Symonds warns Indians of backlash

MELBOURNE: Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has added fuel to his simmering duel with Indians by describing the ongoing tour as “hostile” and warning the team of a backlash when it tours Down Under this year.

Symonds, who is engaged in a war of words with the hosts since the seven-match series began, said he knew India was “never an easy place to tour, but I am surprised how hostile it has been”.

The all rounder, on his fifth tour of India, said the ‘World Twenty20 champions’ still had a lot to prove and were set for a searing summer in Australia.

“They’re saying they’ve built up this new Indian team, but we’ll see how much they’ve changed at the end of our summer,” he was quoted as saying by the ‘Sunday Telegraph’.

“We have had the edge on them here and we will get them again in Australia this summer. They’ve beaten us in a Twenty20 game and one one-dayer in four years. You can’t gauge much on that, but we’ll see how this so-called new Indian team goes on our soil,” he said.

On the crowd making ‘monkey chants’ at him during the fifth one-dayer in Vadodara, he said “I don’t know what is going to transpire from what happened to me the other day.

“I am a pretty liberal sort of bloke. But racism is a big issue in world sport, not just cricket. It is a sensitive issue and guys have been made an example of in the past, but what do you do in this instance if it’s coming from the crowd?

“I’m not allowed to comment on exactly what went on, but I’m not the most deadly serious bloke. Life goes on.”

BCCI didn’t receive letter from ICC: Shetty

The BCCI on Sunday said it had not yet received any letter from the International Cricket Council demanding an explanation on the alleged racist chants against Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds in Vadodara.

“We have not yet received any letter from the ICC,” said BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty from Mumbai.

When told that ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed had posted a letter on their official website which said the game’s world governing body had written to the BCCI asking for their comments on the issue in the light of media reports, Shetty said “they may have said anything but we have not received any letter from them yet.”

Symonds had complained of ‘monkey chants’ from a section of the Vadodara crowd when he was fielding on the boundary but Cricket Australia had refused to lodge an official complaint and left the matter for the BCCI to handle.

Shetty, however, hit out at Symonds for his remarks in the Australian media on the awards given to Indian cricketers after their Twenty20 World Cup win.

“He does not need to make comment on what we do,” he said referring to Symonds remarks that the Indian cricketers were treated like princes.

“Our blokes thought it was over the top. Some of the things their players have been given and the way they are treated, it’s like they are rock stars and princes.

“The Indian government gave them a heap of money. Yuvraj Singh got a Porsche. Blokes are getting houses and blocks of land,” Symonds told the ‘Sunday Telegraph’.

Twenty20 is bad for youngsters, says Gaekwad

Former India cricket coach and opening batsman Anshuman Gaekwad took a dig at the newest form of the game saying that Twenty20 was bad for youngsters.

“Twenty20 is not meant for youngsters. For youngsters it is very important to have their basics right. In Twenty20 cricket you don’t need to have your basics right because you don’t need to play cricketing shots to score runs,” Gaekwad said on Friday.

“It is a game for the mass and not the class. For youngsters my advice will be to focus on Test cricket. Players who are doing well in Twenty20 are those who have proved themselves in Test and One-day cricket,” the former Indian coach said.

“The real test of talent lies in Test cricket. ODIs are also an improvisation of Test cricket. In ODIs you have to play pure cricketing shots if you have to succeed,” said Gaekwad, who is the son of former Test captain Dattajirao Kishnarao.

Gaekwad, who has the slowest double century record to his name, also criticised the new initiatives taken by different bodies to promote cricket at the grassroots level by organising Twenty20 tournaments.

“It is a wrong way to promote cricket at the grassroots level. This will have a negative effect on the game,” he said.

The former India coach seemed to have been impressed by newly appointed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led the nation to victory in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship.

“Dhoni has all the ingredients of a good captain. The only thing he lacks is experience. I think he should be given more time to mature,” he said.

Gaekwad rubbished claims that the Indian team was suffering from a hangover from the Twenty20 win, which has resulted in three losses in the ongoing seven-match series.

“I would have agreed to it, but after seeing India winning in Chandigarh, I am not ready to buy that theory. The only problem is that we are playing badly against a tough opposition like Australia,” he said.

On the role of three seniors, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the former India coach said: “They have proved their critics wrong. They have been the most consistent performers in the team. Let the youngsters prove themselves and then challenge the three seniors.”

Gibson appointed England fast bowling coach

LONDON (Reuters) – Ottis Gibson has been named as England’s new fast bowling coach, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Sunday.

The appointment of the 38-year-old West Indian follows England’s 3-2 win over hosts Sri Lanka in the five-match one day international series which has just ended. Gibson was Durham’s leading wicket-taker this season with 80 wickets and is the current PCA player of the year.

In a statement on the board’s Web site , Gibson said: “I am delighted to be a part of the England team in a full-time capacity as bowling coach. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the team over the past few weeks in what has been a successful ODI tour of Sri Lanka.

“I’ve been involved with the ECB fast bowling programme for a number of years now and as a level four qualified coach who’s worked with both the senior England bowlers and several younger England bowlers, I feel I’m well equipped to take up the position as fast bowling coach.”

He added that the future looked bright for England’s bowlers. Peter Moores, the England team’s head coach told BBC Five Live on Sunday: “We know we are getting a great bowling coach and it has come at the perfect time.

“He had a great season with Durham and the time has come for him to hang up his boots and move into coaching. He can influence the bowlers and talk about some of the things he feels are important to be successful.”

Gibson’s decision will disappoint Durham, however, who hoped he would play for them again next season after they finished second in the county championship table.

Former South African fast bowler Allan Donald had worked with England from May until September, but rejected the opportunity to take on a full-time role.

State cricket boards will be given recognition: BCCI

Cricket boards of the North-Eastern states would be given recognition once they attain a certain standard, BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, said Friday.

“The state cricket boards of the region have applied for affiliation. Many of them, including Meghalaya, are strong cases,” Pawar told reporters here.

He said the boards would be given support all kinds of support like financial, infrastructural, technical and coaching.

“When they come up to a certain level, say by two or three years, the boards will be recognised by the BCCI.

“The BCCI has amended its constitution, and now it seeks to associate all the states, giving all possible assistance. We will definitely make these boards regular members of the BCCI,” he said.

The BCCI chief also underlined the need to develop cricketing infrastructure in the region to tap talent and provide a congenial atmosphere for their development.

Pawar, however, refused to comment on the recent drubbing of India by the Aussies.

Warning to India: antagonise Australia at your peril

IF EVER there was a case of a sporting team barking up the wrong tree it’s been the Indian cricketers in their current one-day series against Australia.

In the process they’ve not only made things difficult for themselves in the short term, but have set themselves up for some grief when they tour Australia in the summer.

For once the Australians can’t have the finger pointed at them about on-field shenanigans. Certainly they wouldn’t have been too impressed by the Indians knocking them out of the Twenty20 World Cup, but this situation seems to be entirely down to the undisciplined aggression of two Indian players in particular, pace bowler Shantha Sreesanth and spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Their antics will have played their part in the cat-calling of Andrew Symonds by sections of the crowd last week. It’s not a good idea to stir up fellows like Symonds and Matthew Hayden — they are imposing figures and they can play a bit, as Symonds showed again yesterday — and if they happen to be in something of a lull, as many of the Australians appeared to be when they arrived for the Twenty20, they are best left alone.

Sreesanth has been troublesome for months and needs to be hauled in for everyone’s sake. He is an overly hyped youngster with a lot to learn — he can bowl some good spells, but his temperament gets the better of him.

When he toured England in July and August he was a constant worry for his skipper Rahul Dravid. Inevitably he would lose his rag and bowl rubbish while his teammates at the other end used the conditions well and achieved a rare away-from-home Test series victory.

Singh is a different case altogether. Still only 27, he has been a terrific bowler for some time now and has over 400 international wickets to prove it — about 300 more than Sreesanth.

He’s always been a feisty competitor, but lost his place on that England tour and was no doubt less than pleased about it. The Twenty20 series thrust him back into the picture and got his competitive juices flowing again.

Buoyed by India’s win, he probably thought the only way to take these Aussies on was confronting them, but he’s struggled for support and has run into a ravenous opponent.

As a result he’s appeared to be an angry and frustrated cricketer. His frustration reached its peak when he lingered for what seemed an eternity after being given out stumped in the second match.

He was in a no-win situation with the Australians huddled in a pack, and it was no surprise to learn later that he’d been the subject of some rather pointed advice about his departure. It was a messy situation for umpire Steve Bucknor to sort out, and not good for the game.

Of course, the Australians have been no shrinking violets in all this.

Ricky Ponting must have been busting to get out there when he was sidelined with injury, and hasn’t stopped stirring the pot since he’s been back. When he’s making comments about the lowly batting position of the opposition captain, you know he’s up for a fight.

The Australians will always get up people’s noses with the aggressive way they play.

But in this instance Symonds and co have had the last laugh and given the Indians an inkling of their challenging summer to come.

Symonds lashes Indian team

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds used his newspaper column to attack members of the current Indian cricket team, saying he was surprised at how hostile Australia’s tour of India had been.

Writing in the national stable of News Limited newspapers, Symonds said the Indians had become “cocky” after their win in the Twenty20 World Cup and the Australian team thought the reaction to that victory was “over the top”.

“Some of the things their players have been given and the way they are treated, it’s like they are rock stars and princes,” he wrote on Sunday.

“It’s been irritating because it’s been in our face. We see them on television every day.”

Symonds, who has been at the centre of claims of racial abuse by fans at the one-day international at Vadodada on Thursday, said he wasn’t allowed to talk about what happened, but said racism was a problem in world sport that needed solving.

“It’s a sensitive issue and guys have been made examples of in the past, but what do you do in this instance if it’s coming from the crowd?” he asked.

Symonds said while he got on well with some of the Indian players, such as Sachin Tendulkar, others had needled the Australian team unnecessarily.

“There are a couple of them who seem to spark things,” he said.

“Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh are the ones we are clashing with most.

“The thing that annoys us the most is when they are going well, they will have a shot at you. But when they aren’t going well they forget to shake hands at the end of the game.”

Symonds saved most of his venom for abrasive fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, with whom he clashed after he was dismissed during India’s win over Australia in Chandigarh.

“I was surprised Sreesanth said something to me,” he said.

“I was wild. I was really angry when I got out and then for him to run past and say things I didn’t think were right, I thought ‘right I’ve had enough of this bloke’.”

The sixth one-day match in the series takes place in Nagpur on Sunday.

‘It’s frustrating not to be able to play Tests’ :Yuvraj Singh

Some things never change, yaar,” Yuvraj Singh drawls in his thick Punjabi accent when it’s pointed out that his hotel room is as messy as ever and that there are pairs of brand new designer sunglasses on virtually every table available. Always fashion conscious and up to the minute, there’s a freshness and youthfulness to Yuvraj even after seven years and 188 one-day internationals. But a lot has changed. He is less diffident, and the cockiness of the early days has grown into quiet confidence. He spoke to Cricinfo about making it big in Twenty20, the responsibilities of being a senior player, and that over against England at the World Twenty20.

The natural place to start is your six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad, because that’s what you’re going to be remembered by. Given that you now have some distance on the event, do you want to talk us through it?
It was the greatest moment in my cricketing career. Obviously after getting hit for five sixes in the Oval match it was on the back of my mind. Fortunately it came against England, so it was a very pleasing day.

The guy you hit was not a part-time bowler. He was someone who troubled India all tour in England, bowling quick, swinging the ball. How did it happen?
Stuart Broad is one of England’s young frontline bowlers and he’ll play a lot of cricket for England.

We had only three overs to go and too many wickets in hand, so I just had to hit every ball. He tried bowling yorkers and didn’t get them right. I just thought I’d hit the ball straight – that was on my mind, and I was not thinking of anything else. I succeeded in hitting every ball of the over for six, and coming against a fast bowler that’s something special.

You’ve played in domestic Twenty20 with barely anyone watching you. Now the game will pick up in India. What’s your take on this?
When I was playing there was a decent crowd, given that it was a domestic Twenty20 game. The only thing that’s changed is that India has won the Twenty20 World Cup. And the way the tournament has come up is important. It was organised very well – and even the 2003 World Cup in South Africa was organised very well. It’s getting there but I don’t think it’s going to kill 50-over cricket.

Every form of the game is important. It’s just that you have to channelise them in different ways. It’s great fun for the spectators, good entertainment, lots of enjoyment for the batsmen, but not good for the bowlers. I would not like to bowl in Twenty20. At the end of the day it’s an entertaining format.

Speaking of formats, in your time you’ve played a lot of one-day cricket, and now succeeded in Twenty20, but you’ll still be looking at a Test spot, right?

Of course. I’ve been around playing for India for seven years and even now I struggle to find a spot in the Test side. It gets really frustrating as an individual. If you don’t have talent you won’t think about it, but if you do have talent it bothers you. I’ve stopped thinking about it. It’s better to be focused on whatever form of the game you play, and work hard, learn from watching other teams playing and from your seniors. I think it’s very important to be occupied and playing cricket rather than thinking about what’s going to happen if I play Test cricket or don’t play Test cricket. It’s important to be occupied and play whatever game you can.

You’ve become comfortable batting where you can. You spent the best part of your career at No. 6 and No. 7. You said in an earlier interview that you’d enjoy batting up the order. Do you think you’re a better batsman now, a more mature batsman, suited to batting up the order?
I’ve matured a lot in one-day cricket because I’ve played so many games now. Obviously there’s room for improvement and I’m still improving. But I’ve tried to understand the game, for my team and for myself. For me it’s very important to bat in the period between the 15th and 45th overs so I can try and set a base for the team. That’s what I look to do, try and play till the end and put the team in a good position.

Experience is one factor, but are you a better batsman now technically as well? Often this has been cited as a problem, especially in Test cricket – for example how you play the moving ball outside the off stump.
I have two Test hundreds and they’ve come on green tops in Pakistan. So I’m pretty confident about myself. I have worked on my technique and temperament, and yes, my technique has improved. Watching the best players you learn a lot of things. I have no doubts about myself, and a lot of confidence. I love proving people wrong and I wish to do the same in the future.

You were appointed vice-captain and clearly the selectors and others were looking at a captaincy role for you. When Rahul Dravid stepped down and the job went to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, were you disappointed?
I won’t say disappointed. Dhoni is a guy who is always helping the team out and looking out for the best interests of the team. At that point of time I thought that being the captain is not in my hands and it’s not my call. My job is to just try and do the best for the team. It’s the selectors who decide and whoever they think is the best man for the job gets it. I just have to concentrate on my game and make sure that the team goes forward from here. Thinking about being captain and not being captain becomes a personal issue. When it comes it comes, and at the moment we have to put the team first.

More than once you’ve spoken about playing with and against the best players. You have some of these in your team. But now you’re playing against the Australians and sometimes it looks as though they’re playing at a different level from the rest, doesn’t it?
Yeah, it does. Because they have a great unit. They set very high standards for themselves. When you see them playing, you see a different kind of cricket, very aggressive cricket. They’re different from a lot of teams because they’re very aggressive and very consistent. Lot of teams try to play like them and don’t succeed. I think that’s very wrong. Every team has its strengths and weaknesses. You have to play according to what your strengths are. If you try and match how Australia play, I don’t think that’s a good idea.

There’s been a lot of talk about how this team is full of youth and there’s a great spirit in the dressing room and how this is a new Indian team. We’ve heard all this before, haven’t we? How much of this is really new and how much is hype?

When youngsters come in they bring in a lot of aggression and a lively atmosphere in the dressing room. This is bound to happen when there’s a lot of diving on the field and that sort of thing. But you should not forget what the seniors have done for you. They’ve played for many years and brought great laurels to India. There has to be a balance. For one-day cricket you need to be really fit and have a good fielding side. Obviously when you see guys like Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwari, [Subramaniam] Badrinath, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir – the way they field, it’s fantastic. Guys like Bhajji [Harbhajan] and Irfan [Pathan] coming back under a lot of pressure, it’s great for the team. It’s a very good group of youngsters and this is the future of Indian cricket, so it’s very important that they are groomed properly. This is what you’re going to get in the future, but you should not forget what the seniors have done for the country.

It’s interesting sitting with you and you speaking about youngsters. On the field you’re like a kid yourself, diving around and hitting sixes. But you’ve quietly grown up and become a senior player, haven’t you?
When I was a kid I used to try and hit every ball out of the ground. After playing one-day cricket and Test cricket I never thought I’d get a chance to play like that again ever. Twenty20 has given me the opportunity of playing like a kid again. I can just feel free and go out there and hit. Once a year Twenty20 must come around!

But I take your point. It’s been seven years since I started playing for India. When I was a young kid I’d see my seniors helping out. Now I try and do that with the juniors coming in – make them feel comfortable and tell them what the right path is.

Even if you’re not captain of the side, as you become a senior player in the side and as people like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly ease out of the game, you have a leadership role to play, don’t you?
Of course. Being the vice-captain of the team, I have to take as much pressure off Dhoni as I can. Being the vice-captain, you see a lot of things on the field. You have to try and help the captain as much as you can and lead by example on the field. Small things like getting a run-out or taking a catch makes the other boys try and lift their standards. So yes, I do have an important role even if I’m not captain.

Australia’s domination reminiscent of 1983 West Indies

NAGPUR, India (Reuters) – The intensity shown by Australia in the current one-day series in India is drawing comparisons with the great West Indies side following their shock defeat in the 1983 World Cup final.

The common factor in the two series is that they immediately followed Word Cups, with 50-over champions and favourites Australia losing to surprise winners India in last month’s inaugural Twenty20 edition.

Clive Lloyd’s West Indies, chasing a third successive World Cup crown, slipped at the final hurdle against India in 1983 when they failed to reach a modest victory target. Stung by criticism and keen for revenge, they ruthlessly swept aside India 5-0 in the one-day series on their tour later that year.

Australia arrived in India keen to avenge their Twenty20 semi-final defeat. Ricky Ponting’s men are one win away from sealing the seven-match series which they lead 3-1 with two games left. The opening match was washed out and the sixth will be played on Sunday.

Barring a slip-up in the fourth game, Australia’s domination has been complete. They crushed the hosts by nine wickets in the fifth match in Baroda on Thursday after dismissing India for a paltry 148.

“It (defeat) hurts the big teams,” former India seamer Balwinder Sandhu, who played in the 1983 World Cup and the subsequent series against West Indies, told Reuters.

“Especially champion sides which have been on the top for long, it hurts them more.

“West Indies was the top team then and we beat them. They came back with a vengeance,” he added.

SWINGING DELIVERY

Sandhu, remembered best for the swinging delivery that knocked back Gordon Greenidge’s off-stump in the World Cup final, was not surprised by Australia’s ruthless displays.

“All champion teams think alike, the basic characteristics remain the same,” he said. “They are showing no mercy on us, that’s how the game should be played.”

The build-up to the series stemmed back to the Twenty20 semi-final, according to Australia skipper Ricky Ponting.

“We had a little bit of banter happening on the field that day and I think that spilled over to when we arrived here,” Ponting said, referring to verbal exchanges between the teams. 

“I don’t think we were the ones doing the talking at all at the start of the series.

“I am really satisfied with what we have done — 3-1 up in the series now and a couple of games to go. We are in a pretty good position.”

Akhtar needs psychiatric help, says Pakistan cricket chief

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan’s cricket chief hit out at Shoaib Akhtar, saying the controversial paceman damaged the nation’s cricket image and needed psychiatric counselling.

Akhtar was banned Thursday for 13 international matches and fined 3.4 million rupees (56,000 dollars) primarily for hitting a teammate with a bat.

“Akhtar hurt Pakistan’s image and got the maximum punishment. Some form of counselling from a psychiatrist is compulsory for him,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf told reporters.

The 32-year-old Akhtar has apologised for hitting Mohammad Asif with a bat after practice three days before the start of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last month.

Pakistan team manager Talat Ali, who reported the incident to the PCB last month, had also recommended counselling for the troubled paceman whose ban dates back to the matches in the Twenty20 World Cup.

He will be available for the last of five one-day matches against South Africa to be played in Karachi on October 29.

Ashraf said the ban and fine — the biggest ever imposed on a cricketer at international level other than in match-fixing — should set an example for all players.

“We have set an example as Akhtar has got the maximum possible punishment and he has accepted them. Akhtar has accepted his mistake and we hope that such a sad incident will not happen again,” said Ashraf.

But he said Akhtar must ensure such an incident never happens again.

“Akhtar will be under a probation of two years and in case of any further breach of code of conduct there will be grounds for a life ban and I hope Akhtar has learnt his lesson,” said Ashraf.

Akhtar and fellow paceman Asif were also involved in a doping scandal last year. They tested positive for nandrolone which resulted in a two-year ban on Akhtar and one year on Asif. The bans were overturned on appeal.