Pak suffered most run out dismissals
CALCUTTA, June 23 — The burly Inzamam-ul-Haq has often provided comic relief in cricket matches with his sloppy running between the wickets and it is therefore not a big surprise that Pakistan suffered the most run out dismissals in the just-concluded seventh World Cup.

Agarkar to train under Lillee
CHENNAI, June 23 — Medium pacer Ajit Agarkar, is to undergo training to correct his bowling action (for being past side-on) under the tutelage of Aussie legend Dennis Lillee, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Foundation.

Greene, Johnson to clash in 200 m
EUGENE (Oregon), June 23 — Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene, both world record-holders, put their sizzling speed to the test this weekend in a 200 metres showdown at the US National Athletics Championships.

Chatwinder shocks Mathew
NEW DELHI, June 23 — In the Adidas Junior Masters being played at the DTA complex, eighth seed Chatwinder Singh from Chandigarh caused a major upset by defeating second seed Jaco Mathew from Tamil Nadu in straight sets in the boys under-16 category.

Pandove benefit tie postponed
CHANDIGARH, June 23 — The 'international' cricket match between India and Sri Lanka, called the M.P. Pandove benefit tie, which was earlier scheduled to be held at Punjab Cricket Association's stadium at Mohali, has been postponed to July 10, according to highly reliable sources in Ludhiana.

• Six new disciplines at NIS
• Player promoted

Wimbledon

Kournikova triumphs; Medvedev
bows out

LONDON, June 23 (AFP) — Russian starlet Anna Kournikova and South Africa Amanda Coetzer marched into the third round of the women's singles today at Wimbledon with comfortable straight-set victories.

There was something of a shock, however, in the men's singles when French Open finalist Andrei Medvedev, the Ukrainian world number 31, went out to 87th-ranked Canadian doubles specialist Daniel Nestor 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.

Pin-up teen Kournikova, the 17th seed, shrugged off spells of inconsistency to move past Venezuala's Maria Alejandra Vento, ranked 104 in the world 7-5, 6-4 on court two.

The glamour girl next faces Ines Gorrochategui of Argentina, who beat Ruxandra Dragomir of Romoania 6-2, 6-2.

Coetzer, who has never been past the fourth round, had bowed out in the second round in seven of her last appearances at the All-England Club, but this time she had little difficulty booking her passage, ousting Japan's 116th-ranked Miho Saeki 6-4, 6-1.

Coetzer next meets Belgian Kim Clijsters, who thrashed Karen Cross, one of two British survivors, 6-2, 6-0.

Japan suffered a second reverse when Ai Sugiyama lost to Elena Likhovtsevaa of Russia. Likhovtseva won 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 to make it to the third round for the second year in a row.

It was a titanic struggle and he had to save three match points as he diced with death-but Boris Becker lived to fight another day in his 15th and last Wimbledon campaign.

Becker was playing a Briton in the shape of wildcard miles Maclagan - but you'd hardly have known that the German was the foreigner as he received a rapturous reception when he stepped on to court two.

The cheers died away for what seemed an eternity as Maclagan took a two-set lead 7-5 7-6 (9/7) and held three match points at 5.4 in the fourth.

Becker now can look forward to a grudge match against fellow German Nicolas Kiefer, the 15th seed, with whom he has had personal differences in the past.

Kiefer was, like Becker, a quarter-finalist in 1997 the year he ousted the latter as national number one after 12 years of Becker dominance.

Yesterday's first-round match was almost too much for Becker's wife Barbara, who is expecting the couple's second child in August.

"I told her to calm down a little-otherwise we'd have had a baby on the court. She's only a few weeks away," joked Becker, who said letting matches go down to the wire was nothing new to him.
"I've had a number of close matches in the 80-odd I've played here but today it was as close as it could get," added the 31-year-old German.

"But there's a reason why I've won so many matches here. He played incredibly well — but not well enough," added Becker who received a standing ovation when he came out.

"It was an incredible feeling — I appreciate it very much, it was a very special moment," explained Becker, who grinned as he told reporters: "I'm still around."

Two years ago, Becker said after losing to Pete Sampras in the quarters that he wouldn't be back.

But the temptation to have one more crack at a fourth title proved impossible to resist.

"There are a number of reasons why I can't leave Wimbledon alone," he said.

"Last winter, when my wife and I realised we were expecting another baby this summer we realised this (playing on the tour) can't go on for ever. That's why I decided to give Wimbledon one more try."

It might have crossed three-time champion Becker's mind how ironic it was to have been assigned the "graveyard" court two for potentially his final bow, remarking later that "maybe they were teasing me with that a little bit."

But in the nick of time things began to click for the veteran and Becker finally wrested back control to win 5-7 6-7 (7/9) 6-4 7-5 6-2, completing the proceedings with an ace.

Australian youngster Lleyton Hewitt shrugged off the growing weight of expectations to score an impressive straight sets win here yesterday on his Wimbledon debut against Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay.

The 18-year-old has been a hot tip for stardom ever since he became the lowest-ranked singles winner in ATP Tour history in only his second pro tour even when, ranked 550, he beat Andre Agassi and Jason Stoltenberg on the way to taking the title in his home town of Adelaide.

Poor umpiring let India down

NEW DELHI June 23 (PTI) — The Indian men’s hockey team had to grapple with poor umpiring in its short European tour of Germany and Belgium, where the highpoint was a Test match win over Germany for the first time in 10 years.

"The officiating was not at all up to the mark, some of the decisions in Belgium were appalling and we had to lodge protests after protests," team manager Col G.S. Siddique, told PTI here soon after returning home yesterday.

The new-look Indian team played two four-Test series each against Germany and Belgium.

India lost 1-3 to Germany, where the highpoint was their 3-2 win in the third Test for their first victory over their formidable opponents in 10 years.

The Asian giants downed Belgium 2-1, but their stunning 2-7 loss in the penultimate match proved a major letdown.

"It was a good experience as the team had not played together much. Our team fairly matched the tough Europeans on speed and stamina and made up on skill," Siddique said.

But goalkeeping, where only Edward Aloysius looked assured, and abysmal penalty conversion rate of 9 per cent, were areas where the team had to work hard in their build-up to next year’s Sydney Olympics, he said.

Against the full German national side coached by the legendary Paul Lissek, India lost the first Test 1-4, fought well being going down by an identical 1-2 margin in the next two before upstaging Germany 3-2 in the final test.

Against Belgium, India won 5-3, drew 3-3, went down 2-7 and clinched the series with a 4-2 win.

Siddique picked out defender Anurag Raghuvanshi as the find of the tournament and also praised the consistent showing of young forward Gagan Ajit Singh, who struck a brace in India’s superb 3-2 win over Germany and produced a hattrick when they beat Belgium 5-3 in the first Test at Brussels.

In Germany, India could not settle down in the first Test, but fought hard in the next two — "it was anybody’s game" — before winning the final Test.

"Paul Lissek appreciated the way we played. Germany also are in the build up phase, for the European championship and the Olympic qualifiers to be held at Osaka," he said.

Describing the win at Mainz, he said Kamala Horo, Baljit Singh Dillon and Gagan Ajit stood out in a fine team effort and Aloysius also came up with fine saves. "We had nothing to lose and coach Harcharan Singh also told the boys to play free and relaxed. A big holiday crowd also turned up," he added.

The major difference between Germany and India was that the hosts converted 80-90 per cent of penalty corner awards, but Indians were extremely poor in that department.

Indians were badly hit by poor umpiring in Belgium. The German, Dutch and French umpires seemed quite biased and the Belgium officials also admitted that, Siddique said.

"Several decisions went against us. We had to protest so many times. In the 2-7 loss, Belgium got the first goal when there was no contact inside the circle and then Gagan Ajit was denied the equaliser when his legitimate flick into the goal was unfairly ruled for dangerous play. The boys simply lost heart and the entire team began faring very poorly," he said.

Nothing went right for the Indians in that huge loss to Belgium in the third Test. "Gagan himself missed two chances, Baljit Dillon and Sameer Dad also failed to convert. Belgium scored three goals in the last 10 minutes and our team looked helpless," Siddique said.

Despite promises of better umpiring, it was pretty bad in the fourth Test too where India led 2-1 at the break before winning 4-2.

The Dutch umpire disallowed a legitimate goal and Belgium led by two goals before India started piling on the pressure to win comfortably in the end.

The weather was cold in Germany, but Belgium was quite warm.

The Indian had a casualty when Daljit Singh Dhillon suffered a fracture in his right wrist during the final Test against Belgium.

The team members landed here yesterday from London and dispersed for home.

The next programme in India’s build-up phase — they have qualified for the Sydney games by winning the Asian Games gold at Bangkok last December — will be a tour of South Africa and Kenya towards the end of August.

Star campaigners Dhanraj Pillay and Mukesh Kumar have been recalled to the camp and will be part of that side.

Indian cricket — ripe time to set goals
By Sanjay Manjrekar

MUMBAI, June 23 — Life is a little different now that the World Cup is over. Some, I am sure would have heaved a sigh of relief now that life is returning to normal.

But there will also be many who are still carrying the hangover of the World Cup, reminiscing on the matches gone by and generally reliving the action of the past few weeks.

The last two World Cups no doubt gave us the world champions, but it can’t be said for sure that they gave us the best team in the world.

The two previous world champions — Pakistan in 1992 and Sri Lanka in 1996 — found it extremely difficult afterwards to prove that they were the best team in the world. Most referred to them as world champions, but not as the best in the world.

After this tournament not many will dispute Australia, Pakistan and South Africa are really the three top teams in world cricket.

The format of the tournament was one reason for this — not perfect but certainly good enough to make the right assessment of the sides involved.

Australia, I maintain, came to the World Cup with not one of their better sides. They have had better combinations in the past. But, their strong inherent cricket culture was what saw them through.

Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne used their extraordinary ability to come up with match winning performances. Steve’s unbeaten 120 at Headingley will remain as one of the best innings ever played.

I consider it a privilege to have watched one of the best spells of fast bowling in one-day cricket by McGrath. It’s a pity it had to come against India.

Sachin Tendulkar walking back after being dismissed early by the paceman is a sight I vividly remember.

Warne is not the same bowler he was before the shoulder surgery and I doubt whether he will ever be. There is, however, something that has not changed with the operation and that is his cricketing intelligence.

I was shocked to learn that a hostile reception was in store for the runners-up when they returned home. Pakistan were superb in the tournament keeping the Asian flag flying till the last.

They provided some great entertainment, especially to the English crowds. They came second best only to the Australians, which deserves a hero’s welcome and nothing less.

When the South Africans play, I am always reminded of a well-oiled machine in operation — predictable, consistent and very efficient.

New Zealand surprised many by reaching the last four, bits and pieces players doing their bits in bringing out a good whole picture.

Their performance in the semifinals against Pakistan also showed that even their dream run is only good enough to last till the last four stage of the World Cup and not beyond that.

However, the early exit of the West Indies and England is a very disturbing sign. It is a strong possibility that these two countries might never be major cricketing forces again.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have now firmly established that they cannot be called minnows any longer. They stole the show.

And not to forget Bangladesh who were ecstatic leaving England for home after that historic win over Pakistan.

India’s trip to England was disappointing. But to be fair they performed to their abilities. The only improvement would have been in the form of Sachin Tendulkar; that would have taken India up a further distance.

India have won one Test in the last 46 played overseas. Their one-day record is also not much better. To expect this team to win the World Cup overseas was always hoping against hope.

I have always been baffled why Indian cricket has never set goals for itself. Everything has been said about Indian cricket by everybody concerned but have you ever heard of anybody talking about goals?

Indian cricket has gone through its motions for long. Winning at home, failing overseas, coming back home to set the record straight has been the pattern of Indian cricket.

It is high time a goal is set to have the same potency overseas as we have in our own backyard. The next World Cup is in South Africa in 2003 — that gives India four years to work on.

All in all the mega event came like a storm.It changed lives of a lot of people and it left back, not ruins but memories which will serve only one purpose — to make the game even more popular.

"Yes, Lance Klusener, you can take some of that credit. The car is just a small token of appreciation." — PTI

Aussies welcome cricket heroes

MELBOURNE, June 23 (Reuters) — Tens of thousands of sports-mad Australian fans crammed into the main street of Melbourne today to welcome home their World Cup cricket winners.

Shredded phone books and green and yellow cards and streamers rained on to the Australian team, which crushed Pakistan by eight wickets in last Sunday’s final at Lord’s after being written off early in the limited overs tournament.

Australians were heady with sporting success, the parade for their victorious cricketers coming just hours after teenage qualifier Jelena Dokic crushed world number one tennis player Martina Hingis in the first round at Wimbledon.

The flag-waving Melbourne crowd saved their biggest roars for captain Steve Waugh and hometown hero Shane Warne, the man of the match in the cup final.

The pair brought up the rear of the parade which saw the team driven in open-top sports cars through the heart of Australia’s second largest city.

"I’m proud of all the guys and how they played," Waugh said after thanking the thousands of fans.

Many in the crowd had lined the streets for hours in anticipation of the cricketers, who arrived back in Australia.

Some of those who could not see, gathered outside a window of Melbourne’s town hall, beckoning for their heroes to come out from a Lord Mayor’s reception.

One by one the players answered the chants of "war-ney, war-ney", "ooh-ah Glenn McGrath" and "we want Steve" and appeared briefly on a balcony to hold aloft the World Cup.

Pak players' effigies burnt

MULTAN, June 22 (Reuters) — Angry cricket fans mounted effigies of Pakistan’s beaten World Cup players on donkeys and paraded them through this Punjab town, witnesses said.

About 1,000 fans paraded the beasts through the streets yesterday, beating them with sandals before setting the effigies ablaze, blocking the streets and snarling traffic.

The police used tear gas to break up the demonstration, the angriest public manifestation of Pakistan’s disappointment at the way its team played in Sunday’s final at Lord’s.

The crowd called on a Pakistani judge investigating allegations of match-fixing in the national sport to open a probe into the way Pakistan crumbled against Australia.

They also called on Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum to send the case to a military court and to confiscate the property of all those involved in one of the most one-sided World Cup finals ever played.

Military courts were established by the government this year to mete out swift justice and have been operating principally in neighbouring Sindh province.

The protesters stoned the house of Pakistani batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, breaking several windows. He was not home at the time, witnesses said.

The report by Justice Qayyum is expected to be made public in July and will cover the period up to the end of the World Cup, according to the lawyer of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Skipper Wasim Akram is one of three leading members of the current side being investigated over allegations of foul play dating back to the mid 1990's.

Pak suffered most run out dismissals

CALCUTTA, June 23 (PTI) — The burly Inzamam-ul-Haq has often provided comic relief in cricket matches with his sloppy running between the wickets and it is therefore not a big surprise that Pakistan suffered the most run out dismissals in the just-concluded seventh World Cup.

The highly talented middle order batsman has the uncanny knack of getting himself or his partners run out every time he strolls onto the crease and the story was no different in this World Cup.

It was no wonder Pakistan had 13 run out casualties in their 10 World Cup matches, the highest figure among all the 12 participating countries. Although the Pakistani batsmen generally have good footwork, they suffered the highest number of 13 leg before wicket dismissals also.

The Indians, who are also not known for their running between the wicket abilities, were behind Pakistan with eight run out dismissals in eight matches.

With conditions being conducive to swing bowling in England, it was not surprising Indian batsmen were more prone to catching dismissals. They were caught out 30 times and clean bowled 10 times in a total of 51 dismissals in this World Cup.

The Indians had the ignominious record of getting out caught the maximum number of times in the three previous World Cups in England.

The Indians, who had featured in 14 World Cup matches in England before were caught out as many as 69 times in a total 107 dismissals, heading the list among the Test playing nations.

Significantly, no Indian batsman has ever returned to the pavilion being a victim of stumping or hit wicket in World Cup matches in England till date, indicating their skills in playing spin bowling.

Hosts England, who had a rather dismal World Cup campaign failing to reach the Super Six stage, were the only team among test playing nations not to have a run out dismissal in this World Cup. England’s break up reads : caught 16, bowled 3, lbw 6, stumped 1.

Twice champions West Indies, another team who had a disappointing time in England failing to secure a berth in the Super Six, had just one run out dismissal in five matches of this World Cup.

Giant killers Zimbabwe, the surprise package of the seventh World Cup, topped the list of catching dismissals with their batsmen getting caught as many as 40 times in a total of 63 dismissals. Zimbabwe’s break up is : caught 40, bowled 9, lbw 5, run out 5, stumped 4.

Greene, Johnson to clash in 200 m

EUGENE (Oregon), June 23 (Reuters) — Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene, both world record-holders, put their sizzling speed to the test this weekend in a 200 metres showdown at the US National Athletics Championships.

Their meeting in the cool of Oregon's early summer is a rarity, both athletes being defending world champions in other events. But there is no doubting the seriousness of their anticipated clash on Sunday. The last day of the four-day competition which will determine USA's team for August's world championships in Seville, Spain.

"The 200 metres will be the best race at nationals," world 200 metres champion Ato Boldon of Trinidad predicted last week minutes after training partner Greene smashed Canadian Donovan Bailey's 100 metres world record with a time of 9.79 seconds in Athens.

But the lustre of the Championships will not come solely from the two speed kings.

The outstanding Marion Jones will seek to embellish her glittering credentials with wins in the 200 metres and long jump as she prepares for what she hopes will be a four-gold-medal performance in Seville.

Olympic 110 metres hurdles champion Allen Johnson takes on the young pretenders led by Larry Wade, while the nation's top women's hurdler Melissa Morrison faces double Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Gail Devers, who is on a comeback trail and due to compete in the high hurdles as well as the 100 metres sprint.

The top three finishers in each event will be eligible for Deville, with exception made only for the defending world champion, who are guaranteed "wild card" berths.

That has prompted reigning world champions Michael Johnson (men's 400 metres), Greene (men's 100 metres) and Jones (women's 100 metres) to run other events here.

Allen Johnson (110 metres hurdles) and John Godina (shot put) also have free entry to the world championships but will still compete here in their speciality events.

Jones and Greene would like to use their 200 metres runs here to set up sprint doubles at 100 and 200 metres in Seville. Michael Johnson, however, has yet to decide whether to run the 200 or the 400 in the world championships. He has said he would not do both.

Healthy again after a series of injuries during the past two years, the 200 metres world record-holder said today he believed he was ready to run fast times again in the event.

"This will be my first time, since '96, getting back into some hot competition into the 200. So my focus will be on this race and doing well." he said.

He insisted Greene's "blazing" 100 metres would not affect how he himself ran the 200 metres.

"The fact that someone goes out and breaks the world record in a totally different event, there's nothing you can do about that," Johnson said.

He called the field for the event "loaded" pointing to college speedsters John Capel, who has run 19.87 second this season, and Coby Miller as potential candidates for the US team along with himself, Greene and several other veterans.

Jones, who is bidding to become the first athlete to win four gold medals at one world championships, wants to win here as easily as possible, her coach, Trevor Graham, said.

Agarkar to train under Lillee

CHENNAI, June 23 (PTI) — Medium pacer Ajit Agarkar, is to undergo training to correct his bowling action (for being past side-on) under the tutelage of Aussie legend Dennis Lillee, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Foundation.

Agarkar took lessons from Lillee for a day on the advise of Sachin Tendulkar during the camp here in August last year before Indian team’s tour of Toronto.

Tendulkar had then spoken to Lillee about Agarkar’s problems on the day he (Tendulkar) left Chennai for Australia to meet Don Bradman on his 90th birthday. Lillee, called Professor Emiritus in the art of pace bowling, had given few tips to Agarkar including "bowling before a mirror" (shadow bowling).

Agarkar, who is arriving here today, played in two matches in the just-concluded World Cup. He would undergo training till June 28, according to T.A. Sekar, coach at the foundation.

Punjab’s Harvinder Singh, who had been camping here for the last one month as part of a rehabilitation programme would also undergo training, Sekar added.

Chatwinder shocks Mathew
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, June 23 — In the Adidas Junior Masters being played at the DTA complex, eighth seed Chatwinder Singh from Chandigarh caused a major upset by defeating second seed Jaco Mathew from Tamil Nadu in straight sets in the boys under-16 category.

In the boys under-14 category, seventh seed Karan Rastogi from Maharashtra was defeated by unseeded Vikrant Sane from Maharashtra in straight sets.

In the girls under-16 category, there were no upsets and the top four seeds will clash with each other in the semifinals. In the girls under-14 category, unseeded Sanaa Bhambri created an upset by defeating fourth seed Priyanka Parekh from West Bengal. Following are the results:

Boys — under-16 (Quarterfinal): Amanjot Singh (1) Chandigarh bt A R Anand Kumar (7) 6-3,6-4, Dhrub Kumar (6) (WB) bt Vivek Bhakuni (Delhi) 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (6),Vinod K Sewa (3) (WB) bt Rohan Gajjar (5) (Maharashtra) 6-2, 7-6 (6), Chatwinder Singh (Chandigarh) (8) bt Jaco T Mathew (2) (TN) 7-5, 6-2.

Boys—under - 14 (quarterfinals): Tushar Liberhan (1) (Chandigarh) bt P Vikash (Mah) 6-4, 7-5, Vikrant Sane (Mah) bt Karan Rastogi (7) (Mah) 6-4, 7-6 (2) Vikram Aditya Menon (TN) bt Rishi Behl (Mah) 6-3, 6/7 (2), 6-4, R Arun Prakash (2) (TN) bt Wrik Ganguly (6) (Delhi) 6-2, 6-2.

Girls — under -15 (Quarter Finals): Megha Vakaria (1) (Mah) bt Ankita Bhambari (7) (Delhi) 6-1,6-2, Sarnia Mirza (4) (AP) bt Sanna Bhambri (8) (Delhi) 6-3, 5-7, 6-0, Priyanka Parikh (3) (WB) bt Medhini Sharma (Maha) 7-5,6-4, C Nandita (2) (TN) bt Samrita Sekhar (TN) (5) 6-2, 6-2.

Girls—under -14 (quarterfinals): Sania Mirza (1) (AP) bt Marutha Devi (TN) 6-3,6-4, Lata Asudhari (3) (Mah) bt Kartiki Bhat (Mah) 6-1,6-4, Sanaa Bhambri (Delhi) bt Priyanka Pasrikh (4) (WB) 6-3, 7-5, Ankita Bhambari (6) (Delhi) bt M Kamini (TN) 6-3, 7-3.

Pandove benefit tie postponed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 23 — The 'international' cricket match between India and Sri Lanka, called the M.P. Pandove benefit tie, which was earlier scheduled to be held at Punjab Cricket Association's stadium at Mohali, has been postponed to July 10, according to highly reliable sources in Ludhiana.

The sources pointed out that the postponement was necessitated as the Sri Lankan Cricket Board was facing legal crisis and its President Thilanga Sumathipala and other office-bearers had been barred from functioning.

To run cricket affairs in Sri Lanka, an interim committee has been formed.

Though the President of the PAC, Mr I.S. Bindra, was in London these days, yet these sources said all preparations regarding the tie had been completed.

Six new disciplines at NIS
From Our Sports Reporter

PATIALA, June 23 — The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has substantially increased the number of sports disciplines from the existing 10 to 16 for this (1999-2000) academic session at the NIS. The session will commence from July 1, 1999.

The six new disciplines are badminton, basketball, football, swimming and volleyball.

Player promoted
From Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI, June 23 — Edward Alloyius, an Olympics hockey player, has been promoted to the post of a senior manager by the Punjab and Sind Bank.

Appointed in 1990, Alloyius has played a key role in helping the bank perform superbly in the various competitions. While announcing the promotion, the bank's Chairman and Managing Director S. S. Kholi said the sportspersons would continue to get encouragement by the bank in the years to come.