WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013
England retain No.2 spot on ICC ODI Championship
Nepali becomes first woman to climb Everest twice in a week KATHMANDU: A young Nepali Sherpa climber has become the world's first woman to scale Mount Everest twice in a week, Guinness World Records has confirmed. Chhurim Sherpa, 29, climbed to the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) Everest summit on May 12 and 19 last year. "This is a big recognition for me," Chhurim, who like most sherpas is known by her first name, told Reuters. Chhurim, who hails from the Solukhumbu region in northeastern Nepal that is home to Mount Everest and other notable peaks, returned to the base came for some rest after her first ascent only to head back up the peak seven days later. "It was difficult and hard while climbing up a second time. But once I reached the top everything was fine," she said. "I was very happy that I could accomplish what I had always wanted to do." She said she wanted to return to Mount Everest sometime but had no immediate plans to do so. About 4,000 climbers have climbed Mount Everest since it was first scaled by New Zealand beekeeper Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. Apa Sherpa, a Nepali climber who lives in the United States, holds the record of 21 ascents of Mount Everest. AGENCIES
Bolt to run 200 in Paris Diamond League meeting PARIS: Six-times Olympic champion Usain Bolt will race over 200 metres at the Paris Golden League meeting on July 6 as part of his buildup for the Moscow world athletics championships in the following month. The Jamaican world-record holder will compete against France's European 100 metres champion Christophe Lemaitre in the final race of the evening. Lemaitre finished third in the 2011 Daegu world championships 200 metres which was won by Bolt. Bolt, 26, who became the only man to win the 100-200 metres double at successive Olympics during last year's London Games, will compete in a 150 metres race on Brazil's Copacabana beach on March 31. His only other confirmed race this year is over 200 metres at Oslo's Bislett Games on June 13. AGENCIES
Russian wrestler returns gold in protest MOSCOW: Russian freestyle wrestling Olympic champion Sagid Murtazaliev announced Tuesday he was giving back his gold medal in protest at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board guidelines to exclude wrestling from the Olympic programme. "The decision to return my Olympic medal was very hard for me," the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted 2000 Sydney Games Olympic champion Murtazaliev as telling IOC president Jacques Rogge in a letter. "But after some deep thinking I decided to follow the steps of Bulgarian wrestling federation president Valentin Iordanov. "I made this move in protest against the IOC executive committee guidelines to exclude wrestling from the Games' programme." The IOC executive panel agreed their recommendation to exclude wrestling from the 2020 Games programme at its meeting on February 11. Earlier this month 1996 Atlanta Games Olympic champion Iordanov announced his decision to return his gold medal in protest against the decision. AGENCIES
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DUBAI: Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return to compatriot Viktor Troicki during their men's singles match at the ATP Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday. AGENCIES
India thrash Australia by 8 wickets to lead Test series CHENNAI: An Indian victory that seemed imminent minutes after tea on day four was eventually completed by Sachin Tendulkar, 40 minutes before lunch on day five. Australia's resistance over that period arrived too late to change the result, but in it may be found the clues to a tighter contest when the second match begins in Hyderabad on Saturday. MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Tendulkar were the pivotal contributors to India's 1-0 series lead, showing greater discipline and awareness of the sort of cricket best played on the MA Chidambaram Stadium's clay court. Save for Michael Clarke's first-day century and James Pattinson's fiery pace, it was not until Moises Henriques stood up with the bat in the second innings that the tourists showed evidence of catching up. A target of only 50 to win was reached with the help of some Tendulkar fireworks – towering sixes from his first two deliveries against Nathan Lyon – but Pattinson again bowled well to the openers and Lyon showed far greater consistency of line and control of length than he had managed while being taken for 3 for 215 in the first innings. India were left with some questions about
their opening pair, M Vijay and Virender Sehwag doing little in either innings, and they may also wonder about subtracting another seam bowler from their XI should the Hyderabad surface be anything like this one. Australia have found a steady batting hand in Henriques, but much of their display in this match will be the cause of serious introspection. Henriques and Lyon had put on 66 for Australia's last wicket, a defiant gesture after the earlier batsmen had failed to stand their ground. Henriques' unbeaten innings completed a fine double for the debutant, who has surely made his place safe for the second Test. Ultimately it was Ravindra Jadeja who ended the stand after 25 minutes on the final morning, switching from over to around the wicket against Lyon and coaxing an inside edge onto pad that was snapped up by short leg. Pattinson's first ball of the innings was a snorter, pitched short and seaming back sharply at Vijay, though it angled away from Matthew Wade and flew away for four byes. The ball kept Vijay thinking, and after depositing Lyon for one straight six, he fell when an indecisive drive was
SCOREBOARD AUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS 380, (M Clarke 130, M Henriques 68, D Warner 59, R Ashwin 7-103) INDIA FIRST INNINGS 572, (Dhoni 224, V Kohli 107, J Pattinson 5-96, N Lyon 3-215) AUSTRALIA SECOND INNINGS (overnight 232-9) E Cowan lbw b Ashwin 32 S Watson c Sehwag b Ashwin 17 D Warner lbw b Harbhajan Singh 23 P Hughes c Sehwag b Jadeja 0 M Clarke lbw b Ashwin 31 M Wade b Harbhajan Singh 8 M Henriques not out 81 P Siddle b Jadeja 2 J Pattinson c Sehwag b Ashwin 11 M Starc c Tendulkar b Ashwin 8 N Lyon c Vijay b Jadeja 11 EXTRAS: (B 15, LB 2) 17 TOTAL: (all out; 93 overs) 241 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34, 2-64, 3-65, 4-101, 5-121, 6-131, 7-137, 8-161, 9-175, 10-241 BOWLING
well taken by Henriques at a shortish mid-off. In the next over Cheteshwar Pujara offered a sharp chance when padding up to Lyon, the ball striking pad and glove but eluding Wade, who was unable to adjust to the ball's shifting trajectory. Sehwag sliced a brace of boundaries over the slips cordon from Pattinson, and when Peter Siddle replaced him he drove sweetly down the ground. Lyon, meanwhile, showed some
Ashwin 32-6-95-5 Harbhajan Singh 27-6-55-2 Jadeja 31-8-72-3 Sharma 3-1-2-0 INDIA SECOND INNINGS (target: 50 runs) M Vijay c Henriques b Pattinson 6 V Sehwag c Clarke b Lyon 19 C Pujara not out 8 S Tendulkar not out 13 Did not bat: V Kohli, R Jadeja, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, B Kumar, I Sharma EXTRAS: (B 4) 4 TOTAL:(2 wickets; 11.3 overs) 50 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-16, 2-36 BOWLING Pattinson 3-1-13-1 Lyon 5.3-0-29-1 Siddle 3-2-4-0 Man of the match: MS Dhoni (India) Umpires: K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and M Erasmus (South Africa) Third umpire: VA Kulkarni Match referee: C Broad (England)
evidence of improvement in his bowling. He twirled down far fewer deliveries that could be tucked around the corner behind square leg, and the better line forced some impatient premeditated strokes from Pujara. It also undid Sehwag when he snicked to Clarke at slip. This little joust was ultimately immaterial to the result, sealed as it was by Tendulkar's sixes, but demonstrated that Lyon was learning. AGENCIES
PTF opts expensive Rashid questions coach venue for Davis Cup tie Whatmore after 3-0 loss MIRZA KHURRAM SHAHZAD
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has selected an expensive venue to play its away Davis Cup tie despite that Sri Lanka offered its facilities for free. A source in the PTF told The Spokesman on Tuesday that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) gave Pakistan an option to select any country for the neutral venue of its Group II tie against New Zealand. The PTF, which is already under financial crisis, first went to Malaysia and requested them for permission to organise the event there but the Malaysian Tennis Federation (MTF) rejected the request. They then contacted Dubai officials but they sent them heavy estimates of around Rs.4.5 million to allow the contest. Sensing that it may create problems for them, they went to Sri Lanka and got a very friendly response. Sri Lankan officials offered maximum of their facilities for free and also offered cheap rates for the supporting staff. After paying for the hotels and all other arrangements, a weeklong competition at the islands would have cost the PTF around Rs.2.5 million. But before they had finalised the venue, the family of Pakistan’s No. 1
player Aisamul Haq Qureshi requested that he wanted to play in Myanmar because his coach Robert Davis belonged from there. The PTF then contacted Myanmar and requested for the facilities. They agreed to allow an organisation in their country but expressed problems to find out some good grass courts for the competition. Aisam, being best at the grass surface, insisted to play in Myanmar and asked his coach to arrange courts in his country. The coach then arranged one of the top clubs in his country and the PTF quickly agreed to play there. Later, the estimates suggested that they would have to pay around Rs.3.5 million for this tie. The federation still did not hesitate to organise the event there and wrote the ITF that they would play in Myanmar. The sources said that the federation would spend one million rupees extra just to entertain Aisam and his family’s desire. Pakistan is scheduled to play Davis Cup Group II second round tie against New Zealand from April 5-7. Pakistan are playing their Davis Cup ties at foreign soil for last five ears as no team is willing to come to Pakistan due to security concerns. Pakistan last played at home courts in 2008 when they faced Thailand at Bagh-eJinnah courts, Lahore.
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KARACHI: Former captain Rashid Latif has questioned Dav Whatmore's coaching after South Africa humiliated Pakistan 3-0 in their Test series. "Chairman, captain, vice-captain and coach all should be held accountable and it should start from the coach," Latif said on Tuesday. Pakistan lost the third Test by an innings and 18 runs at Centurion on Sunday inside three days against world's No. 1ranked Test team. Pakistan's humiliation began in the first Test at Johannesburg when they were bowled out for their lowest ever total of 49 in the first innings to lose by 211 runs. Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq scored centuries in the second Test and offspinner Saeed Ajmal took 10 wickets in the same match, but even those performances could not save Pakistan from a four-wicket loss at Newlands. "Seriously I was not expecting a whitewash," Latif said. "But the way our batsmen flopped on bouncy wickets it showed there was no homework done. For how long are we going to complain that we can't bat on fast seaming tracks?" Latif said. "It's all lame excuses. Cricket
is a game of professionals and if you are picked for the national team it means you are the best to face the best in the world." Latif said he got fed up after seeing batsmen repeating the same mistakes again and again while playing seamers away from their bodies and "gifting" their wickets to South Africa. "We crossed the 300run mark only once in six matches, what was the coach doing?" he said. Pakistan's former wicketkeeper said it was high time for the selectors to look for different players for the three formats Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty 20s - if Pakistan wanted to compete against the top teams like South Africa. "Our problem is that we pick too many players for all the three formats and this will not solve the problem," he said. Hafeez, Jamshed, Ajmal and fast bowler Umar Gul are some of those players who play in all the three formats for Pakistan. "We have to stop this practice and look for specialists in all the three formats," he said.
LAHORE: England’s 2-1 win in the threematch series against New Zealand has not only given them a perfect build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which is just 100 days away, but has also kept them on course for finishing second in the ICC ODI Championship table at the April 1 cut-off date. England’s come-from-behind series win means they have retained second place but have dropped two ratings points to now lead third-ranked Australia by just one ratings point and fourth-ranked South Africa by five ratings points. India have taken an outright lead on top of the table with 119 ratings points. With India and Australia not scheduled to play any ODIs before the cut-off date, South Africa are the only side that can push India and England down the order when they take on Pakistan in a five-ODI series from March 10. The only way South Africa can leapfrog England and add another $75,000 to its account is by beating Pakistan 4-1 or better. If South Africa win 4-1, then the Proteas will join England on 117 ratings points but will be ranked above Alastair Cook’s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. If South Africa make a clean sweep of the ODI series, then they will jump three places to claim top spot, which, in turn will mean they will win $175,000 as well as the ODI shield. These two are presented to the side that tops the ODI table at the 1 April cut-off date. Build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy:
Reverting to the New Zealand-England ODI series, this was the penultimate series for both sides before they meet again in England in May as a precursor to the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which will be staged from 6 to 23 June in England and Wales. The two sides will then meet again during the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Group A of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 includes defending champions Australia, 2000 winner New Zealand and 2002 champions Sri Lanka, along with hosts England, who reached the final when they last staged the event in 2004. Sides in Group B are 1998 winners South Africa, 2004 champions West Indies, 2002 winners India, and Pakistan. The tournament opener at the ICC Champions Trophy will feature two former winners, when South Africa take on India in Cardiff on June 6. The following day, West Indies will face Pakistan at the Oval. The semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will be staged at the Oval (19 June) and in Cardiff (20 June), while Edgbaston will be the venue of the final, to be played on June 23. McCullum back among top 10 ODI batsmen:
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has returned to the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen after scoring 222 runs in the three-match series against England. McCullum has moved up 16 places to ninth, thereby also achieving a careerbest 685 ratings points. Also breaking into the top 20 is former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor. The right-handed batsman has jumped four places to 13th in the latest rankings, which were released on Monday after the ODI series between England and New Zealand and the first two ODIs between West Indies and Zimbabwe. The most impressive gain in the batting table is England's Joe Root, who has jumped 61st places to 55th. The batting table is still headed by South Africa’s Hashim Amla, followed by his captain AB de Villiers in second place and India’s Virat Kohli in third place. In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, England fast bowler Steven Finn has jumped two places to third with a best-ever 755 ratings points. The only other England bowler to move upwards in the top 20 is England’s James Anderson. Anderson was the highest wicket-taker in the three-match series against New Zealand with seven scalps, and he moved up nine places to 11th. The bowlers’ table is still headed by Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal. West Indies’ Sunil Narine has moved up a place to second with a career-best 766 ratings points. The ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders is still headed by Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez, with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan in second place and Shane Watson of Australia in third.
TABLE Rank
Team
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
India England Australia South Africa Sri Lanka Pakistan West Indies New Zealand Bangladesh Zimbabwe Ireland Netherlands Kenya
Rating
119 117 116 112 110 107 85 82 78 48 35 16 11
Wrestling diplomacy cuts tension at nuclear talks with Iran BY YEGANEH TORBATI AND FREDRIK DAHL
ALMATY: For a brief moment on Tuesday, the nuclear dispute between Iran and the United States took a back seat to sport. US diplomats found rare common ground with the Islamic Republic at a fresh round of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and world powers, noting Iran's victory in the freestyle wrestling World Cup held in the Iranian capital last week. Sports officials from the two countries –
which are at odds over the nuclear issue and many others – have expressed dismay at a surprise recommendation by the International Olympic Committee this month to drop wrestling from the 2020 Games. "During the plenary, we did note Iran's success in the recent wrestling World Cup and our shared view that wrestling should continue to be an Olympic sport," a US official said on Tuesday after the start of high-stakes nuclear talks. Iran and six world powers
are holding their first meeting in eight months in the Kazakh city of Almaty this week, to try to start resolving a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme that threatens to trigger another war in the Middle East. Diplomatic ties between Iran and the United States have been cut since 1980 after Iranian students took 52 US diplomats hostage in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. But wrestling, one of Iran's most popular sports has proven a rare arena
in which the two countries have friendly relations. US wrestlers visited Tehran last week to compete in the World Cup, where 2012 Olympic gold medallist Jordan Burroughs was cheered on wildly by Iranian fans at the capital's Azadi stadium. "Iran has amazing fans!" Burroughs tweeted, posting a picture of Iranian supporters eagerly reaching down over a barrier at the stadium to touch his hand. A second US official told reporters in Almaty prior to the start of the Feb. 26-
27 talks that Iran and the United States agreed that wrestling should continue as an Olympic sport. "Although we cannot come to agreement yet where it comes to Iran's nuclear programme, clearly our wrestlers get along just fine," the US official said. "We and Iran agree completely that the Olympics should continue to have wrestling as a sport ... so we will be working vigorously with them to make that come to pass." There was no immediate reaction to the US statement from Iranian diplomats.
Wrestling is a major source of Iran's Olympic medals, and Iranian sports officials have said they will work with other countries to lobby for it to stay in the Games. "The issue of removing wrestling from the Olympics is very serious," Mohammad Aliabadi, the head of Iran's Olympic committee, told state news agency IRNA this month. "We must prevent this action with the help of many of the major countries in the world," Aliabadi said, without naming any specific nation.