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Aug 18, 2001
Cricket |
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The betting scandal
The Indian board have made a face-saving offer to Mohammed Azharuddin, the country's former captain, by offering to lift the life ban imposed on him if he is willing to give a voluntary pledge that he will never again be involved in cricket.
Australia in England
India in Sri Lanka If a 10-wicket loss hurts less than an innings defeat, India can take consolation in the fact that they softened the blow just a bit. Overnight batsmen Rahul Dravid and Venkatesh Prasad comfortably knocked off the 45 runs that were needed to avoid the innings defeat and even managed to take a 6 run lead. Prasad's 20 runs the third highest individual score in the Indian second innings (Dravid 64 not out & SS Das 23) was worth its weight in gold for this reason. However it was not in his batting abilities to pull off a miracle and was soon trapped leg before to Murali. Skipper Jayasuriya knocked off the winning runs in his usual nonchalant style as Sri Lanka posted their first 10-wicket win over India in 16 years.
Miscellaneous
The opposition leader in Zimbabwe stopped short of asking the English cricket team not to come to Zimbabwe when he made a statement saying he would welcome the visitors calling off the tour. He however added that what the country needs at present was an expression of solidarity and not an imposition of sanctions against it. The England and Wales Cricket Board however say the situation is being monitored and a decision will be taken soon. The Asian Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) is likely to finalise the award for television rights for the Asian Test Championship, beginning in September. The fore runners for the race are Doordarshan and Sahara television. However a US$850,000 from ESPN has also been made. The final decision will be taken soon. The tournament however has lost much of its sheen following the cloud hanging over India's participation. The author of the book Bradman's Best Roland Perry said he had asked the late Don twice regarding the exclusion of Shane Warne from his all time best XI. Bradman who had bracketed Warne with O'Reilly and Grimmett could not however be talked into including the Australian leggie. Warne has come out and expressed his disappointment at not making it to the Don's XI.
A Mumbai court had a few months ago dismissed the petition filed by Sham Dhumatkar sole proprietor of Gayatri Arts to stay the award of the team sponsorship contract to the IMG. The proprietor has now challenged the BCCI with another petition on the award of clothing sponsorship rights of the Indian team. The hearing on the matter is to be held next week. It may be recalled that Gayatri Arts had challenged the award of rights to IMG saying the BCCI had already confirmed granting the sponsorship rights to his company based on his bid for the same. The Uttaranchal High Court in the chit fund case granted former Test cricketer Manoj Prabhakar, an interim three-month bail. Prabhakar was taken to a hospital a few days after his arrest following a suspected brain stroke. Doctors attending to him say his condition now is stable. A triangular series between the A teams of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is likely to be held in India in November. Both the teams have agreed to the proposed tour. The India 'A' team will also play 3 Tests against its Pakistani counterparts and 2 against the Sri Lankans after the one-day series. He confirmation of the tour would be made final at the BCCI working committee meeting to be held in Mumbai on August 25.
Brief Scores
INDIA v SRI LANKA (1st Test)
ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA (4th Test) Yesterday's News ......................... News Roll archive |
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England managed to bowl out the Australians quicker that expected on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test match at Headingley. The middle and lower-order caved in for less than a hundred runs with only Gilchrist making 19. England in reply began in circumspect fashion with the openers Atherton and Trescothick working hard to fend off the aggression of the Aussie fast bowlers. They however fell in quick succession within 17 runs of each other and England was staring at yet another batting collapse. Skipper Nasser Hussain (47) and Mark Butcher (47) however steadied the ship and prevented further loss of wickets until stumps.
Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who was sidelined from the team during the summer tour of England due to an inexplicable stomach ailment has said that he is completely fit and raring to go. He hopes to make a comeback for Pakistan's home series against New Zealand. Shoaib said he needed some time off from the pressures of international cricket and said playing for the English club Lashings helped him relax and feel comfortable.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors ignored former captain Moin Khan from the two teams set to play a two-day trial match at the National Stadium, Lahore on August 20 & 21. The two-day game is mainly to help the selectors decide the final squad for the Asian Test Championship match against Bangladesh in Multan next month Wasim Akram though named in one of the teams has not been made captain. The rival teams are led by Saeed Anwar and national team skipper Waqar Younis. The best of Pakistan's domestic talent will be on view
The Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council Malcolm Speed has expressed his happiness over the arrangements being made in South Africa for the World Cup to be held in 2003. Speed who was in South Africa recently over saw the arrangements and witnessed a safety and security plan for the tournament. The eighth Cricket World Cup will feature 14 teams playing 56 matches over February-March 2003.