18
SPORTS
Monday, October 11, 2010
Big guns going strong in Euro 2012 qualifiers LONDON: Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are among the sides looking to continue perfect starts to European Championship qualifying tomorrow. The trio top their groups, and Spain is progressing so serenely that its latest opponent, Scotland, has already acknowledged that it is playing only for second place and a playoff spot. Scotland has two points fewer than Spain ahead of its meeting with the world and European champion in Glasgow but has played one game more. Germany is at Kazakhstan and the Netherlands host Sweden, which has won both of its games so far. England hosts surprise Group G leader Montenegro, while Italy welcomes Serbia and resurgent France is at home to Luxembourg. Spain tops Group I with six points after beating Lithuania 3-1 in Friday’s qualifying round but did not score until the second half, conceding an equalizer before prevailing. Valencia striker Aritz Aduriz, who made his debut as a late substitute, was among the players to acknowledge dissatisfaction with the performance.
“I was happy we attained our objective, which was to acquire three points,” Aduriz said. “However, I have not been as at ease as I would have liked. “I think I was a bit too relaxed in some moments. I’m going to train hard in the coming days and then I’ll see if I’m lucky enough to get some minutes against Scotland.” The player Aduriz replaced, Fernando Llorente, is likely to start again after scoring two headers against Lithuania, while midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to be fit after missing Lithuania because of ‘flu. Coach Vicente Del Bosque said defender Sergio Ramos, who was replaced in the 82nd by Alvaro Arbeloa after limping heavily, only bruised his ankle. Del Bosque is anticipating another tough game against a lower-ranked opponent. He said Lithuania made it difficult for Spain to play its normal fast-passing game, forcing the team into a more orthodox style. “They narrowed the field and we found it difficult to receive balls,” Del Bosque said. “We tried to play our one-two passing game but eventually our goals came from three crosses. It’s another possibility, there’s noth-
ing better than a good cross to make a good strike.” Scotland’s players are anticipating a difficult match whatever style Spain employs at Hampden Park. “We are still on course for finishing second,” Scotland defender Gary Caldwell said. “That was probably always the objective. Spain on Tuesday is a game we will go into and give everything. “Everyone in the world wouldn’t expect us to get anything and that’s when Scotland are usually at their best. So we can have a right go on Tuesday night.” Also in Group I, the Czech Republic aims to follow Friday’s 1-0 win over Scotland with victory at lowly Liechtenstein. Germany beat Turkey, supposedly its closest Group A rival, 3-0 on Friday and should have little problem obtaining a fourth straight competitive win at Kazakhstan. Any slip-up could give second-place Austria the chance to close a three-point gap when it meets Belgium in Brussels. The Netherlands’ game against Sweden is likely to be its hardest so far in Group E. The World Cup runner-up has won its three games by a combined margin of 8-1, but Sweden has gone one better — winning
its two matches by a total of 8-0. Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic and forward Johan Elmander both missed training on Friday, when Sweden was one of the few teams not to play — but coach Erik Hamren said they were just taking “precautionary measures” and the pair trained on Saturday. “It’s been amazing quality in training,” Hamren said.”Good focus and good humor.” But experienced defender Olof Mellberg is suspended after a red card in Sweden’s 6-0 win against San Marino. Andreas Granqvist, Petter Hansson and Jonas Olsson will vie to take his place at the heart of Sweden’s defense, most likely alongside Daniel Majstorovic. England’s squad was depleted by the withdrawal because of injury of winger Aaron Lennon and defender Phil Jagielka, but coach Fabio Capello is hoping to have Wayne Rooney fit after an ankle injury ruled him out of Manchester United’s past two games and threatened his participation. England has two wins from two games but its rest on Friday allowed Montenegro to pull three points clear with a 1-0 victory over Switzerland in Podgorica.
Switzerland is last in the five-team group but coach Ottmar Hitzfeld insists all is not lost ahead of Wales’ visit tomorrow — another team that has lost its opening two matches in Group G. “The important thing is to keep calm,” Hitzfeld said. “If we win our three matches at home and if we take some points in Cardiff and Sofia (against Bulgaria) then we can come back.” Central defender Steve von Bergen could miss facing Wales in Basel because of a knee injury, though Hitzfeld has bigger problems with his attack. Switzerland has only five goals in its last 12 matches, and none from its forwards. After dismal World Cup campaigns, France and Italy have turned their fortunes around and top their respective groups after three qualifying matches. France opened up group play with a 1-0 home loss to Belarus but has bounced back well with an away win at Bosnia-Herzegovina followed by Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Romania. Laurent Blanc’s team should easily beat bottom side Luxembourg in Metz in its fourth qualifier. “The team spirit in the squad is a pleasure to see,” said Alou Diarra,
who captained France against Romania. “There is an enormous amount of talent in this squad. These two wins are good for our morale and now we’re up and running in the qualifiers. Now it’s got to be more of the same and three points against Luxembourg.” Blanc has no new injury worries but could make changes to freshen up his team, unlike Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, who was happy with his players’ performances in the goalless draw at Northern Ireland on Friday. It was the first time the Azzurri had dropped points in Euro 2012 qualifying but they are still a point clear of second-place Estonia, which beat Serbia away on Friday. “I’m not thinking about changing a lot for the game with Serbia,” Prandelli said. “Its loss at home to Estonia changes things as I would have preferred not to be facing a team with a point to prove.” Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci went for an x-ray after taking a heavy blow to his left foot against Northern Ireland, but scans revealed there was no break and he could feature against Serbia. Also among tomorrow’s 23 qualifying matches, Ireland is at Slovakia, Portugal is at Iceland and Greece hosts Israel.—AP
Tendulkar gets past another milestone
BANGALORE: India’s Sachin Tendulkar (right) bats as Australia’s Tim Paine reacts during the second day of their second Test cricket match. Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 14,000 runs in Test cricket. —AP
SCOREBOARD Scoreboard at the close on day two of the second and final test between India and Australia in Bangalore yesterday. 1w), Ojha 42-7-120-3 (2nb), Singh 43-3-148-4, Australia first innings: (overnight 285-5) Sehwag 4-1-7-0 (1nb), Raina 8-1-19-1. S Watson c Dhoni b Ojha 57 S Katich c Dravid b Singh 43 R Ponting lbw b Raina 77 India first innings M Clarke c Raina b Singh 14 M Vijay not out 42 M Hussey c Sehwag b Khan 34 V Sehwag c Johnson b Hilfenhaus 30 M North c Sreesanth b Singh 128 R Dravid c North b Johnson 1 T Paine st Dhoni b Ojha 59 S Tendulkar not out 44 M Johnson lbw b Ojha 0 Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-5) 11 N Hauritz run out 17 Total (two wickets, 34.2 overs) 128 B Hilfenhaus not out 16 To bat: C. Pujara, S. Raina, M.S. Dhoni, H. Singh, Z. P George st Dhoni b Singh 2 Khan, P. Ojha, S. Sreesanth. Extras: (b-9, lb-12, w-1,nb-9) 31 Fall of wickets: 1-37 2-38 Total: (all out; 141 overs) 478 Fall of wickets: 1-99 2-113 3-132 4-198 5-256 6-405 7- Bowling (to date): Hilfenhaus 9-2-18-1, Johnson 7-230-1 (1w), George 5-1-18-0, Hauritz 11.2-0-45-0, 415 8-458 9-459 10-478 Bowling: Khan 23-5-84-1, Sreesanth 21-1-79-0 (6nb, Clarke 2-0-11-0.
BANGALORE: India’s Sachin Tendulkar passed another major milestone but a dogged century from Australian Marcus North put the touring side in control of the second Test yesterday. North’s career-best 128 was the cornerstone of the Australian first innings which folded for 478 at tea on day two, but not before their lower half had added 193 runs to their overnight score of 285 for five wickets. In reply, India made a feeble start, losing the explosive Virender Sehwag (30) and bailout specialist Rahul Dravid (one) in quick succession. Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 44 with opener Murali Vijay (42) at the other end with India still trailing Australia by 350 runs. “It’s going to be extremely important tomorrow that we have a very big partnership,” Tendulkar told Neo Cricket channel after the second day’s play which ended with India on 128-2. “A couple of partnerships will bring us back in the game and put us in a decent position. Right now it’s one of those challenging phases.” Playing his 171st test, Tendulkar became the first batsman to amass 14,000 test runs in the 27th over of the Indian innings, hitting off-spinner Nathan Hauritz for a boundary. Earlier, North’s 149-run sixth wicket stand with fellow overnight batsman Tim Paine (59) defied the Indian bowlers in the morning session and took the visitors past the 400-run mark. North mixed caution with occasional aggression, slogsweeping Pragyan Ojha for the first six of the innings before retreating into his defensive shell. Paine’s was a more eventful knock in which he was caught behind off a Shanthakumaran Sreesanth noball and was dropped by Suresh Raina off Ojha before the leftarm spinner returned to settle the score. North completed his fifth test century in the next over and eventually fell to Harbhajan Singh after a resolute 240-ball knock with 17 boundaries and a six in it. “I got a start last night, so I needed a big score,” North said. —Reuters
DHAKA: New Zealand cricketer Bradley-John Watling tries to catch a ball during a training session at the Sher-e Bangla National Stadium. The second ODI match of Bangladesh and New Zealand was abandoned due to heavy rain. — AFP
Duminy sets up narrow victory for South Africa KIMBERLEY: JP Duminy hit 96 not out, the highest score by a South African in a Twenty20 international, and it proved just enough to secure a 2-0 series victory against Zimbabwe at the Diamond Oval yesterday. Duminy propelled South Africa to an imposing 194 for six in 20 overs but Zimbabwe made a spirited reply before losing by eight runs. Brendan Taylor and Chamu Chibhabha both hit 59 as Zimbabwe raced to 122 for one with seven overs remaining. In the end it was Duminy’s late assault that made the difference. The left-hander made his runs off 54 balls, with his last 46 scored off just 17 deliveries, as South Africa scored 67 off the last five overs of their innings. It was a closing rate Zimbabwe could not match as five batsmen fell to catches off attempted big hits and captain Elton Chigumbura was run out attempting an improbable second run in the penultimate over. Zimbabwe’s total of 186 for seven was their highest in a Twenty20 international and Chigumbura said he was happy with his side’s improved showing after they went down by seven wickets with 25 balls remaining in the first match in Bloemfontein on Friday. “It was a much better performance, especially with the ball,” said Chigumbura, “but the last three overs went for many (runs). Overall I’m happy.” Johan Botha, South Africa’s newly-appointed Twenty20 captain, gave credit to Zimbabwe for making the match so close. “They played excellently in the chase,” he said. For Duminy it marked a strong start to a new season after a disappointing 2009/10 campaign. He followed up an unbeaten 35 in the first game with a score which surpassed Loots Bosman’s previous South African best of 94, made against England at
Vettel wins Japanese GP SUZUKA: Sebastian Vettel cruised to Japanese Grand Prix victory yesterday in a Red Bull one-two with Mark Webber, who stretched his Formula One championship lead to 14 points with three races remaining. The German led from the pole he had secured only a few hours earlier and triumphed comfortably, despite taking the chequered flag just 0.9 seconds ahead of the Australian, for the second year in a row. “I’m really, really happy and it’s about time,” said Vettel, after spraying the winner’s champagne at Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, of his first win since Valencia in June. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, winner of the two previous races, finished third without ever looking like troubling the leading pair. McLaren’s world champion Jenson Button, one of five title contenders, gambled by starting on harder tyres than the others but it failed to pay off and he finished fourth. Team mate Lewis Hamilton was fifth in a race that dealt a heavy blow to their chances. Webber now has 220 points to 206 for Alonso and Vettel, with the Spanish double world champion having won four races to the German’s three. “It is the first time I have won a grand prix for the second time, so I think ultimately you have to fall in love with this track,” said Vettel when it was pointed out that only two others had ever won in
successive years at Suzuka. Both of them, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher, went on to win the title. Webber lost second place to Renault’s Robert Kubica at the start but gained it back when the Pole came to a halt on lap three with the rear right wheel missing from his car. “A very good day for me,” declared Webber. “It was probably difficult for me to win the race unless I got the start. “It is a beautiful track but it is basically a formation finish. Both Sebastian and I just following each other around and it is very difficult to get much closer.” Hamilton, who started with a five-place grid penalty on a weekend where nothing went right for him and most things went wrong, dropped to fourth overall on 192 points with his hopes fading. The tone of the afternoon for the Briton seemed set when he did the pre-race drivers’ parade perched on a three-wheeled ‘bubble car’ while Webber and Vettel cruised around in Rolls Royces. “I was happy that I finished,” said the deflated 2008 champion. “I lost third gear as I was shifting up. It’s a tough one for the team. Maybe this is a sign.” Button fell further behind in fifth overall, with 189 points and just three races to try and make up a 31-points deficit if the Briton is to become the first driver since 1957 to win back-to-back titles with different teams. —Reuters
Centurion last season. Duminy hit ten fours and four sixes after he came to the wicket with his side on 29 for two, with both wickets taken by Zimbabwe off-spinner Prosper Utseya, who opened the bowling. “We lost a few key wickets up front, so it was about rebuilding the innings, then launching at the end,” said Duminy. “It’s always good to get runs under the belt, especially for me after an iffy sort of season last season.” Opening batsman Taylor starred for Zimbabwe, hitting 59 off 39 balls after claiming the key wicket of Graeme Smith and conceding only 16 runs in four overs with his rarely-used off-spin bowling.—AFP
SCOREBOARD KIMBERLEY: Final scores in the second Twenty20 international between South Africa and Zimbabwe at the Diamond Oval yesterday: South Africa: L. Bosman c Mpofu b Utseya 5 G. Smith c Cremer b Taylor 46 C. Ingram b Utseya 12 J. Duminy not out 96 D. Miller b S. Masakadza 25 H. Kuhn c Taylor b Mpofu 1 R. Peterson c Utseya b S. Masakadza 1 J. Botha not out 1 Extras (b4, w3) 7 Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 194 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Bosman), 2-29 (Ingram), 3-74 (Smith), 4-143 (Miller), 5-150 (Kuhn), 6-171 (Peterson) Did not bat: W. Parnell, J. Theron, L. Tsotsobe Bowling: Utseya 4-0-28-2, S. Masakadza 4-0-39-2 (1w), Mpofu 4-0-59-1 (2w), Taylor 4-0-16-1, Cremer 3-0-34-0, Dabengwa 1-014-0 Zimbabwe: H. Masakadza c Botha b Tsotsobe B. Taylor c Theron b Peterson C. Chibhabha c Parnell b Botha C. Coventry c Botha b Peterson E. Chigumbura run out (Theron) K. Dabengwa c Duminy b Theron T. Taibu not out 11 S. Masakadza b Theron 1 G. Cremer not out 2 Extras (lb3, nb1, w5) 9 Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 186
JAPAN: Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany leads teammate Mark Webber of Australia and Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of Spain during the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit. —AP
10 59 59 8 26 1
Fall of wickets: 1-15 (H. Masakadza), 2-122 (Chibhabha), 3-137 (Coventry), 4-146 (Taylor), 5-152 (Dabengwa), 6-179 (Chigumbura), 7-180 (S. Masakadza) Did not bat: P. Utseya, C. Mpofu Bowling: Parnell 4-0-41-0 (1nb, 2w), Tsotsobe 4-032-1 (1w), Theron 4-0-27-2, Botha 3-0-30-1 (1w), Peterson 4-0-36-2, Duminy 1-0-17-0 Result: South Africa win by 8 runs Series: South Africa win 2-0 Man of match: JP Duminy (RSA)