Sri Lanka's new cricket captain, S. Jayasurya, left, with his deputy Jayawerdene speaks during their first news conference after being named captain and vice captain in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday — AP/PTI

Jayasuriya bans mobile phones COLOMBO, July 13 — Sri Lanka’s new cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday banned the use of cellular phones by players in the field amid allegations that mobile telephones played a part in the team’s downfall at the World Cup. Biswas to lead team for pre-Olympics CALCUTTA, July 13 — Bengal striker Dipendu Biswas will lead the 20-member Indian football team for their pre-Olympic Asia group-9 match against Thailand to be played on home-and-away basis.

Ronaldo back to his best
ASUNCION, July 13 — Brazil are officially World Cup runners up, but a year since their emphatic final defeat by France, most Brazilians still consider their national team to be the best in the world.

Jacquet’s memoirs among best-sellers
CLAIREFONTAINE (France), July 13 — A year after France’s World Cup triumph stirred the most intense national pride since the Liberation, the man who masterminded the victory is still grabbing hearts with his best-selling memoir.

We’ll have to verify details: Dungarpur
MUMBAI, July 13 — The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India Raj Singh Dungarpur today said that it was premature to say whether the three players Robin Singh, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly who spoke to the press after the World Cup will be put to disciplinary action by the BCCI.

Durham register rare win
LONDON, July 13 — Durham skittled out Nottinghamshire at Chester-Le-Street yesterday for only their second county championship win of the season.

Asian boycott unlikely: S. Korea
SEOUL, July 13 — A row between FIFA and its Asian members over the place allocations for the 2002 World Cup is unlikely to end in an Asian boycott of the games, South Korean football officials said yesterday.

Katich a star in the making ?
MELBOURNE, July 13 — A grape grower’s son from Western Australia was given a chance today to become Australia’s latest Test cricketing star.

Schumacher out of hospital
NORTHAMPTON, July 13 — German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher left hospital today after surgery on the broken leg he suffered in Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

AIFF holds talks with foreign coaches
CALCUTTA, July 13 — The All-India Football Federation is negotiating with two top foreign coaches for training the national football team for a stipulated period.

Surprise comeback by Gough
LONDON, July 13 — England paceman Darren Gough made a surprise comeback for Yorkshire when he was included in their side for today’s county championship match with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Jeev fails to qualify for British Open

NEW DELHI, July 13 (PTI) — Top Indian Jeev Milkha Singh’s hopes to qualify for the prestigious British Open golf went up in smoke after a surprisingly poor final round of two-over par 73 saw him end up an agonising two strokes adrift of a certain berth.

The 27-year-old, the best bet among eight Indians who were in the quest for a spot in the championship after a scorching 66 yesterday, slumped to three under 139 in the two-round (36 holes) qualifiers at the Monifieth Links, information received here from Carnoustie, Scotland said.

Jeev, who was lying second after the first round as 120 players chased 12 qualifying berths, had a miserable start despite ideal conditions and missed an eagle putt in the final 18th hole which would have landed him in the play-off round.

“I played poorly and did not deserve to qualify,” the Chandigarh-based Jeev, son of legendary athlete Milkha Singh, said. “Conditions were very good so I should not have shot over par. I had a couple of bad breaks but there were no excuses,” he said.

None of the other Indians came anywhere near qualifying. Amandeep Johl, with decent rounds of 71 and 70 at the Montrose Links was the second best among the Indians and finished five strokes away from qualifying, a triple bogey in the 14th hole when he was four-under overall undoing

Jyoti Randhawa (75 + 70 = 145), Vivek Bhandari (73 + 76 = 149), Firoz Ali (78 + 76 = 154) and Amritinder Singh (82 + 76 = 158) were further behind while Arjun Atwal and Arjun Singh retired after dismal opening rounds of 76 and 77 respectively.

Jeev, who has been guilty this season of squandering the advantage of superb early rounds, began badly as he dropped a stroke in the first hole and then double-bogeyed the next after hitting his tee shot out of bounds.

He lost another stroke in the fifth, but made up two strokes with birdies on the eighth and ninth holes only for another bogey on the 15th hole.

“I made a bogey on 15 and that really finished me”, said Singh. I just couldn’t make a putt on the back nine”. On the par five 18th Singh reached the green in two and narrowly missed his eagle putt that would have put him in the play-off. He made four but it proved to be one too many.

“It has been a tough year”, said Singh. “I am playing really well but seem to follow too many good rounds with a bad one. I plan to play in the Dutch and European Opens next before heading home for a break”.

Brazil take on Mexico today

CIUDAD DEL ESTE (Paraguay), July 13 (AFP) — Copa America guests Mexico are determined to outstay their welcome and gatecrash a place in the final by beating defending champions and favourites Brazil in tomorrow’s semifinal showdown.

Mexico were drawn with the side still ranked number one in the world by FIFA in the group section and gave the Brazilians a good run for their money in their first encounter, losing 2-1.

And now — with a final place at stake — they are determined to make it even harder for their opponents.

Mexico are actually part of the Central/North American and Caribbean Confederation (CONCACAF) but — with Japan — were invited to the Copa as guests.

They have finished second in their group to Brazil, beating Chile and Venezuela and showed tremendous courage to come from behind and beat Peru in their quarterfinal, albeit via a penalty shoot-out.

The team’s charismatic goalkeeper Jorge Campos is convinced the best is yet to come.

He said: “The team has grown since the beginning of the championship.”

With a place in the final against Chile or Uruguay at stake Mexico are also looking to Luis Hernandez to continue his goalscoring form.

Hernandez scored against Chile and also grabbed a brace against Peru. The Central Americans also have progressed despite personnel problems.

Their quarterfinal triumph against Peru was achieved despite the absence of the inspirational Cuauhtemoc Blanco, sent off against Venezuela.

Also they had to do without Paulo Chavez and Raul Lara, who tested positive for banned substances.

But Mexico know that they face a formidable obstacle in Brazil.

The defending champions have looked impressive throughout the tournament. They spanked Venezuela 7-0 in their opener and beat Chile 1-0 although Mexico gave them their toughest match of the tournament in the group stages.

In the quarterfinals Brazil saw off eternal rivals Argentina 2-1, coming back from a goal down.

Their have been two heroes for Brazil so far.

The first — Ronaldo — needs no introduction. His winner against Argentina made him the top scorer so far in the Copa with four goals.

It represents a return to grace for the Inter Milan striker a year after he was scapegoated for Brazil’s World Cup final defeat by France.

His year since has been dogged by injury and personal problems — he has split with Fiancee Susana Werner — but now it looks as though the 22-year-old is reapproaching the form that twice earned him the “FIFA world player of the year” award.

The other, more unexpected hero, is goalkeeper Dida, who plays his club football for Swiss side Lugano. Dida has proved a worthy successor to 1994 World Cup hero Claudio Taffarel and has two penalty saves to his credit so far in the Copa — both prevented the other team from equalising.

The first was against Chile’s Pedro Gonzalez, the second from Argentinian skipper Roberto Ayala.

His performance against Argentina earned him tremendous praise with headlines such as “Saint Dida” and “The holy hands of Dida” greeting his performance back home.

However, it would be unfair to forget the contribution of the other Brazilians, who seem to have put their shambolic World Cup final display behind them under new coach Wanderley Luxemburgo as they again look like world beaters.

The full-back pairing of Cafu and Roberto Carlos has looked as solid as ever while Rivaldo — one of the undisputed successes of the World Cup — has continued in the same vein in Paraguay.

Luxemburgo has also introduced youngsters such as Alex and Ronaldo Gaucho (Ronaldinho) although he has used them sparingly.

Mexico have certainly got their work cut out if they are to book a date in Sunday’s final in Asuncion. But Mexico coach Manuel Lapuente believes relaxation is the key. He has instructed his players to take it easy before the game with Brazil. But Brazil can be certain of one thing. It will be no stroll when the teams clash here on Wednesday.

Shane Warne remains vice-captain

SYDNEY, July 13 (Reuters) — Shane Warne has retained the Australian Test vice-captaincy for the tour of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe despite being dropped for the final Test match of the West Indies tour.

Australian selectors had experimented with playing Warne alongside fellow leg-spinner Stuart Macgill in the West Indies but eventually dumped Warne after a run of disappointing results.

There had been some media speculation that Ian Healy would be given the vice-captaincy because as tour vice-captain, Warne is also a selector.

This led to an awkward situation in the West Indies when Warne forced captain Steve Waugh and coach Geoff Marsh to overrule him when choosing the team for the deciding fourth Test, won by Australia to square the series 2-2 and retain the Sir Frank Worrell Trohpy.

However, Warne’s excellent form during the World Cup has resulted in his selection as vice-captain for both the Test and one-day squads.

The Sri Lanka tour lasts from August 22 to October 3, with the Zimbabwe leg running from October 8 to 24.

Former Test opener Matthew Hayden returns to the Test squad in place of Matthew Elliott, while young west Australian batsman Simon Katich has also been chosen.

The 14-man one-day squad includes Queensland batsman Andrew Symonds and South Australian paceman Jason Gillespie, while from the World Cup-winning squad, Adam Dale, Brendon Julian and Shane Lee are missing.

Test squad: Steve Waugh (captain), Shane Warne (vice-captain), Greg Blewett, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Ian Healy, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Stuart Macgill, Glenn McGrath, Colin Miller, Ricky Ponting, Michael Slater, Mark Waugh.

One-day squad: Steve Waugh (captain), Shane Warne (vice-captain), Michael Bevan, Damien Fleming, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Darren Lehmann, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn, Tom Moody, Ricky Ponting, Paul Reiffel, Andrew Symonds, Mark Waugh.

Jayasuriya bans mobile phones

COLOMBO, July 13 (PTI) — Sri Lanka’s new cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday banned the use of cellular phones by players in the field amid allegations that mobile telephones played a part in the team’s downfall at the World Cup.

Jayasuriya said no mobile phones would be allowed in the nets, gym or in the field while announcing that his team had begun training for the triangular one-day series with India and Australia next month and that the “boys are fit”.

Sri Lanka’s suspended cricket board chief Thilanga Sumathipala had earlier blamed the extensive use of cellular phones by players as a contributory factor for Sri Lanka’s abysmal World Cup performance.

Sumathipala said players often behaved as if they could not live without cellular phones even during practice. “They are no babies so we can’t be behind them all the time,” he had said at that time.

In his first Press conference as skipper, Jayasuriya said he looked forward to support and cooperation from his axed predecessor Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda De Silva.

Jayasuriya evaded a direct reaction to allegations by former coach Bruce Yardley who said Ranatunga and De Silva treated fellow players “like servants”.

Jayasuriya said he would continue to open the batting and would maintain his explosive approach.

The Sri Lankan skipper said he had a “long talk” with Ranatunga who had promised him cooperation. Experienced players were needed in the team to face formidable challenges against India and World Cup champions Australia at next month’s triseries, he said.

On the return of former Australian batsman Dave Whatmore as coach, Jayasuriya said Whatmore knew the individual needs and capabilities of players and would be best suited to take care of the national squad and he was looking forward to training with him.

Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka to unexpected victory in the 1996 World Cup and also played a part in launching Jayasuriya as a successful pinch-hitting opener, quit his job reportedly following serious differences with senior players, Ranatunga in particular.

Whatmore, who quit as coach of English county Lancashire, is expected to take over.

Biswas to lead team for pre-Olympics

CALCUTTA, July 13 (PTI) — Bengal striker Dipendu Biswas will lead the 20-member Indian football team for their pre-Olympic Asia group-9 match against Thailand to be played on home-and-away basis.

Punjab’s Deepak Kumar Mondal has been named the vice captain while there are no surprise inclusions in the team announced by the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) President, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi at a press conference here today.

The team, which was finalised after a fortnight-long coaching camp in the city, has three goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and five forwards.

The Indians will play their away match at Bangkok on July 17 and their home match at the Salt Lake Stadium here on July 24.

Mr Dasmunshi said the team would leave for Bangkok by an Indian Airlines flight on July 15.

Apart from chief coach, P.K. Banerjee, the team will be accompanied by project director P.P. Lakshmanan, manager Mohan Raj, and the three other coaches K. Shankar, Shankar Moitra and P. Sridharan.

The squad, which practised under soggy and slippery conditions at the SAI Sports Complex due to monsoon rains, has nine players from Bengal while there are four players from Kerala. The other players are from Punjab (3), Goa (2) Karnataka (1) and Maharashtra (1).

Mr Dasmunshi said Tollygunge Aggragami footballer Jayanta Sen, who had skipped the camp complaining of abdominal pain, would be asked to submit his medical report.

“We will examine his medical report and may take action if we find that he had feigned injury,” he warned.

The AIFF President said if India won their match against Thailand, they would be clubbed with Kuwait and China or Saudi Arabia in the next round. This draw was finalised at the recent FIFA Congress in the USA.

He said the AIFF could not organise an exposure trip for the team as Kazakhstan, which had initially agreed to host a couple of matches, pulled out at the last minute.

AIFF had arranged an exposure and training course for the pre-Olympic team in Italy if India managed to qualify for the next round, he added.

The team:

Goalkeepers: Prasanta Dora, Kalyan Choubey, Dinesh Nair.

Defenders: Falguni Dutta, Lolendra Singh, Deepak Kumar Mondal, Mahesh Gawli, Anit Ghosh, Suresh M.

Midfielders: Hardeep Singh Sangha, Renedy Singh, James Singh, A.S. Firoz, Noel Wilson, Roque Barreto.

Forwards: Bijen Singh, Alvito D’Cunha, Dipendu Biswas, Surjit Singh, Sheik Sanjeeb.

I never said I’ll quit: Graf

NEW YORK, July 13 (DPA) — German heroine Steffi Graf today claimed she never said she planned to quit professional tennis at the end of the season and only play exhibition matches in the future.

“What I wanted to say was that there has been no decision about the date of my retirement,’’ the 30-year-old insisted.

Her advisor Hans Engert said the confusion must have resulted from a translation error: “Steffi only informed about her plans until the end of the season and said what has always being saying, that she doesn’t know when exactly she will quit.’’

The 30-year-old Graf was initially quoted as saying at an invitation tournament in Mahwah, New Jersey: “I’ll be finishing with the WTA Tour at the end of the year.’’

Such a retirement announcement would have been no real surprise. Graf had already said after the French Open and Wimbledon she would not return to those Grand Slams and has been pestered over the past weeks about when she will quit for good.

However, she gave plenty of indications that her career will not last much longer.

“It’s hard to quit something you love so much. But it’s the ideal situation to quit the sport when you’re ranked at the top,’’ said the current world number three player.

Graf said she planned to play exhibition matches, mainly in countries where she has never been before, after the end of her professional career which started October 18, 1982 at the age of 13. Such events can be organised by her own marketing company like she has already done in the past.

In addition, Graf will continue to work with German talents through her junior team and with the national federation DTB. That is badly needed in the women’s sector because there are no potential top-10 players in sight and former ace Anke Huber has declined to a current 30 ranking.

“Tennis will continue to be part of my life,’’ said Graf.

For now Graf confirmed her intention to play the U.S. Open as well as four other tournaments. The last of the year should be the Masters in New York from November 15 to 21, while German fans will be able to see her possibly for the last time at the Filderstadt event from October 4 to 10.

Graf has won 107 career titles — among them 22 Grand Slams, the latest the French Open in June. Graf won a perfect grand slam 1988 and added Olympic gold that year for a golden Slam.

She held the world number 1 position a record 377 weeks and amassed $ 21 million in prize money alone. The income from endorsements is even higher.

But Graf has also been through almost as many injuries as titles, and her father Peter Graf, who initially taught her the game when she was three years old, did his share to trouble her life.

First there was his affair with a model and then the tax evasion scandal which rocked Germany’s sporting world and put him in prison for almost two years. Peter Graf is by now divorced from Heidi Graf, but was in Paris to see her French Open triumph.

Graf mentioned none of that, not even her renewed back problems, but simply said: “I still enjoy the game, but the tour is very exhausting with all the travelling from event to event.’’

Ronaldo back to his best

ASUNCION, July 13 (Reuters) — Brazil are officially World Cup runners up, but a year since their emphatic final defeat by France, most Brazilians still consider their national team to be the best in the world.

The 3-0 loss in the Stade De France one year ago is seen as an accident caused by the trauma of Ronaldo’s convulsive fit hours before the match.

The monthly FIFA rankings, which Brazil have continued to top, are instantly and gleefully broadcast on television as soon as they are announced, as if to offer further proof that the defeat by France was a freak and did not count.

Brazilians largely refuse to recognise that the French won on merit, preferring to dwell on the mystery of what happened in the team hotel, and later in the dressing room, in the run-up to the match.

It is now largely accepted that Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit in his room, that he was taken to a clinic and that tests showed there was nothing fundamentally wrong with him.

The team doctors passed this on to coach Mario Zagallo, Ronaldo begged to be allowed to play and Zagallo, having been told that the world’s best player was fit, had no option but to send him on to the field. The players, traumatised by what they had seen in the room, were not up for the battle with the French.

Several French players interviewed recently by the magazine Placar admitted to disappointment at the way the Ronaldo mystery might have taken some of the gloss off their victory.

Whether the whole story was a lame excuse or the truth, or somewhere in between, the next few months for Ronaldo were a nightmare.

A knee injury that had been bugging him during the Cup meant he played only a handful of matches for his club Inter Milan. That cleared up, only for a thigh muscle to deny him a chance to play for Brazil against the Netherlands in June.

But in the Copa America, he seems to be once again near his best. He is the leading scorer with four goals, having grabbed the winner in Sunday’s quarter-final win against Argentina, and is once again terrorising defences.

During the World Cup, it was suggested that he was paying the price of his fame, but in the last few weeks he has been living it up, proudly showing off his new Ferrari using a helicopter to go on shopping trips.

Ronaldo is one of only four survivors from the final to be playing in the Copa America alongside midfielder Rivaldo and the two full-backs Cafu and Roberto Carlos.

As in the World Cup, Rivaldo’s presence continues to be questioned by many who feel his contributions too sporadic. Roberto Carlos still has the same booming but generally wayward shot while Cafu has been given the captaincy.

World Cup captain Dunga has retired from international football and is playing for Internaional in the south of Brazil in an end-of-career homecoming.

Goalkeeper Taffarel, playing in Turkey for Galatasary, and central defender Aldair said they did not want to play the Copa America while midfielder Leonardo was picked but walked out of the squad a week before the competition started.

Ronaldo’s striking partner Bebeto has not played for his country since France and at 35 is unlikely to be picked again. He has been an important player for his Rio De Janeiro club Botafogo but is expected to move on.

Central defender junior Baiano and midfielder Cesar Sampaio recently won the south American Libertadores Cup with Palmeiras but do not seem wanted by coach Wanderley Luxemburgo.

Finally coach Mario Zagallo, the old wolf, is keeping his remarkable enthusiasm for the game. He is now in charge of Portuguesa, having accepted at the age of 67 his first job in Sao Paulo, home of his sternest critics during his days with the national team.

Jacquet’s memoirs among best-sellers

CLAIREFONTAINE (France), July 13 (AP) — A year after France’s World Cup triumph stirred the most intense national pride since the Liberation, the man who masterminded the victory is still grabbing hearts with his best-selling memoir.

Aime Jacquet says the success of his book, “Ma Vie Pour Une Etoile,” (My life for a star), currently No. 1 on France’s non-fiction best-seller list, comes as a bigger surprise than the World Cup victory.

“When I took on the job, I promised the (football federation) president, the team would win the World Cup. I knew I could do it,” Jacquet, (57) said in an interview at the national coaching centre where he is technical director.

“But as for the book, I’m not a writer, and had to be talked into it.”

The deeply personal memoir has sold more than 300,000 copies since May and has generated intense publicity for the quiet, no-nonsense coach who quit after the World Cup final.

The 300-odd pages give readers an intimate look at how Jacquet prepared the French team by putting the players in a “bubble” for 63 days at Clairefontaine, a 19th century estate that is now home to the French Football Federation national training centre.

The book was therapy for Jacquet, who admits he fell into a deep depression in the weeks following victory. “The incredible pressure, the lack of sleep, living like a monk finally caught up with me,” he said. “Writing helped get me out of it.”

It also helped him “turn the page” with no regrets.

“You can never say ‘never,’ but I’m finished with top-level competition. One thing is sure: I’ll be watching the 2002 World Cup from the stands,” Jacquet said, conceding he might one day be tempted by an offer to coach a foreign national team.

In a country still somewhat bound by class, Jacquet’s personal journey from factory worker to international celebrity is as inspiring as his World Cup triumph.

He was born in Sail-Sous-Couzan, in central France, the son of the village butcher who taught him to clean tripe and take animals to slaughter. He quit school after the seventh grade for vocational training. As a teen, he worked as a lathe operator, while juggling his passion for soccer.

“I was a pretty good player, but never a great one,” he wrote with characteristic modesty. In fact, with Saint-Etienne, he won five French Championship medals and twice played for the French national team.

The collective euphoria and deep sense of national pride that followed the July 12 victory might have subsided — but not much.

“The victory gave France a positive image of itself and the whole country identified with it,” Jacquet said. “Wherever I go, especially in rural areas, people always say how proud the team made them feel.”

For Jacquet, the multi-ethnic, multi-racial team dubbed “black, blanc, beur” (black, white, Arab), reflects modern France — “a melting pot where players are chosen on the basis of merit, not race or religion.”

The team’s glory silenced extreme right critics who rallied around national front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen when he lambasted the team’s composition of “artificial” Frenchmen.

We’ll have to verify details: Dungarpur

MUMBAI, July 13 (UNI) — The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Raj Singh Dungarpur today said that it was premature to say whether the three players Robin Singh, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly who spoke to the press after the World Cup will be put to disciplinary action by the BCCI.

Raj Singh said the players were under contractual obligation as far as talking to the press is concerned. “We will have to verify the exact details first”, he said.

The concerned players had shared their views after returning from the World Cup in England, which created a furore among cricketing circles and cricket buffs alike. It was Dravid’s comments which created a furore most.

Robin Singh had aired his views on what he felt should not have happened in India’s World Cup campaign, while Ganguly in a signed article for a Bengali daily had expressed that Sachin should have batted at number four.

When asked to comment on this issue, Raj Singh said: “We will have to see what exactly did Robin Singh speak, because he issued a detail after the news was published”.

However, Raj Singh was evasive when it was brought to his notice that Robin Singh did not only give one comment, but several which questioned the cohesive effort of the team in the World Cup.

The BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele, meanwhile said that the BCCI would be seeking an explanation from the three players and the matter will be discussed in the working committee meeting in the last week of July.

Lele further said that the captain of the team, to tour Sri Lanka for a triangular tournament in August, will be selected on July 27 or 28 and the rest of the team will be selected in the first week of August.

Durham register rare win

LONDON, July 13 (AFP) — Durham skittled out Nottinghamshire at Chester-Le-Street yesterday for only their second county championship win of the season.

The visitors lost their final five wickets for only four runs as they capitulated from 244 for five to 248 all out.

It was part-time spinner Michael Gough, appointed England under-19 captain last week, and paceman Steve Harmison who did the damage, taking four for 49 and three for 33 respectively in the 95-run win.

Captain Jason Gallian weighed in with 69 while Paul Johnson was left stranded on 70 as wickets tumbled around him.

Durham resumed on 265 for five with a lead of 304 and eventually declared on 304 for eight.

Somerset skipper Jamie Cox guided his side to victory over Derbyshire by eight wickets at Derby as they reached their target of 193 with three overs to spare.

Cox lost opening partner Marcus Trescothick for 19 to a catch behind off Andrew Harris with the total on 45.

But the Australian ground out a disciplined 89 not out while former Derbyshire stalwart Peter Bowler weighed in with an unbeaten 43 to add to his first-innings century.

Kent wrapped up victory before lunch when Steve Rhodes ran out of partners as his bid to lead Worcestershire to a win fell just short at New Road.

Worcestershire, all out for 106 in their first innings, resumed this morning on 280 for six as they chased a target of 364 and appeared set to pull off an unlikely victory as they advanced to 342 for seven.

But the hosts then lost their last three wickets in the space of seven deliveries for the addition of just one more run as Kent made good use of the new ball to complete a 20-run win.

English county cricket scores yesterday:

County Championship

At Derby: Derbyshire 359 (R. Weston 156, K. Krikken 56, B. Spendlove 51, A. Caddick 4-72) and 194 (A. Caddick 4-56) v Somerset 361 (P. Bowler 149, M. Burns 72, P. Aldred 5-74, A. Harris 5-101) and 196-2 (J. Cox 89 no); Somerset (18pts) beat Derbyshire (6pts) by 8 wkts

At Riverside: Durham 392 (P. Collingwood 106, M. Gough 62, M. Speight 60, P. Franks 4-80, v Drakes 4-88) and 304-8 dec (J. Lewis 118, J. Morris 78, v Drakes 4-70) v Nottinghamshire 353 (P. Johnson 83, G. Archer 81, U. Afzaal 60, M. Betts 4-79) and 248 (R. Robinson 80, P. Johnson 70 no, J. Gallian 69, M. Gough 4-49); Durham (20pts) beat Nottinghamshire (8pts) by 95 runs.

At Worcester: Kent 119 (T. Moody 4-27, A. Sheriyar 4-43) and 350 (M. Fleming 138, v Solanki 4-62) v Worcestershire 106 (M. Patel 4-31) and 343 (G. Hick 99, J. Thompson 4-58); Kent (16pts) beat Worcestershire (4pts) by 20 runs.

Asian boycott unlikely: S. Korea

SEOUL, July 13 (AFP) — A row between FIFA and its Asian members over the place allocations for the 2002 World Cup is unlikely to end in an Asian boycott of the games, South Korean football officials said yesterday.

“We definitely do not want to see any boycott of the 2002 World Cup occurring,” said a source close to the organisers of the football extravaganza to be co-hosted by Japan and South Korea in three years time.

“I think some sort of compromise will be reached long before then between the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), FIFA and President Blatter and Chung Mong-Joon,” he added.

The comments came after the AFC walked out of the FIFA Congress in Los Angeles on Friday in protest at the number of places allocated to the region in the 2002 World Cup.

The move by Asian members, angry at being handed only four -and-a-half places at the 2002 World Cup by football’s world governing body, humiliated FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who had appealed to them not to leave the meet.

Katich a star in the making ?

MELBOURNE, July 13 (AP) — A grape grower’s son from Western Australia was given a chance today to become Australia’s latest Test cricketing star.

Prolific runscorer Simon Katich said he was living his dream when named in Australia’s Test squad to tour Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe next month.

The 23-year-old’s selection was widely tipped after being offered an Australian Cricket Board (ACB) contract last week. But the classy left-handed batsman was stunned at his rapid elevation to the national squad after just 21 first-class matches.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said Katich. “Last week when I found out I had an ACB contract I was pretty over the moon but to find out this (Test squad selection) this morning, it’s what every young cricketer dreams of.”

Schumacher out of hospital

NORTHAMPTON, July 13 (AFP) — German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher left hospital today after surgery on the broken leg he suffered in Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

The 30-year-old Ferrari driver was seen being moved into an ambulance at the side entrance to Northampton General Hospital just before 10.30 am (3.00 pm IST).

The dual world champion was treated at the hospital after breaking his right leg in a high speed crash at Silverstone.

Schumacher, who spent two nights in hospital, was said to be in good spirits after surgery, though he could be out of action for 12 weeks.

Surgeons inserted a foot-long pin into his leg when he underwent surgery on Sunday for a fracture.

AIFF holds talks with foreign coaches

CALCUTTA, July 13 (PTI) — The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) is negotiating with two top foreign coaches for training the national football team for a stipulated period.

AIFF was currently negotiating with Irish coach Jim Nickole and FIFA-recommended coach Frantz Barriquand of France to take over as Indian coach, AIFF President, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said here today.

He said both the coaches have already spelt out their terms and conditions and it was now upto the AIFF to consider whom to choose. “We hope to send a final offer to them by July 30. If it suits them, we may take a decision,” he said.

Mr Dasmunshi said Nickole had asked for $ 9000 per annum besides other allowances and facilities for the coaching assignment while barriquand would cost $ 8500.

AIFF was planning to build a core group of players comprising of pre-Olympic team players, a few under-16 players and seniors keeping in view the forthcoming Asia Cup, SAF Games, pre-World Cup and Afro-Asian Games, he said.

The foreign coach would be put in charge of the core group and may also be asked to train young coaches. The foreign coach would be supported by a panel of Indian coaches, Mr Dasmunshi said.

Surprise comeback by Gough

LONDON, July 13 (AFP) — England paceman Darren Gough made a surprise comeback for Yorkshire when he was included in their side for today’s county championship match with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

He was back ahead of schedule after nearly a month out of action with a calf tendon injury which caused him to miss the first Test with New Zealand on the same ground two weeks ago.

There were weekend reports that Gough would be eased back into action via a second-team game with Worcestershire at Kidderminster tomorrow.

But he underwent a fitness test yesterday and was named in the Yorkshire line-up after feeling no reaction.

Gough came back from England’s early exit from the World Cup and played for Yorkshire in a national league clash with Hampshire and a championship match with Sussex.

But news of his injury was announced on the day before the World Cup final — on June 19.

Vikas, Rajni TT champions

JALANDHAR, July 13 (FOSR) — Current Punjab table tennis champion and top seed of the tournament Vaneet Chopra from the State Bank of Patiala lost to Vikas Mahajan of the PSEB to win the men’s singles title in the North India Invitation and first Punjab Ranking Table Tennis Tournament today.

In the women’s singles, Rajni Gupta of Amritsar beat Shikha Ghai of Amritsar 21-18, 21-19.

The final results are:

Men’s Singles (semifinals): Vaneet Chopra beat Pankaj Sharma 21-16, 18-21, 21-19, 21-19. Vikas Mahajan beat Ramakant 21-19, 21-19, 25-27, 22-29, 21-17. Finals: Vikas Mahajan beat Vaneet Chopra 21-18, 16-21, 23-21, 19-21, 21-17.

Women’s Singles semifinals: Shikha Ghai of (Asr) beat Kuldeep Kaur 21-18, 21-19, Rajni Gupta (Asr) beat Tejinder Kaur of (Jal) by 21-16, 17-21, 21-19. Finals: Rajni Gupta (Asr) beat Shikha Ghai (Asr) 21-18, 21-19.

Boys Singles: Disney (Ludh) beat Sumit Bahri (Jal) 21-19, 21-18. Girls Singles: Gurvinder Kaur (Jal) beat Rishu of (Jal) 18-21, 21-19, 21-17.

Sub Junior: Boys Singles: Rohit Mahajan (Asr) beat Shashi Bhusan (Budhlada) 21-16, 21-15. Girls Singles: Ritika (Ropar) beat Ravneet (Ropar) by 21-18, 16-21, 21-14.

Cadet: Boys final: Ritesh Sharma (Asr) beat Sahil Sood (Budhlada) by 21-19, 18-21, 21-17. Girls final: Ritika (Ropar) beat Manisha Sharma of (Patiala) 19-21, 21-18, 21-19.