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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 , 2011
Years
S P ORT S
Misbah guides Pakistan to tight victory over NZ
Majd Al-Ansari watches his shot
Al-Qatami tops Kuwaiti Open Age golf tournament By Abdullah Al-Qattan KUWAIT: With the end of round 8 of the
Kuwaiti Open Age Golf, Qatami AlQatami was in a class of his own on Friday during the National Championship at the Sahara Golf Resort. While most of the field struggled, Qatami cruised along in almost perfect harmony with the golf course and the prevailing conditions. Qatami stood on the difficult 15th tee box—which is the second most difficult hole statistically — knowing he was only 1 over par. The last 4 holes are a difficult and tricky stretch of holes. Qatami pushed his tee shot on the 15th, had to chip out with his wedge over the trees to get back on the fairway, hit another wedge on the green to within 5 feet from the hole but missed the par putt for a bogey 5. Qatami was on the green in two on the 16th and had a nasty 20 foot hard breaking down-hill putt for birdie. His first putt overshot the hole by a good 6 feet. Qatami missed the up-hill par putt for another bogey 5. Qatami went on to pull his tee shot on 17. His 5 wood second shot was well struck over the trees but slightly right, finding the right greenside bunker. It took him two shots to get out, only for his ball to nestle in the left side rough. He then chipped to a couple of feet and one putted for a double bogey 6. The final hole, although shot can also be tricky with water protecting the green. Qatami hooked his 4 wood tee shot into the water, reached the green in three, and two putted for a bogey 5. And just like that 5 strokes are lost on the final 4 holes. “But overall, I am very happy with my game” he went on to say. Still, 6 over par 76 was by far the best score on the day, with 4 players tied for second place at 13 over par 83 (Mazen
Alansari, Bader Haider, Bader Alturkait and Yousef Bahman). With his 76, Qatami not only won round 8 outright, but managed to break the all time 4 round scoring record previously owned by Waleed Khalaf, although that feat was accomplished on a par 72 course compared to the current 70. The new record set by Qatami now stands at 297, only one stroke better than the old record of 298. With 4 rounds remaining this season, it is very likely that the record will be broken again, if not by Qatami then possibly by second place rival, Bader Haider who currently sits in second place with a 301 or Majd Alansari who sits in third with 307. To get the latest scores and results of the Kuwaiti Open Age Golf Tour visit http://www.q8golf.com/
Qatami Al-Qatami plays a shot
Bashed but not broken, Jones dreams of England BIRMINGHAM: Simon Jones, a fast bowler whose England Test career was halted in its prime by one debilitating injury after another, wakes to a daily routine of strengthening exercises and icing his battle-weary limbs. He is the virtually forgotten spearhead of his country’s glorious 2005 Ashes triumph over a previously dominant Australian team but at 32 refuses to believe his days representing England are over. True, Jones has accepted that the rigours of five-day test cricket are now more than his battered knees and ankles can stand but international one-day and Twenty20 cricket, he says, are still well within his range. “I don’t think I would ever hang my international boots up, not until I’m 40-odd. You never stop believing,” Jones told Reuters in a telephone interview. He is understandably buoyant despite the almost relentless injury setbacks since the fourth test against Australia six years ago this summer which marked his last England appearance. He has just returned home from a domestic Twenty20 event in the Caribbean in which he finished joint top wicket-taker for his adopted English county side, Hampshire. Jones claimed 12 wickets in the tournament including an inspired four for 10 from his four overs against Barbados. Hampshire eventually lost in the final. “It was one of those spells you see people bowl on TV and you wonder how they do it,” Jones said, warmed by the memory. “It was an amazing feeling because as a bowler in Twenty20 you are always on the back foot-batsmen play with no fear.” In his prime, Jones was a handful for anyone with his devastating late swing. He helped England to a national record eight consecutive test wins in 2004 and followed up as part of the 2005 Ashes-winning team
against a dominant Australia. Then it all turned sour. After an initial ankle injury, serious knee troubles requiring multiple operations threatened his career all together. Ironically, Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff from the triumphant ‘05 team have been forced into premature retirement because of knee injuries. Welshman Jones, who lives on England’s south coast with his girlfriend and two sons, has trained tirelessly to avoid the same destiny. “You get your dark days, real hard days and it’s a horrible place to be,” Jones said. “You just have to keep your chin up, keep looking ahead and thinking about the future rather than what’s gone on in the past. “If you don’t focus on the light at the end of the tunnel you might as well pack it in. But I will never give up until I can’t physically do it. “You have to listen to your body but I won’t stop trying to be the best that I can be. I’ve always promised to give myself the best chance and see where it takes me.” He has played just 16 four-day matches in the last five seasons from a possible 80, though his 42 wickets at an average of 18.02 in his nine games for Worcestershire in 2008 show he had not lost his ability to bowl reverse swing at pace. With this background, realistically it would seem unlikely Jones would cope with the rigours of five-day cricket and add to his 18 test appearances. But on the evidence of his performances in the Caribbean, England may have an experienced match-winner to call upon for limited overs cricket. Jones maintains he wants to continue to play the longer form of the game, and is confident his pace can still make life uncomfortable for batsmen. “You don’t lose pace, it’s just whether you can sustain it long enough,” he added. —Reuters
WELLINGTON: Misbah-ul-haq overcame the loss of late wickets to keep his cool and guide Pakistan to a two-wicket victory over New Zealand in their fourth one-day international match in Napier yesterday. Misbah, who has anchored Pakistan’s batting throughout the tour of New Zealand, proved once again a thorn in the side of Daniel Vettori’s team, scoring 93 not out as Pakistan finished on 264 for eight in 49 overs having chased down the host’s 262 for seven. The Pakistan test captain, who had been coasting to the victor y target while batting with Younus Khan (42), was forced to take all the responsibility of getting his side home when Younus was run out in the 38th over. Umar Akmal then scratched around for 10 off 17 balls before he was well caught in the 43rd over by Nathan McCullum off Vettori, who trapped Shahid Afridi in front two balls later to give New Zealand a faint hope of running through the bowlers to win the match and take a 2-1 lead in the best of six series. Misbah, however, and Abdul Razzaq (23) managed to keep pace with the required run rate and while Razzaq was well caught by a hobbling Vettori, Misbah smashed 10 runs off two balls from Scott Styris and Sohail Tanvir (14) hit three boundaries off Tim Southee the next over to see their side home. Late call-up James Franklin had proved the saviour of New Zealand’s innings, which was about 30 runs short of a par total on a good batting wicket with short square boundaries. Franklin was only brought into the side after Jesse Ryder, who injured a finger while playing for Wellington at the weekend, withdrew before play began. The left-hander, who had scores of 72 not out, 98 not out and 17 not out in his previous three innings in India last
NAPIER: Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi plays a shot past New Zealand’s Brendan McCullum during their fourth one day international (ODI) at McLean Park. —AFP
December, top-scored with 62 to help arrest New Zealand’s mid-innings slump. The hosts had romped to 40
without loss but lost three wickets for four runs and then slumped to 79 for five before Franklin’s 62-run partnership
with Brendon McCullum (37) and a stand of 64 runs with Nathan McCullum (53 not out) halted the slide. —Reuters
Scoreboard Scoreboard at the end of the fourth one-day international between New Zealand and Pakistan in Napier on yesterday: New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat New Zealand innings M. Guptill c Younus b Wahab 21 J. How c U. Akmal b Razzaq 13 R. Taylor c Younus b Wahab 4 S. Styris run out 11 K. Williamson c Younus b Hafeez 15 J. Franklin c Wahab b Afridi 62 B. McCullum c K. Akmal b Wahab 37 N. McCullum not out 53 D. Vettori not out 13 Extras: (w-19, nb-2, lb-12) 33 Total: (for seven wickets, 50 overs) 262 Fall of wickets: 1-40 2-44 3-44 4-68 5-79 6-141 7-205 Did not bat: T. Southee, H. Bennett. Bowling: Sohail 9-0-67-0 (w-3), Razzaq 7-3-16-1, Wahab 10-1-51-3 (w-6, nb-1), Gul 7-0-49-0 (w-4, nb1), Hafeez 7-0-25-1 (w-2), Afridi 10-0-42-1.
Pakistan innings M. Hafeez c Taylor b Bennett 12 A. Shehzad c Taylor b Styris 42 K. Akmal c Taylor b Styris 20 Y. Khan run out 42 Misbah-ul-haq not out 93 U. Akmal c N. McCullum b Vettori 10 S. Afridi lbw b Vettori 4 A. Razzaq c Vettori b Bennett 23 W. Riaz c B. McCullum b Styris 0 S. Tanvir not out 14 Extras: (lb-3, w-1) 4 Total: (for eight wickets, 49 overs) 264 Fall of wickets: 1-43 2-71 3-84 4-173 5-194 6-198 7238 8-250 Did not bat: Umar Gul Bowling: Southee 10-0-70-0 (w-1), Bennett 10-0-482, N. McCullum 4-0-26-0, Vettori 10-0-48-2, Styris 9-040-3, Franklin 6-0-29-0. Result: Pakistan won by two wickets
Harbhajan expects the best for Houdini India NEW DELHI: A string of Houdini acts has convinced Harbhajan Singh that the Indian cricket team has mastered the escape-to-victory art and there is nothing, including the World Cup, they cannot achieve. The feisty 30-year-old has been an integral cog in the Indian wheel, architect of several come-from-behind wins, largely with his tricky off-spin and occasionally with his newfound batting prowess. India’s ability to return from the brink of disaster was evident in the recent South Africa tour where they rallied to draw the test series before the subsequent one-dayers provided further demonstration of their resilience. In the second ODI in Johannesburg, India folded for 190 but returned to skittle out Graeme Smith’s team in 43 overs to eke out a one-run win. In the next match in Cape Town, India lost their top half for 93 but went on to chase down the victory target, aided by Harbhajan’s 23-run cameo down the order. “This team has got a lot of confidence,” Harbhajan told Reuters in a telephone interview. “Players, right from number one to 11, have won games for India. Every player’s mindset is like this team can achieve anything. It’s never over till it’s over. “We believe in each other, even if we need 100 runs with two wickets left or the opponents have 150 to chase with all 10 wickets intact. “This team has got that fighting spirit. We have showed that on many occasions and we will take that confidence into the World Cup.” The World Cup experience has been a mixed bag for one of the most fascinating characters in contemporary cricket and Harbhajan says he has seen both good and bad. He was part of the team that reached the 2003 final and the one that made a hasty exit from the 2007 event, a setback blamed on the
Harbhajan Singh in action in this file photo
strife in the squad with the then coach Greg Chappell on one side and the senior players, including Harbhajan, on the other. “I was very new in 2003 but that was a great experience. We played some outstanding cricket throughout the World Cup, apart
from the two games we lost. “Otherwise it was quite a satisfying tournament. I’ve got some great memories of that World Cup-the way we played, enjoyed each other’s success and the dressing room atmosphere. The best thing was everybody was up for any challenge. “In 2007, we did not play well at all, let’s put it that way. We deserved to go home after losing to Bangladesh. We played some poor cricket. “A few things were not in place, don’t know how to put it. Lots of things went wrong before the World Cup but coming back to the point, we did not play well. That was probably the worst period of my career. “I remember we lost the game but still had to wait to see if Bangladesh beat Bermuda or something like that. It clearly was the worst time I’ve faced in cricket.” The gloom in his voice made way for sunny cheeriness as he talked about the team’s prospects this time around. “ This is the biggest thing I have not achieved so far,” said Harbhajan, who was a key member of India’s 2007 Twenty20 World Cup winning squad. “If we play well, with the grace of God, I’m sure we can fulfill that dream without any issue. If we stay humble and follow the process we have been following, this is an achievable thing and I’m sure we have got the team to do that.” So confident is Harbhajan that he does not reckon the favourites’ tag would weigh heavily on the team. “Playing in India will be an advantage. There will definitely be a lot of expectation that would add to the pressure to perform but we have faced those kinds of situations and have done well. “The players are quite mature and understand their role in the team. I’m sure they will come good.” The 2011 Cricket World Cup in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka runs from Feb. 19-April 2. —Reuters
Ponting returns to nets, Ferguson in for Marsh SYDNEY: Australia captain Ricky Ponting made a return to training yesterday as he bids to be fit in time for the World Cup, while batsmen Callum Ferguson was rushed into the squad for the final two one-day internationals against England. Ponting broke his finger during the Boxing Day test and was forced to have surger y. He has missed the entire one -day series against England, which Australia have already sealed 4-1 with their 51-run victory
in Brisbane on Sunday. Ponting spent about an hour batting in the nets yesterday, while fast bowler Shaun Tait, who broke down earlier in the series with a leg muscle strain also practiced and is expected to be available for the next match today in Sydney. Ferguson was called into the side as cover for the injured Shaun Marsh, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the series. Marsh injured his right hamstring in the victory in Brisbane on Sunday and had scans
yesterday. “Scans have confirmed Shaun has a low grade right hamstring injury,” team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. “He will return to Perth ...and will be reviewed again later this week when the Australian team arrives for the final match of the ....series. “He will be unavailable for the two remaining games against England and his return to cricket will be determined by his progress over the next week.” —Reuters