Cup cam- a lot of potential. We need to shape paign in South Africa, where the our characters especially in these West Indies failed to advance past the to turn it down. I see my responsibil- At the time, he cited “moderate tough times, especially against the first round. The WICB has also ities and I want to play a part.” success and devastating failures that best team in the world. named as the He captained the West Indies in 18 have engulfed West Indian cricket” “There is no better opposition to do vice-captain. Tests and 44 One-day internationals as among the reasons for his quit- that against,” Lara said. During the “Other than Carl, myself and Rid- between 1997 and 2000. The Trinida- ting. He missed the subsequent home Australians’ last Caribbean tour in ley (Jacobs), there is not much there dian double world-record holder re- series against Zimbabwe and Pak- 1999, then-skipper Lara produced in terms of experience,” Lara said. signed after a tour of New Zealand in istan for personal reasons before re- three centuries, including a “So I think it would be a dereliction 1999-2000 in which West Indies lost turning to the team on the 2000 tour double, in four Tests. The series was of duty if I was presented the job and both Tests and all five One-dayers. of England. split 2-2. AP THE LARA FACTFILE It’s news to Bennett M R HS Av 100s 50s Ct Sydney:Bennett King isn’t certain get some terms on the Overall 90 7572 375 49.49 18 37 116 he wants to become West Indies table.’’ As captain 18 1504 213 50.13 3 9 25 coach and says the national adminis- Former Test bats- Home 11 1027 213 64.18 3 4 20 trators had erred by announcing his man was ap- Away 7 477 79 34.07 0 5 5 Vs Australia 4 546 213 91 3 1 6 appointment before completing con- pointed interim coach tract negotiations with him. for the West Indies and The West Indies board announced it was expected that Monday that King, coach at the Aus- King would take over in July. tralian Cricket Academy in Ade- ‘‘I believe the first week in July laide, had been appointed as Roger they’re looking at me being there, but M R HS Av 100s 50s W BB Av 5w Ct Harper’s replacement. in terms of making a decision, I can’t Overall 209 7797 169 42.6 16 49 4 2/5 11.5 0 85 King said the media had been in- do anything until they give me some- As captain 44 1248 117 32 2 5 2 2/12 12 0 16 formed of his pending appointment thing,’’ said King. ‘‘We’ll wait and see. before he’d received a phone call from I need a bit more time to think about the Caribbean officials. it all.’’ ‘‘They’ve nominated me as the pre- The ACB said it was aware King ferred candidate and I haven’t agreed had been offered the vacant West In- to anything,’’ King said onTuesday. dies position, but added that King was ‘‘I’ve seen no terms or conditions.’’ bound to coach the Australia A team Asked if he would replace Harper, against South Africa A in a tour King replied: ‘‘I’ll tell you when they match April 11-13. AP

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