March 4, 2001
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After the home team's humiliating ten-wicket loss to Australia in the Mumbai Test match, it seems the usual enthusiasm for tour matches against visiting sides is missing at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground at new Delhi when the Board President's XI takes on the Australians on Tuesday. There are hardly any takers for the match and usual festive mood has been missing. Even the Delhi Cricket officials did not seem too excited about the match. Meanwhile, there is some confusion regarding the venue where the Australians would be practicing from Monday. The Air Force authorities have refused permission to the Aussie team to practice at the Palam Sports Complex ground since their own cricketers are busy with the preparatory camp for the forthcoming tri-nation Air Force cricket tournament. Former Australian off-spinner Ashley Mallett has offered his services to coach young India spinners. Mallett, who appeared in 38 Test matches from 1968 to 1980 for a tally of 132 wickets, felt that it is better to make a start now before it is too late for the Indians. Australian captain Steve Waugh was presented an honorary life membership of The Cricket Club of India (CCI) on Friday. A certificate was presented to him by former Indian captain Polly Umrigar at a function organised to pay tributes to the late Sir Don Bradman. Waugh was the only second Australian after Sir Don to receive this honour.  England pace bowler Darren Gough is once again in the news and again for wrong reasons. Just a week after captain Nasser Hussain called for discipline from his players, Gough was involved in a confrontation with a former Test player Indika de Saram during the one-day match against a Sri Lanka Colts at Kurunegala. The England bowler bumped into the batsman and fell onto the ground while preventing a single. He then went to the batsman and had words with him. Still annoyed Gough then snatched his sunglasses from the umpire. Hussain immediately ordered Gough leave the field to cool down. Meanwhile the officials of the local team are considering reporting the incident to the Sri Lanka Board. Incidentally Gough was also involved in a similar incident at the beginning of the tour.
South African coach Graham Ford is not much concerned about his side's apparent lack of preparation before the First Test against the West Indies that begins in Georgetown on March 9th. However he does feel that playing just one first-class game before the first Test would mean that his team will really need to adapt quickly to the local conditions. The South Africans play a local side named "Busta XI" at the Everest Club ground at Georgetown beginning today.
Injury to both his groin and calf muscle during the recent one-day means that Pakistan's vice-captain and batsman Inzamam ul Haq is unlikely to play any further part during the tour of New Zealand. Misbah ul Haq, a young batsman from Sargodha will replace Inzamam. Former Indian off-spinner EAS Prasanna has cleared the bowling actions of both off-spinner Niamur Rahman and left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique. Prasanna who is in Dhaka at the invitation of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had a net session with the two Bangladeshi bowlers at the National Stadium at Dhaka. Prasanna has advised the bowlers of some corrective measures by slightly modifying their bowling actions. Brigadier Munawar Rana, the Pakistan Cricket Board's Director of Cricket Operations, has strongly denied reports that Javed Miandad, the Pakistan team coach, is about to resign his post after Pakistan's defeat in the five-match one-day series in New Zealand last week. Brig. Rana clarified Miandad will continue to be with the team as the coach and the reports of his resignation were false. He further added that the non-selection of Ijaz Ahmed for the tour was purely a mutual decision by the Board and the tour management and has nothing do with Miandad. ** The South African Post Office released a stamp that features Jonty Rhodes. The stamp is one in a series of ten issued to mark South Africa's sporting achievements in the recent years. Jonty is the only cricketer in the series. The stamp will be used as a promotional tool for the 2003 World Cup. Dr Ali Bacher, executive director for the World Cup 2003 in South Africa has revealed a master plan to get at least 50,000 black spectators to witness the next World Cup. He said the World Cup tournament will be structured and marketed keeping in view of the country's coloured and women population. He added that active cricketers would be involved in this project at school, club and development levels and the distribution of the tickets will be done through the provincial unions who will then pass it on to the right people. Bacher expects more a half a million people to witness these matches. Meanwhile more than 35 million rands would be spent on revamping the various cricket venues to used for the next World Cup in South Africa. About 11 million rands alone would be spent on St George's Park in Port Elizabeth where one of the semi-final would be played. The crumbling St George's Park, one of the oldest cricket venues in South Africa built nearly seven decades ago, will be modernized. Other cricket gounds across South Africa will receive cosmetic upgrades to bring them up to world-class standards. Former Indian captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, along with his wife Sharmila, will represent the BCCI at the memorial service for Sir Don Bradman at Adelaide on March 25. The Reliance Group, who had sponsored the 1987 World Cup are likely to be involved with the National Cricket Academy. According the Raj Singh Dungarpur, the Chairman of the NCA, the company has agreed on principal but a proposal has to be submitted before the deal is finalised. The state government of Goa is planning to built a 100-crore multi-purpose stadium of international standards at Santa Cruz in Goa. The sports will have indoor and outdoor stadiums and a 50000 sitting capacity cricket stadium. Former Oxford University captain and Warwickshire all-rounder Mark Anant Wagh was celeared of his bowling action by the ECB's bowling group panel on Friday. Wagh who bowls off-spin was banned from bowling last November when his action was found suspect. In the meanwhile Wagh had rectified his bowling action by making some adjustment to his wrist positioning at the time of delivery. Northamptonshire Cricket Club has incurred a loss of nearly 100,000 pounds last year. It was the Club's worst decline since 1983. Victoria batsman Michael Klinger was stranded one short of his maiden first-class hundred when his captain Paul Reiffel declared his team's innings against Tasmania at Hobart. Reiffel later said his decision was the toughest he ever had to make but the team always came first. Yesterday's News
Compiled by: Mohandas Menon
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