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Shiv battles to 19th Test ton on incident-filled day
… but Aussies in match-winning position
ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) Shivnarine Chanderpaul battled to his 19th Test century but Brett Lee’s pace and accurate reverse swing, aided by three successive, contentious umpiring decisions, triggered a West Indies collapse and placed Australia in a match-winning position at the close of the fourth day of the second Digicel Test yesterday.
Securing a lead of 127 runs after dismissing the hosts for 352 after they resumed at 255 for four, the tourists reached stumps at 244 for six in their second innings, an overall lead of 371 runs.
Opening batsman Phil Jaques led the acceleration in the final session following a sedate afternoon period with 76, while Mike Hussey (40), opening the batting in the absence of the injured Simon Katich, and captain Ricky Ponting (38) ensured that the Australians were in a position to consider an overnight declaration and leave the home side with a battle for survival on the final day.
Yet whatever transpires today, the events of the fourth morning and more precisely the circumstances that contributed to Lee’s destructive spell of five wickets for four runs in the space of 18 deliveries will overshadow the rest of the match and could have repercussions beyond the final ball, given that it involved the highly emotive issue of umpiring errors.
In contrast to the heavy showers on Sunday morning that robbed more than half of the third day’s play, excellent weather provided the backdrop for Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo to progress serenely on the fourth morning with their fourth-wicket partnership, extending it to 132 runs when the meandering pace of the match was transformed into turbulence and controversy.
Persisting with the old ball into the 93rd over, Ponting summoned Lee after a succession of innocuous overs from slow bowlers Stuart MacGill, Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds.
He got the breakthrough almost immediately, Bravo, on 45, being adjudged caught behind by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin down the leg-side although television replays showed that the ball had touched only the all-rounder’s thigh pad.
His obvious disappointment at the verdict by Russell Tiffin was therefore understandable, while fellow Trinidadian Denesh Ramdin also had reason to feel aggrieved when the Zimbabwean official ruled him lbw to the very next delivery, a searing late inswinger that caught the wicketkeeper-batsman on the crease.
Again, television replays confirmed suspicions that he was struck outside the line of the off-stump.
However, that would have been little consolation for the two batsmen, especially as it exposed a vulnerable lower order to a rampant Lee.
To add insult to injury, new batsman Darren Sammy, having negotiated the hat-trick delivery, fell to the very first ball of a new over from Lee, also the victim of an erroneous leg-before adjudication by Tiffin, although in this instance it was not nearly as clear-cut as the previous two dismissals.
From the comfort of 314 for four, the West Indies had slumped to 318 for seven and not even the resolute defiance of Chanderpaul, who reached his second century of the series with a boundary off Symonds in the midst of the mayhem, could stem the tide.
The 33-year-old finished unbeaten on 107, his 19th Test century, after 336 minutes in the middle during which he faced 236 balls and struck 12 fours. Not for the first time, he was almost helpless as Lee continued the demolition job at the other end without the assistance of any questionable decisions.
Jerome Taylor heaved a couple boundaries before being comprehensively bowled for 20 while there was no doubt about Lee’s third successful lbw appeal, accounting for Daren Powell for a duck to complete his ninth five-wicket innings haul in Tests.
He finished with figures of five for 59, although it was Mitchell Johnson who wrapped up the innings when Fidel Edwards became the fourth player who failed to score in the innings, giving wicketkeeper Brad Haddin a straightforward catch ten minutes before the scheduled lunch interval.
Losing their last six wickets for 38 runs was not an entirely alien occurrence for the West Indies, however the circumstances of the slide on this occasion generated a level of acrimony that resurfaced nearing the end of a long day.
Jaques and Hussey chose safety first in a comparatively quiet opening stand of 74, building on a first innings lead of 127 runs before Hussey was caught behind off Bravo, with Ramdin taking a good catch standing up to the stumps.
The acceleration began after tea, Jacques reaching the half-century mark off 109 balls, with five fours in 109 minutes, but perished 24 runs short of a hundred edging an attempted cut off Taylor to Ramdin.
Ponting, who had put on 89 runs for the second wicket with Jaques, was lbw to a full-length delivery from Taylor for 38, while Clarke was run-out for ten by Chanderpaul’s direct hit to the wicketkeeper’s end in the increasingly frenetic rush for runs.
Any prospect of the earlier ill feeling at Tiffin’s errors dying down evaporated when Symonds, on seven, stood his ground to a vehement appeal for a leg-side catch by Ramdin off Taylor and TV replays suggested that the ball had brushed the all-rounder’s glove.
Haddin was unlucky to be ruled leg-before by English umpire Mark Benson off Edwards, a dismissal that brought in Lee, who promptly sustained a fearful blow on the left side of the jaw from a venomous short-pitched delivery by Edwards.
The combative fast bowler and lower-order batsman continued after brief treatment, his sixth-wicket partnership with Symonds (43 not out) progressing amidst palpable tension that will inevitably linger into the final day of a match that was on the verge of dying on its feet 24 hours earlier.
Still there was to be a final, and in some eyes, a fitting twist when Lee was given out caught behind off the glove by Benson for four to another lifter from Edwards off what proved the final ball of the day.
The batsman was not pleased with the verdict, the telltale replays suggesting that he had solid grounds for displeasure.
The irony of the final incident was not lost anyone who had witnessed an unexpectedly incident-filled day.
Edwards finished with two for 28 while Taylor claimed two for 33.
AUSTRALIA 1st innings 479-7 declared (S. Katich 113; J. Taylor 3-95)
WEST INDIES 1st innings (o/n 255-4)
D. Smith c Symonds b Johnson 16
X. Marshall lbw b Clarke 53
R. Sarwan c Clarke b MacGill 65
R. Morton c Katich b Clarke 2
S. Chanderpaul not out 107
D. Bravo c wkp. Haddin b Lee 45
D. Ramdin lbw b Lee 0
D. Sammy lbw b Lee 0
J. Taylor b Lee 20
D. Powell lbw b Lee 0
F. Edwards c wkp. Haddin b Johnson 0
Extras: (b-17, lb-13, w-2, nb-12) 44
Total: (all out, 107 overs) 352
Fall of wickets: 1-55, 2-103, 3-105, 4-182, 5-314, 6-314, 7-318, 8-341, 9-341.
Bowling: Lee 21-7-59-5, Johnson 24-5-72-2, Clark 14-0-39-0, MacGill 21-1-107-1, Clarke 15-7-20-2, Symonds 12-3-25-0.
AUSTRALIA 2nd innings
P. Jaques c wkp. Ramdin b Taylor 76
M. Hussey c wkp. Ramdin b Bravo 40
R. Ponting lbw b Taylor 38
M. Clarke run-out 10
A. Symonds not out 43
B. Haddin lbw b Edwards 7
B. Lee c wkp. Ramdin b Edwards 4
Extras: (b-8, lb-6, w-3, nb-9) 26
Total: (six wkts, 61.5 overs) 244
Fall of wickets: 1-74, 2-163, 3-178, 4-186, 5-222, 6-244.
Bowling: Powell 13-3-47-0, Edwards 7.5-1-28-2, Taylor 12-0-33-2, Sammy 12-1-45-0, Bravo 14-1-59-1, Sarwan 3-0-18-0.
Position: Australia lead by 371 runs.
Jamaica showdown looms for Bolt and Powell
By Gene Cherry
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - The two fastest 100 metres sprinters of all-time could race in Jamaica later this month.
New 100 metres world record holder Usain Bolt will run both the 100 and 200 at the June 27-29 Jamaican Olympic trials in Kingston, his coach said on Sunday.
Among his rivals in the 100 is scheduled to be compatriot Asafa Powell, the world record holder until Bolt clocked 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on Saturday.
The meeting could be the year's most anticipated 100 metres before the Beijing Olympics in August, although Powell and American world champion Tyson Gay are also due to race in July in London.
Powell and Bolt have run the seven fastest times ever recognised in the event.
Powell has recorded five of them, including the former world record of 9.74 seconds, and the 21-year-old Bolt two but they have never raced over 100 metres.
The lanky Bolt has run times of 9.76, 9.92 and 9.72 seconds within the last month.
"I'll be doubling now (in the Olympics), definitely," Bolt told Reuters in New York after setting the world record.
But his coach Glen Mills said nothing had been finalised.
"It is not really his decision to make," the veteran coach told Reuters via telephone from Kingston. "If he wants to, maybe that's his way of telling me."
Mills, who for years had tried to push Bolt towards the 400 metres as his second event, acknowledged that the sprinter would run both the 100 and 200 metres at the Jamaican trials.
"He is going to double in the trials because if he doesn't, he would be forcing himself to make a decision this month about the Olympics," Mills said.
A 200 metres race in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 12 will be Bolt's only run over the longer distance before the trials, his agent Ricky Simms said.
Defoe’s double pushes England past Soca Warriors
By Jason Harper
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) England’s Jermain Defoe scored a pair of goals in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Sunday evening.
Defoe found the back of the net in the 15th and 49th minutes after Gareth Barry opened the scoring in the 12th for the visitors.
In the game billed ‘Score to Settle’, Barry silenced the partisan home crowd at the sold-out venue, when he latched on to a David Beckham cross and beat Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Clayton Ince.
Defoe doubled the score three minutes later when he connected on a Stewart Downing cross and beat a diving Ince at his far post.
The Warriors, trying to avenge their 2-0 World Cup defeat in Germany two years ago, suffered a huge early setback when striker Kenwyne Jones was tackled hard by England keeper David James and was forced to leave the game after just 11 minutes.
Jones was replaced by Darryl Roberts, who hardly bothered the England defence, led by Rio Ferdinand.
Beckham disappointed the majority of the large crowd that came out to watch the match when he was substituted at halftime.
Defoe, the Portsmouth striker, added his second goal soon after the halftime break when he scored from a David Bentley cross.
It was the second easy win for England in five days after they beat the United States of America 2-0 last Wednesday.
Trinidad and Tobago coach Francisco Maturana did not call on the services of former captain Dwight Yorke until the 75th minute.
The former Aston Villa and Manchester United star looked comfortable on the ball from his first touch and connected well with the impressive Carlos Edwards, who ran freely down the right side for the entire match, but failed to deliver that telling cross to strikers Stern John and Roberts.
The Warriors will now meet Jamaica on Saturday June 7 in another friendly international this time at the Queen’s Park Oval.
The last time the two Caribbean giants met earlier this year, the match ended in a 2-2 draw in Kingston.
Mosley faces judgement day after sex scandal
By Alan Baldwin
PARIS, France (Reuters) - Formula One's governing body will decide today whether Max Mosley can remain as president after a sex scandal that has thrown the sport into turmoil.
A spokesman for the International Automobile Federation (FIA) confirmed yesterday that the 68-year-old Briton's fate will be sealed in a simple vote of confidence by secret ballot.
Motorsport associations and motoring clubs from 96 countries will cast 177 votes, including 19 proxies, at what could be a heated extraordinary meeting of the FIA's general assembly.
The full membership is some 222 strong but clubs that have not paid their dues are ineligible to vote.
The procedure is further complicated because some of the votes are split. Britain's RAC, the AA and Caravan Club, for example, each have a third of one vote, with that whole counting only if they all agree.
A poll in Britain's Guardian newspaper of 100 of the member clubs showed 37 per cent wanting Mosley to resign, 25 per cent for him and 29 per cent refusing to comment on their intentions. The remainder were undecided or ineligible.
Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who called openly at the weekend for his long-term associate to stand down, could have a big say in convincing the waverers but Mosley also has a formidable network of allies.
TURBULENCE AHEAD
The vote leaves the FIA at a crossroads, with uncertainty and turbulence likely whichever route is taken.
Mosley has said he will resign if he loses and there will be relief in some quarters if that happens. But defeat will also bring upheaval, with no clear successor lined up and Formula One facing some big decisions about future rules and regulations.
If the FIA president wins, there is the risk of a schism within the governing body which is divided between sporting clubs and those more concerned with day-to-day motoring services.
Leading 'mobility' members such as the Automobile Association of America (AAA), with 51 million members in the United States, and Germany's ADAC have come out strongly already against Mosley.
A vote for the Briton could also lead to an impasse in Formula One, with some of the manufacturer teams and leading sponsors determined to avoid his company.
Mosley has ruled out any face-saving compromise but has said he will not stand for re-election in October 2009 even if he wins the vote, with FIA vice-presidents taking over his ceremonial duties until then.
Britain's triple Formula One champion Jackie Stewart, who has repeatedly called for Mosley to go, has a $100 wager on his foe winning the vote.
Mosley has ignored calls to quit since the tabloid News of the World newspaper published details of his involvement in what was described as a Nazi-style sado-masochistic orgy with prostitutes.
More than two months since the scandal broke, overshadowing much of what has been happening on the race track, the FIA president has continued to defend his corner.
Mosley, who is suing the News of the World for invasion of privacy, will have an opportunity to address the assembly as will other members. The outcome of the vote is expected after 1200 GMT.
Sharapova sent packing at French Open
… Federer rolls on
By Pritha Sarkar
PARIS, France (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova's French Open dreams were shredded by a familiar foe yesterday, while Roger Federer plunged a dagger into French hearts.
Sharapova has never felt at home in the heartland of claycourt tennis and yesterday her weakness was unashamedly exposed during a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 demolition job by fellow Russian Dinara Safina.
As Sharapova muttered and spluttered her way out of Paris, Federer maintained his aura of calm to subdue the brave challenge of local hopeful Julien Benneteau 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals of Roland Garros for the fourth year running.
The Florida-based Sharapova had arrived in Paris announcing herself as the new face of a well-known jewellery company but during her nine-day stay at Roland Garros, her game failed to sparkle.
"It's not easy trying to write an incredible story that everybody's going to love," said the Australian Open champion.
"As much as I want to go out there and do everything perfect, especially on this stuff, it's not as easy."
After huffing and puffing past three obscure opponents in the previous rounds, she met her match in 13th seed Safina, who had beaten the top seed at the same stage here two years ago.
At 5-2 down in the second set, Safina looked to be heading out. Instead of accepting her fate, she chose to take out her frustrations on her racquet, smacking it into the red dirt in anger.
Her hot-headedness proved to have the desired effect as in the next game she went on to save a match point by unleashing a spectacular winner.
GAME EXPLODED
"I'm not the girl to keep all the emotions I have inside," said Safina, who will next face another Russian in Elena Dementieva.
"I guess I have to pay lots of fines because that's the way I am. I prefer to let it go. I feel that I have to explode then I explode."
As Safina's game exploded into life, Sharapova's started to fade. Twelve months after describing herself as a 'cow on ice' on clay, Sharapova skidded out of the tournament by ramming a forehand long.
She would perhaps be best to wipe out memories of her 2008 Paris sojourn but if she ever chooses to read up on it -- it will make for grim reading.
In four matches she piled up an astonishing 199 unforced errors and 43 double faults -- certainly not the kind of statistics a world number one would be proud of.
To compound her misery, Sharapova's premature departure could herald the end of her reign as world number one.
She was in a four-way race to secure the top ranking at the end of the tournament, but if any of her main rivals -- Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova -- go on to lift the title on Saturday they will also climb to the top of the WTA standings.
She greeted the news with a "boo-hoo" before adding: "I came very close, just didn't go my way for some reason." While Sharapova's hopes of completing a career grand slam stalled yesterday, Federer stepped up his pursuit of an elusive French Open crown with an entertaining win over Benneteau.
WASHED AWAY
For the third match running, Federer got wet on court as the rain once again returned to Roland Garros, but the top seed made sure his title hopes were not washed away and he booked a last-eight showdown with Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.
Benneteau, one of five Frenchman to reach the fourth round, got the partisan crowd going by showing off a range of slam dunk shots, but his repertoire could not save him from defeat at the hands of a man who has reached 15 successive grand slam semis.
The day ended on a high for the French though, as Gael Monfils, who received a warning for being coached by his entourage in the stands, jigged his way to a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over a resurgent Ivan Ljubicic.
David Ferrer took a leaf out of Safina's manual to make sure he lived to fight another day.
Annoyed at being broken in the third set against Czech Radek Stapanek, a raging Ferrer flung his racquet into the ground, picked it up then snapped it in two against his bended knee. The episode spurred him on to a 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win and a last-eight date with Monfils.
As the top-seeded Bryan brothers crashed out of the men's doubles, U.S. hopes of a singles champion vanished when Robby Ginepri bowed out following a 7-6, 6-3, 6-1 defeat by 24th seed Gonzalez.
Ginepri had been the lone American survivor in either draw, and his demise means the five-year search for a U.S. men's grand slam champion will now be put on hold until at least Wimbledon.
Seventh seed Dementieva, the 2004 runner-up, won an error-strewn Russian catfight against Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
Lee swings Australia towards victory with old ball
By Simon Evans
NORTH SOUND, Antigua (Reuters) - Most quick bowlers love a shiny, hard new ball in their hands but Brett Lee showed yesterday with a superb spell of five wickets in 18 balls that a battered old one can also be a deadly weapon.
The Australian ripped through the West Indies batting order with a virtually unplayable spell featuring conventional and reverse swing, giving the touring side a good chance of winning the second Test.
"I do think it is definitely the best spell I have bowled with the old ball. It's probably the most I have ever moved a ball. And it's gone late too," Lee told reporters.
"There are days when it just clicks. And those moments, those six overs are the reason why I play Test cricket.
"They always talk about getting into a groove and getting into the right mindset and getting in to a part in your spell when it all happens for you.
"It happened easily, I felt like I was running in I wasn't trying to bowl the ball too fast, the ball came out perfect," he said.
The key breakthrough came when Lee removed Dwayne Bravo, who together with Shivnarine Chanderpaul had put on 132 for West Indies.
Television replays showed that Bravo had not actually hit the ball, which struck his hip, but his departure opened up the lower-middle order and Lee took full advantage with three lbws and a clean-bowled as the hosts tumbled to 352 all out.
FLAT WICKET
Lee usually swings the new ball away from right-handers and has an effective bouncer but on a flat wicket that has offered nothing to seamers the old ball was far more dangerous, shiny on one side and rough on the other.
"The conditions were perfect, when I looked at the ball it was spot on, scuffed-up on one side -- the boys looked after the ball on one side just perfectly," Lee said.
"There were a couple of times it got over the fence and got onto the gravel and that kind of thing which definitely helps and you are playing on a surface too which is very abrasive, the conditions were definitely in our favour for the ball to swing the other way.
"To pick up five wickets is always a bonus but for me it is always about trying to get that breakthrough and hopefully try and get your Test match team into a position where we can win the Test match and hopefully we have done a pretty good job there," Lee added.
Warne not interested in replacing MacGill
… but former players support his return
STUART MacGill's retirement has raised more questions over whether Shane Warne could end his international exile, but Cricket Australia is confident there will be no return.
While Darren Lehmann and Kerry O'Keeffe feel Warne could make a successful comeback, James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, believes he has heard the final word.
"I am in Mumbai and I let Shane know that Stuart was about to announce his retirement," Sutherland told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Shane was very clear on the subject: he said that not only is he very happily retired, but also that (a comeback) is the furthest thing from his mind. So that would seem to be the end of that."
Warne's former mentor Terry Jenner told AAP it was "time to move forward" and said in the Herald there was "no logical reason to go backwards". However, his position was not as clear in the Australian.
"The very situation that Warney talked about has arrived," Jenner said. "All the criteria have been met for what Shane said would be the criteria for him to come back. Shane has been playing cricket, albeit Twenty20, MacGill has retired and the choice is to go to one of the young kids who might not be ready."
Beau Casson, who is on the West Indies tour, is the best-placed person to replace MacGill in the short term while the South Australian pair of Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey held Cricket Australia contracts for 2007-08.
The third Test against West Indies starts in Barbados on June 12 and Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke could also be employed instead of Casson.
O'Keeffe, who played 24 Tests in the 1970s, said in the Australian Warne was a "big chance of a comeback now". "I think he would do very well in England," he said. Last month Warne said he would consider stepping in for one Test series if Australia really needed him.
"You would have to be mad not to take him if we were struggling for whatever reason," Darren Lehmann told the paper. "He definitely still has the fire in the belly. I saw that first-hand in the IPL. He is still bowling brilliantly, has been working hard on his fitness and can still bowl a lot of overs in a day.
Johnson to return Olympic relay gold
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Five-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson will return his final gold medal won in the 2000 Sydney Games 4x400 metres relay after a team mate admitted taking drugs.
Antonio Pettigrew testified at the trial of coach Trevor Graham that he had taken banned drugs since the 1996 U.S. trials. His confession followed drugs bans on Alvin and Calvin Harrison and Jerome Young who were also members of the victorious U.S. team.
"I know that the medal was not fairly won and that it is dirty," Johnson said in a column published in The Daily Telegraph today.
"So difficult as it is, I will be returning it to the International Olympic Committee because I don't want it. I feel cheated, betrayed and let down."
Graham was convicted last Thursday on one count of lying to federal agents investigating the BALCO laboratory.
Yousuf has request for leave denied by PCB
By Richard Sydenham
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rejected a request from English county team Lancashire to allow Mohammed Yousuf to miss this month's tri-series against India and hosts Bangladesh, a Lancashire spokeswoman confirmed yesterday.
The club signed Yousuf, 33, last month to cover for their Australian overseas player Brad Hodge who belatedly agreed to play in an Indian domestic Twenty20 event.
Yousuf's stay was extended when Hodge was required by Australia on their West Indies tour, to cover for Michael Clarke who was on compassionate leave due to the failing health of his fiancée’s father.
"The PCB have been brilliant and very helpful in allowing Mohammed to extend his contract with us after Brad was needed in the Caribbean," the spokeswoman said.
"We just hoped that they may allow us to keep him a little bit longer and we asked the question but they indicated that they wanted to take a full-strength squad to Bangladesh so he will be heading back to Pakistan today."
Yousuf is the third highest-scoring batsman in Pakistan's Test match history with 6 770 runs from 79 games.
The IPL and the art of captaincy ,,,
Different strokes
By Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
THE irony was striking. The IPL was supposed to symbolise cricket's future, but the winning captain openly sniggering at laptops.
Twenty20 was supposed to be an instinctive form that didn't offer much time for thought, but the finalists were led by the two most charismatic leaders.
"If you walk up to a bowler and look worried, it gets to him," said Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the second semi-final. "So I act as if I'm not." At once it conjured up images of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar - anxious, nervous and hoping for the bowler to hold his nerve while appearing to be losing theirs.
There was Yuvraj Singh, who seemed to holler louder as the tension increased, and Harbhajan Singh made a habit of chewing his fingernails.
Dravid made an interesting point after the daylight robbery Bangalore pulled off in Chennai, when an inexplicable collapse helped his side to a win against the odds. When asked about how well he had led, Dravid blushed. "When you win, every captain looks good. When you lose, whatever you do appears wrong."
Admittedly a lot of analysis of captaincy relies on hindsight, but the IPL made one thing clear: the shrewdest survived.
Kolkata's John Buchanan wanted his side to approach every game as if they were confronting 240 individual battles, one for each ball. The depth of the planning was evident. Added to that was a demand for quickly adapting to the conditions and changing plans accordingly.
Shane Warne imposed himself. While hailing his leadership skills nobody should forget the value he offered as a player - no other captain played as many match-winning hands.
More than one Rajasthan player has spoken of the boost the side received after Warne's sensational finish against Deccan Chargers, when he carted Andrew Symonds for 17 off the final over. One team-mate has said how his faith in the captain increased ten-fold that evening. Warne was in the middle in the final too and the crack through covers in the penultimate over, when 12 were needed off 7, set up the finish.
Rattling the Bangalore top order with a bouncer barrage on a lively Chinnaswamy pitch was a classic case of astute planning coming off.
The sight of Warne alerting the fielders at fine leg to anticipate a catch will stick in the mind. So also, Warne giving his faster bowlers one-over spells against Chennai, in the second match between the sides, was another one of those little surprises that had a big impact.
Warne was also blessed with that enviable quality good captains usually need - luck. He won 10 of his 15 tosses, and even when some of his gambles misfired - like the promotion of Sohail Tanvir up the order - it didn't cost them too much.
The punt on Swapnil Asnodkar came off spectacularly. And whenever a match went down to the wire, Rajasthan found that extra bit of magic to pull it off.
Dhoni was the other captain team-mates swore by. His batting made a difference in a few games but it was his ice-cool demeanour that stood out. His side were unstoppable at full-strength, but even after their Australians left, Chennai continued to upset strong teams in close finishes.
The decision to hold back L. Balaji for the final overs in the second game against Punjab proved a masterstroke, and the faith he placed in Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over in Chennai's first few games never backfired. Maybe he missed Joginder in the final over of the final too.
One wonders how things would have panned out if Dhoni had kept wicket in the second half of the tournament - he has admitted he leads better when he keeps, standing in a position where one can read the game best. He also might just have been more efficient than Parthiv Patel behind the stumps, especially when it came to batsmen taking off for byes to the keeper.
Yuvraj never really inspired with the bat but was fortunate to have Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena by his side - two allies he regularly turned to. Where Yuvraj did inspire, though, was in the field - he was at the centre of the cliffhanger in Mumbai, lambasting his fielders for every minor lapse. He bowled a tight over and clinched the win with a diving run-out straight out of the Jonty Rhodes album.
The decision to give James Hopes the final over against Delhi - in the rain-curtailed game - was a brave one, and one that made the eventual difference. And the continued faith Yuvraj reposed in VRV Singh was as surprising as it proved effective.
Yuvraj was also fortunate to have the most balanced side in the tournament - one where overseas batsmen and Indian bowlers went about their jobs efficiently. Rarely did Shaun Marsh let them down, and the rest of the order always had a launch pad in place.
Early in the tournament Virender Sehwag appeared to have netted the best side among the eight. He had a new-ball pairing to die for and a top three that fired in every match; Sehwag could really run the ship on auto-pilot. But things started getting tough when Plan A didn't fall into place.
His move to bowl Amit Mishra in the final over against Deccan was inspired, and produced a hat-trick. While a smile was never too far from his face, even when the rest were suffering palpitations, Sehwag might look back on a couple of key moments - giving Shoaib Malik the final over against Chennai and bowling himself, instead of Glenn McGrath, in the crunch against Punjab. Both games slipped away and the road to the semi-finals got rougher.
The excessive faith placed in Malik was intriguing, especially when there was Tillekeratne Dilshan waiting in the wings. Sehwag could possibly have rejigged the batting order once it was clear that the middle four weren't striking the high notes.
Mumbai's three captains came with contrasting styles: Harbhajan Singh impulsive, Shaun Pollock measured, and Tendulkar fidgety. In a team with a number of unheralded players, Pollock and Tendulkar were figures to look up to. Abhishek Nayar and Rohan Raje spoke about how eager they were to pay back the faith that a legend like Tendulkar had placed in them.
Close finishes, though, were a bugbear for Mumbai. While Harbhajan entrusted bowlers who appeared off-colour - his confidence in Ashish Nehra proved costly against Bangalore - Tendulkar occasionally also under-used those who appeared on song: he left Pollock with one over to bowl against Punjab and not bowling Nehra in the final over against Rajasthan. "We didn't show enough common sense" was how Tendulkar summarised the last-ball defeat to Rajasthan. The same could have been attributed to several other close misses.
How Sourav Ganguly would wish he had found some form early in the tournament, especially after he inspired Kolkata to two wins late in the piece. Ganguly, the captain, is usually at his best when his batting clicks. He turned it on when he could with the ball, notably in his spell to thwart Bangalore.
What Ganguly might regret, though, is not getting his combination right for most of the tournament. Chris Gayle's injury was a big blow, especially after Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum left, but the amount of confidence reposed in Mohammad Hafeez was slightly baffling.
Ajit Agarkar started well but didn't deserve the long rope he got. It was probably in their very last game that Kolkata got their right combination. By then it was just a bit too late.
Dravid, surprisingly, finished among the top 12 run-getters but it was never going to be enough with a faltering team. He did try and put up a brave fight and ended the campaign with a few smiles, but these were just a few positives from a forgettable campaign.
He may introspect on how Bangalore won just one game among the five where he won the toss. He said they were trying to come to grips with the nuances of the format and didn't really have a preferred option at the toss. The selections of a few XIs were puzzling, and they also made a habit of choking when the target was in sight.
Neither VVS Laxman nor Adam Gilchrist will look back on the IPL too fondly. Both watched one close loss after another and by the end one could almost see them coming. Laxman veered from too conservative to too experimental - against Punjab at home no bowler got to bowl two overs in a row - but struggled to strike a balance Things might have turned around had Warne not smashed Symonds for 17, but when it came to close finishes Deccan were always second best.
Gilchrist couldn't really express himself, with the knowledge hanging over him that a collapse was likely just around the corner. The rest of their overseas players sleepwalked through the series and it was left to Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao to earn a few consolation prizes. (Cricinfo)
Pakistan pick full-strength 16-member ODI squad
PAKISTAN selectors have stuck largely with the tried and tested in a 16-man squad for what will effectively be their toughest assignment of the year so far, the tri-series in Bangladesh involving India as the third side.
Disappointingly perhaps, of the many new faces trialled against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh earlier this year, only opener Nasir Jamshed and left-arm bowler Wahab Riaz find space on the plane to Dhaka.
Promising youngsters, such as openers Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif, fast bowler Sohail Khan and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed have been left behind.
The last three are on the reserves list and will instead form part of a camp in Lahore for a pool of players to be considered for the Asia Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy later in the year. The three, in particular Sohail, remain in contention for the Asia Cup, say the selectors.
"It is the best available team and a well-balanced squad," Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, told Cricinfo. "We are aiming for some continuity in selection and that shows with the selection of players such as Nasir Jamshed and Wahab Riaz."
The team was chosen after extensive discussions between the selection committee and Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain.
The coach Geoff Lawson, however, wasn't present, having not arrived in time from Sydney. Lawson has had, at times, a testy relationship with the selection committee and his absence, it is believed, has not gone down particularly well with the PCB.
Though the squad was largely agreed upon, certain positions and players will be under the scanner during the tri-series, with the selectors keen to plan ahead for the Asia Cup and ICC Champions Trophy later in the year.
It is learnt that Kamran Akmal will open the innings with Salman Butt, a combination that Malik has publicly backed. But it has also been made clear by one of the selectors that this is the last chance for Akmal to make an impact as an opener, and failure could mean ouster from the team.
Shahid Afridi's form with the bat will also come under scrutiny during the tournament, one source close to the meeting suggesting that the captain was keen on Mansoor Amjad replacing the veteran all-rounder.
Bazid Khan, who made a fifty in his last ODI against Bangladesh is retained in the squad, as is Naumanullah, the middle-order batsman who made his debut against Bangladesh in the last ODI of the series in Karachi.
Naumanullah has been among Pakistan's leading domestic run-scorers in the last five seasons, though at 32, an international debut appeared to have passed him by. It was felt he deserved another chance, having batted lower down the order on his debut.
Pakistan will be pleased that they can at least call on the services of their three premier fast bowlers in Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Asif, who has seemingly recovered from an injury to his bowling hand, sustained during the IPL .
Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wkp.), Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan, Naumanullah. (Cricinfo)
MacGill anoints Casson as replacement
By Peter English
THE first thing Stuart MacGill did after telling his wife he was going to retire was speak to his state and national team-mate Beau Casson.
MacGill, who is disappointed he has to depart so soon, wanted Casson, the left-arm wrist-spinner, to have a bit more time so he could organise flying his family to the Caribbean.
Casson is the only other specialist slow bowler in the squad, although Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke offer part-time options, and is in line to become the key benefactor in MacGill's mid-series decision.
"The most important thing for me was that Beau had an opportunity to get his family over," MacGill said after play on the third day. The final Test begins in Barbados on June 12.
While most of Australia worries about the state of the next rung of spin bowlers following the retirements of Shane Warne, Brad Hogg and MacGill over the past 18 months, MacGill is not concerned and rates Casson, who moved from Western Australia two seasons ago, at the top of the list.
"The reason that New South Wales chased Beau so hard was because we think he can bowl and we think he can win games," MacGill said. "He proved that this year.
"Hopefully now that he's coming into a great team, there are a lot of great players in that side who can help you along. The Caribbean is a good place to bowl spin and I'm sure he is going to do well."
Casson's first reaction on hearing the news was to ask if MacGill wanted to change his mind. MacGill was a bit upset, so Casson gave him a hug. After 44 Tests, he doesn't want to leave, but knows it is time.
"I do have lots of goals in Test cricket and I do want to play, but if things aren't working out my way I don't want to be there," he said.
"I am thinking about every single component of my game at the moment way too much because I have to, just to stay in it. That means I'm not going to be performing at my peak."
He said he "couldn't live with myself", if he let the team down and decided over the past week he had to step away. "I guess (I knew) since mid-way through the first Test and then unfortunately - the reason why I've done this mid-game - every single ball (on day two).
"His control had gone and short deliveries were mixed with full ones on Saturday, but he recovered to remove Ramnaresh Sarwan with a fine leg-spinner on day three.
"I like to make people proud," he said. "I'm proud of myself, and I don't want to take the shine off it. I've got a lot of good memories. I'd hate to chuck in another bad one."
MacGill's time in Australian teams has rarely been quiet and he missed the team bus to the ground on Saturday.
He arrived after play had started - Australia were batting after resuming at 259 for 3 - and walked in with Viv Richards, who told the Sydney Morning Herald the bowler looked "sheepish". There was no suggestion he was hung-over.
"To be honest, it's incredibly embarrassing for me, but it's very, very simple," MacGill said. "The alarm didn't go off, I missed the bus, and I was late for work. It is significant, but that's as simple as it was, and I do feel embarrassed, because I just don't really need complications to be honest.
"Caribbean tours are hard work. I love a night out, but very few of us cope well with tours over here, so it was actually a pretty early night for me. I can't guarantee you I slept particularly well - I've got a lot on my mind - but I can't even use that as a reason. I was sleeping, missed the bus and was late for work. It would be cooler if I had a better story."
The tight schedule of three games in less than three weeks has also affected MacGill's 37-year-old body, with his knee and wrist the major problems. "The rigours of this particular tour have proved a little bit too much for me," he said. "Playing against West Indies in the Caribbean is hard work. You've got some very good players who respond well to playing in this region, it's hot, the pitches are unforgiving, the grounds are quite often small, and you've really got to earn your dollars."
Disappointingly for MacGill, he expects his final Test day yesterday to be one of his worst memories of a career that currently contains 208 wickets. "A lowlight will be walking off the ground at the end of this game," he said.
"Probably the hardest thing is I thought I had already played my last Test in Hobart, so it means that two of my last three Tests I've felt pretty low. I really do because I don't want to stop playing; this is what I'm good at."
His highlights include taking nine wickets in his second Test, against Pakistan in 1998, and the 2003 trip to the West Indies. "Playing here on the last tour in Barbados, Steve Waugh said we were the only team in the world that could bowl them out twice and we did," he said.
"That was great, nine wickets. Nine seems to be my lucky number. If I get nine in this Test it would be a nice way to finish."
Cricket Australia will decide over the next month what to do with his contract for 2008-09. Playing for New South Wales for a couple of seasons remains in MacGill's plans and he also has the second series of his wine programme Uncorked to film. "Maybe I'll finally get a real job.” (Cricinfo)
Cannavaro ruled out of Euro 2008 with injury
By Mark Meadows
VIENNA, (Reuters) - Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out of Euro 2008 after suffering ankle ligament damage yesterday, the Italian soccer federation said.
The 34-year-old defender collided with Giorgio Chiellini in Italy's first training session in Austria and his departure was confirmed after having tests in hospital.
Alessandro Gamberini has been called up as a replacement and will arrive at their base near Vienna today.
"Fabio Cannavaro must say goodbye to the European championship," a statement on the Federation web site (www.figc.it) said.
Cannavaro, who lifted the World Cup two years ago, will hold a news conference today alongside coach Roberto Donadoni, the statement added.
Capped 116 times, Cannavaro has been a key figure in Italy's defence and was voted FIFA's World Player-of-the-Year in 2006.
However, he has become slower and more error-prone since moving to Real Madrid from Juventus following the World Cup triumph.
His place in the national side has never been in doubt but the emergence of centre back Andrea Barzagli, who has produced some assured displays for Italy in the last year, will slightly cushion the blow for Donadoni.
Defender Marco Materazzi is also in the squad while Chiellini and Christian Panucci can play at centre back rather than full back.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon may be the most likely candidate to take over as captain with midfielders Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini other options.
The world champions flew into Austria earlier on Monday.
Italy face the Netherlands in their first Group C match in Berne on June 9 before playing Romania and France.
Brazil police criticised for another pitch intervention
By Brian Homewood
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian police were criticised for their eagerness to intervene in incidents on the football pitch yesterday after a Botafogo player was arrested on the field and his team mates squirted with pepper spray.
Defender Andre Luis was frog-marched out of the stadium by around 10 riot police after being sent off in the 3-0 defeat to Nautico in Sunday's Brazilian championship match in Recife.
Botafogo said other players were prodded and threatened with truncheons and received pepper spray in their faces as they tried to intervene in the skirmish, which held up play for 12 minutes in the first half.
Police said Andre Luis had made insulting gestures to the crowd and defied their authority.
Palmeiras coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo said he was apprehensive about visiting Recife next week for a match against local side Sport.
"We are going to a football match," he told reporters. "I don't want to be handcuffed and I don't want to be punched. This is something we have to look at."
Abel Braga, another leading coach, told the Sportv cable channel: "It's unbelievable that this happens in the Brazilian championship and in a country which in a few years' time is going to host the World Cup."
Botafogo president Bebeto De Freitas said he was outraged at the treatment. "Footballers are not bandits and are not to be kicked and punched," he said. "This has to stop."
"The player was wrong, he will be punished and suspended; we have sporting legislation to deal with this. What is not acceptable is for him to have pepper in his face or be prodded in the back with a truncheon.
PLAYER PROTEST
Brazilian football's disciplinary tribunal said the incident would be investigated.
Brazil has a long history of police intervention on the field.
In October 2002, Santos defender Preto was knocked unconscious when a policeman hit him on the head with a truncheon as players protested about a refereeing decision in a match in Belem.
In March 2006, riot police used pepper spray against brawling players during a Vasco da Gama-Flamengo derby at the Maracana stadium, where one policeman was seen with his arm around a player's neck.
Police behaviour made international headlines in April 2005 when defender Leandro Desabato, playing for Argentina's Quilmes, was arrested on the field at the Morumbi stadium for alleged racism during a game against Sao Paulo following a first-half incident with opposing forward Grafite.
Desabato was held in custody for 40 hours, at one stage being handcuffed, before being released.
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