Former Australia captain Steve Waugh was a special invitee at the Richie Benaud's sculpture unveiling function at the SCG on Thursday along with quite a few former New South Wales greats. Waugh was much in demand once the function was over as newsmen mobbed him for sound-bites.
Not the one to back away from a challenge the older of the Waugh twins obliged by speaking on various issues. Excerpts from his interaction with the media: It's always a special place to come back to as I have some great memories of this ground. I still feel a bit nervous walking in.
When you play as a unit, you learn to get along. That they have not been the best of mates has been well-documented. As long as you have respect for each other, it's fair enough. Shane's in the media now and everyone is entitled to his opinion. For newspaper people, it makes good copy. Players are much better looked after these days. Being 35 today is like being 30, fifteen years ago.
The toughest job for an India coach is to deal with what the selectors want. If you're trying to build something for the future you don't have time to put things in place. I think in some ways the problem in India is patience, or the lack of it. It was the same with Australia in the 1980s, when they lost four or five players. They picked a core group of people and sorted out the tough times.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
players are doing much well in their 30's
Sandeep Singh is in for 3-national tourney
Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh returned to the reckoning for a berth in the national squad as he was picked among the 29 probables announced on Friday for the three-nation hockey tournament starting January 22.
Mid-fielder Pavan Lakra and young forward Bikash Topo were also named in the list. The probables will undergo a national camp in Bangalore from January 10 for the lead-up tournament to the Olympic qualifiers in Chile in March.
Carvalho said the final team will have either 22 or 24 players. Pakistan and Belgium, who have already qualified for the Beijing Olympics in August, are the other teams for the January 22-30 tournament.
The three teams will play each other twice and the top two will play the final. Sandeep Singh, who has been impressive so far in the ongoing Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh, will have to work hard to find a place in the final squad.
"A 24 or 22 member final team would be selected for the tournament after which the team will leave for Western Australia for training-cum-competition there."
Sandeep Singh is in for 3-national hockey probables
Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh returned to the reckoning for a berth in the national squad as he was picked among the 29 probables announced on Friday for the three-nation hockey tournament starting January 22.
Mid-fielder Pavan Lakra and young forward Bikash Topo were also named in the list. The probables will undergo a national camp in Bangalore from January 10 for the lead-up tournament to the Olympic qualifiers in Chile in March.
Carvalho said the final team will have either 22 or 24 players. Pakistan and Belgium, who have already qualified for the Beijing Olympics in August, are the other teams for the January 22-30 tournament.
The three teams will play each other twice and the top two will play the final. Sandeep Singh, who has been impressive so far in the ongoing Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh, will have to work hard to find a place in the final squad.
"A 24 or 22 member final team would be selected for the tournament after which the team will leave for Western Australia for training-cum-competition there."
Nadal and Youzhny entrance into the Chennai final's
World number two Rafael Nadal overcame a dazzling challenge from veteran Spanish compatriot Carlos Moya to squeeze through to the ATP Chennai Open final on Saturday.
Nadal saved four match points in the second set before winning 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/1) in an enthralling four-hour semi-final that swung wildly from one side to another.
The 19th ranked Youzhny gave Croatian youngster Marin Cilic a tennis lesson before cruising to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the first semi-final. Top-seeded Nadal will clash with fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in Sunday's final of the season-opening event worth 68,800 dollars to the champion.
Some 6,000 fans at the packed centre court of the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium watched a stunning fight from their favourite Moya, who won here in 2004 and 2005 and was runner up to Ivan Ljubicic in 2006. The 31-year-old Moya and seeded third, outplayed Nadal in the first set tie-breaker in which he dropped only three points.
Nadal broke Moya in the fifth game of the second set, but was himself broken in the 10th while serving for the set which forced another tie-breaker. Moya appeared to have the match sewn up at 6-3 in the tie-breaker, but Nadal hit back to save four match points and make it 6-6 before taking the set at 10/8.
Moya, ranked 17th in the world, once again seized the advantage in the third set by breaking Nadal's serve in the fifth game but faltered while serving for the match at 5-4.
Left-handed Nadal broke back to make it 5-5 and pressed home the advantage in the third tie-breaker of the match, conceding just one point. Earlier, Youzhny dominated Cilic from the start, breaking the 19-year-old former world junior number two in the opening game of the match.
Both players had finished their quarter-final matches in the early hours of Saturday after rain played havoc with the scheduling. Youzhny, looking for his fourth career title, said he was confident going into the final.
"We are professionals and have to adjust to the rain," he said. "Both of us finished our quarter-final matches at the same time and obviously there was little time to recover. "But I am happy with the way I played today. I kept the pressure on him from the start. I am ready for the final.
Top seed Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal in men's and women's finals
Top seed Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal of PSPB overcame stiff challenge from their respective opponents to reach the finals of the men's and women's singles of the Pramod Mahajan All India Senior Ranking tournament at Siri Fort Sports Complex on Saturday.
Sridhar prevailed over his Banglorean mate Arvind Bhatt 21-19 21-16 while Saina fought back to get the better of third seed Aditi Mutatkar 18-21, 21-13 21-12. Saina will meet Sayali Gokhale, who came off another three setter to beat Dhanya Nair 18-21 21-6 21-18.
In another men's semifinal, seventh seed J B S Vidyadhar upset second seed P Kashyap 22-20 16-21 21-15 to set-up a title clash with Sridhar. In the most awaited semifinal, Sridhar faced a tough time in putting the breaks over a rampaging Bhatt, who at one point was running away with the first game.
Bhatt hit a flurry of powerful smashes right from the start, that left Sridhar gasping for breath. Bhatt raced to a 10-2 lead and Sridhar had no clue about how to stop the storm.Sridhar waited for his time patiently and came back into the match much like a seasoned pro that he has matured into in the international circuit this year.
Bhatt, who has made a stunning come back after a long injury-layoff and notched up quite a few impressive title wins in 2007,
Sridhar leveled score at 18-18 and then took the lead before closing the match 21-19. It was too much for Bhatt, who led in most part of the game but failed to deliver the killer punch.
Bhatt looked a bit tired in the second game and reserved his stinging smashes for big points, keeping his all-attacking game at the back-burner.
Both players fought neck and neck and at 10-10, it was anybody's game, but then Sridhar stepped up the gas and went ahead with some fine net placings and closed the match.
The script in the first women's singles semifinal was not much different where Saina met a fierce competitor in Aditi Mutatkar, who showed firepower and enough promise for the future.
But Aditi met fire with fire and the scores were leveled at 11-11 before Saina pocketed seven points in a row and that changed the face of the match. She closed the match 21-13.
Aditi made a few errors in the decider and Saina broke away from six-all, and did not look back. "I have come close to her in last few matches. I know that I can beat her. I have a better technique and the only thing I need is experience at the higher level," Aditi said .
A few Crazy mometns by Baju in field
After Ricky Ponting popped up a simple catch to VVS Laxman at silly point off the first ball he faced from Harbhajan, the Indian spinner simply took off towards the dressing room with both arms raised and a finger pointing heavenward.For a few crazy moments it appeared that Harbhajan Singh taken to rugby with his team-mates at the SCG on Saturday.
On a more serious note Sourav said: "Harbhajan is a competitive guy. All men can't be same. It's not right for me to say that's the way he should be. That's the way he is and that's the way we are. We are all different. We react differently to different situations. And we as human beings will have to accept it."
Sourav claimed that he did not know about Harbhajan being charged till this morning. "I wasn't aware what had happened. I saw something happening on the field when they were batting. So I don't know exactly what happened," Sourav said.
As the SCG crowd lapped up Harbhajan's unique celebration, the humour was certainly not lost on Ponting at whose insistence the umpires had pressed charges of racial abuse against the Indian spinner on Friday following his on-field verbal duel with Andrew Symonds.
Matthew Hayden said that the Australians believe that they have a strong case, but the Indian team management is confident that nothing will come out of Sunday's hearing and Harbhajan will be let off for lack of evidence.
Skipper Anil Kumble, manager Chetan Chauhan, assistant manager MV Sridhar, senior pro Sachin Tendulkar and, of course, Harbhajan will attend the hearing from the Indian side, while Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds will testify against Harbhajan.
BCCI officials are already in touch with Cricket Australia on this issue which is threatening to sour the excellent relations between the two most powerful constituents of the ICC. No matter who wins this wretched battle, the game of cricket stands to be the biggest loser.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Roger Federer want be on top for several years
Roger Federer has warned would-be challengers that he intends to stay at the top for several years to come.
Speaking to L'Equipe newspaper after being named as it's Champion of Champions for the third year running, the Swiss star said that at 26, he was injury-free and full of motivation.
"It's all to do with my preparation," he said. "The way that I train and get myself in top condition is very important.
"I have put the priority on longevity. I've always had an eye to the future and would like to continue playing as long as possible to play against as many generations as possible. I am in it for the long run."
A winner of three out of four Grand Slam titles in 2007, the Swiss player finished well ahead of American swimmer Michael Phelps and French world rally champion Sebastien Loeb in a vote by L'Equipe's journalists.
The only other sportsman to have won three times in succession was Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher in 2001-2003.
Looking back over 2007, Federer said his greatest satisfaction came from matching Bjorn Borg's record of winning Wimbledon five times in a row by defeating Rafael Nadal in a pulsating five-sets final.
"It was an incredible match against Nadal - in front of Borg who was there, Connors also and McEnroe - everyone was there. It was a magical moment for me.
"It felt like moving into another dimension and that I was no longer just the best player in the world, but a kind of legend. "Of course its bizarre to think of oneself as a legend, but that was the biggest moment of the year for me."
This year, for the first time, the editors at TENNIS have chosen only one Player of the Year. Rather than pick a man and a woman, we thought that a single award covering the entire pro game would be a more significant honor.
What we didn’t realize was how difficult this would make our selection process. Not only were there two strong candidates among the men—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both had historic
Turning to 2008, Federer said that winning a first French Open title was near the top of his list of priorities, but he said equaling and possibly passing Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles was even higher.
He is currently on 12 Grand Slam titles and a repeat of the last two years when on each occasion he won the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open titles would see him move ahead of the retired American.
Federer was speaking to L'Equipe in Dubai where he is preparing for the defence of his Australian Open title later this month.
V.R.V Singh to Replace in the place of Zaheer Khan
Fast bowler Vikram Rajvir Singh will join the squad as a replacement. "Zaheer will not be able to take part in the rest of the series. He will return immediately...," a board statement said.
India fast bowler Zaheer Khan is to return home from the tour of Australia after suffering a heel injury, the Indian cricket board said on Wednesday.
Left-arm seamer Zaheer missed the second Test in Sydney that started on Wednesday due to a heel injury in his left foot.
Batting may have been a perennial source of concern on this tour for India, but on the bowling front it has been a problem of plenty.
With Punjab's young VRV Singh impressing as back-up bowler in the warm up game against the rest of South Africa, coach Greg Chappell was wearing a happy look at the options at his disposal.
Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth are all but penciled in for the first Test at it will be a toss up between VRV and Pathan for the third seamer's slot.
"VRV Singh has been bowling close to 145mph and with good control too," muttered Chappell after he sat through with team's video analyst Ramakrishnan in the press box on the third afternoon of the four-day game here on Saturday.
VRV Singh has lost little time in adjusting to the high altitude and the kind of line and length to bowl on the wickets in South Africa. He has come in for high praise from some of the team's seniors, including maestro Sachin Tendulkar.
Vikram Rajvir, 23, has played five Tests and was last month called into the squad for the final Test against Pakistan after injuries ruled out Zaheer and Munaf Patel.
Zaheer's injury further weakens India's pace department already hit by fitness woes. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was ruled out of the tour with injury and the board had said Munaf needs match practice before playing international cricket again.
Australia recovered with Symonds from stageering early blows by R.P.singh
After losing the toss to Australia,Indian players made the Australia's back to pavilion,with an accurate bowling bye R.P.Sing and Harbajan sing they were restricted the Aussis to 126 for 6.
But Aided by umpiring blunders, Australia recovered from staggering early blows inflicted by India to reach a dominant 376 for 7 at close on the opening day of the second Test here on Wednesday.
The hosts rode on the luck and brilliance of Andrew Symonds who remained unbeaten at 137, 107 runs after he clearly nicked Ishant Sharma to wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. There were more new year gifts for Symonds when he was declared not out by the Australian third umpire Bruce Oxenford after being stumped by Dhoni off Anil Kumble's bowling.
Electing to bat, the Australians were gasping at 134 for six at one stage before Symonds and Brad Hogg (79) not only pulled the team out of the pits with a 173-run seventh wicket partnership.
Brett Lee (31) was giving Symonds company at stumps on a day which saw the script going horribly wrong for the Indians after the post-lunch drinks break. (AFP Photo)
India suffered from wrong umpiring in sydney test.
The Cricket Board on Wednesday directed the Indian team management to lodge a protest with ICC Match Referee Mike Procter against atrocious umpiring decisions made on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Sydney.
"We have asked our team management to lodge a protest to the ICC match referee against the wrong umpiring decisions made today by Steve Bucknor. The wrong decisions made by Bucknor have been commented upon by all cricketers and analysts alike," said BCCI vice president Rajiv Shukla.
"I am sure the International Cricket Council will be monitoring the matter in Dubai and take appropriate actions," Shukla said.
Australian batsman Andrew Symonds was caught by MS Dhoni off Ishant Sharma when on 30 but to the horror of the Indian team, Bucknor decided he was not out. Symonds went on to score an unbeaten 137 to spearhead a great recovery after the hosts were tottering at 134 for six at one stage.
Symonds was also given another 'life' by third umpire Bruce Oxenford who ruled him not out when he was stumped by Dhoni off Anil Kumble a little later.
Earlier, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting too was lucky to escape a caught behind appeal when on 17 before going on to complete a half century. Mark Benson was the umpire who did not uphold the confident appeal.