Record 4500 athletes from 494 districts to take part in national inter-district meet

Tirupati

A record 4,500 boys and girls in the U-14 and U-16 age-groups from 494 districts across India will compete in the National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet, which begins here on Saturday. Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla said, “We are sure it will not be long before we have close to 600 of India’s 731 districts taking part in the competition. We will work towards getting more participation from the states in the Northeast.”

FMSCI bans its own president from officiating for 3 years after Rally of Jodhpur tragedy

New Delhi

National motorsport federation FMSCI has banned its own president, J Prithviraj, from officiating for three years in the wake of the organisational blunder that led to death of three persons, including a minor, during the ill-fated Rally of Jodhpur in September.

While Prithviraj will continue to be the president of FMSCI, he won’t be allowed to officiate in the national championships for three years. Top rally driver Gaurav Gill had crashed into a trespassing motorcycle carrying three people, including a minor, during the rally, forcing the organisers to call off the rally. The five-member FMSCI panel that included past presidents Vicky Chandhok and Akbar Ebrahim recommended a three-year ban on Prithviraj, the event’s clerk of the course.

NZ, England put cricket rivalry to the Test

Mount Maunganui, November 19

New Zealand and England will take their cricketing rivalry into the Test arena on Thursday after finding themselves evenly matched in recent limited-overs thrillers. England have bragging rights after winning a rollercoaster World Cup final in July, then edging the Black Caps 3-2 in a desperately close T20I series completed earlier this month.

Both the One-day decider and T20I series needed tie-breakers to find a winner and there will be no shortage of mutual respect when the rivals face off again Thursday in the first Test here.

On paper, there again appears to be little to separate the teams, with New Zealand second in the Test rankings and England third. But England skipper Joe Root is painfully aware that his team underperformed when it lost a two-Test series in New Zealand last year after underestimating the Black Caps’ bowlers on their home turf. — AFP

Better stadium facilities needed apart from pink ball: Dravid

New Delhi, November 19

Former India captain and National Cricket Academy chief Rahul Dravid said while the pink-ball Test will attract crowds to the stadium, it is only one of many things that need to be done to truly rejuvenate stadium attendances for the traditional form of the game in the country.

“It is not the only solution to rejuvenate Test cricket, but it is one of the things we need to do. If only we are able to control dew, the pink-ball Test can become an annual feature in India,” Dravid said. “You make it tough for the bowlers when the ball gets wet and takes the swing away… It (pink ball) is a novelty that will attract people to the stadium and must be tried.”

However, Dravid said, a number of other factors need to be looked into while trying to understand why Test cricket fails to attract crowds, including facilities available for fans inside the stadium. “Basic things like toilets, seating, car parking need to be looked into, these are things that will draw (fans to the stadiums),” said Dravid.

He also said that the advent of widespread TV coverage and streaming services also have a role to play. Moreover, India, unlike England and Australia, doesn’t have a set calendar for Test matches for which people can plan in advance. “When we say there were 1,00,000 people at the Eden Gardens in 2001, we are missing the point. At that time, there was no HD television that could guarantee you a better experience at home, there was no cricket on mobile, and if you wanted to catch the action, you had to make it to the ground,” he said. “Things are different now and it is important we accept the ground reality. Yes, you can argue that the Ashes are always full and that Test cricket is in good health in England and Australia, but that’s because they have a Test cricket calendar and we don’t. People can plan for a Boxing Day Test in December and a Lord’s Test in July a year ahead. We need this to happen in Indian cricket. Also, we need better facilities at stadiums, for fan engagement is extremely necessary to bring crowds back to the game.” — IANS

Bangladesh bans Shahadat for 5 years for assault

Dhaka: The Bangladesh Cricket Board banned former national team fast bowler Shahadat Hossain for five years, two of them suspended, after he assaulted a teammate in a match. The temperamental Shahadat was reported by umpires after he was seen to slap and kick a teammate during a National Cricket League match on Sunday.

The national federation suspended two years of the ban but Hossain, who admitted a charge of “physical assault”, was also fined $3,540, the board said. Hossain, 33, attacked young bowler Arafat Sunny Jr during a game between Dhaka and Khulna after an argument over how to shine the ball.

“Considering his past behaviour we decided to punish him for five years. The last two years of his ban will remain suspended,” said BCB technical committee chief Minhajul Abedin. Hossain could have been banned for life. Hossain, who played 38 Tests and 51 ODIs for Bangladesh, spent nearly two months in detention in 2015 after he and his wife were accused of torturing an 11-year-old girl they employed as a maid. They were cleared when the case came to trial. Hossain hit the headlines again in 2018 when he allegedly beat a rickshaw driver for hitting his car in Dhaka. AFP

Umpires should attend training sessions to get used to pink colour: Taufel

Kolkata: Sighting the pink ball during the twilight period will be a challenge not only for the batsmen but also the umpires, who are expected to attend some practice sessions to get used to the new colour, retired Australian umpire Simon Taufel said.

Taufel, who was present at the first-ever pink-ball Test in Adelaide as the ICC Umpire Performance and Training Manager, said the umpires can use artificial lenses to have a better view. “I don’t know whether they will wear any special lenses to see the ball differently. That’s entirely up to them. But they will be attending as many net sessions as possible,” Taufel said. “They will be going through their net session and simulation activities. Maybe trying to see some practice session with the pink ball so that they are pretty confident of seeing the right things at the right time,” he said.

“You have a twilight period when the light changes as it goes from very bright sunshine to artificial light. That period is more challenging for the batsmen to pick up the ball. I would expect a similar type of challenge for the umpires as well. It will be as hard and challenging for the umpires as well,” he added.

‘Pink balls have been hand stitched to aid reverse swing’

New Delhi: The amount of reverse swing that the SG pink ball will aid has been a burning question ever since it was announced that India will play their maiden Day/Night Test against Bangladesh at the historic Eden Gardens from November 22. A BCCI official said the seam in the pink ball have been hand-stitched to ensure that the ball aids reverse swing.

“The pinks balls prepared have all been hand-stitched as that increases the chances of the ball aiding reverse swing. Shouldn’t be a problem to get the pink ball to reverse,” the official revealed.

The pink ball aids conventional swing more than reverse swing because of the extra lacquer used to make sure that the ball is easy to spot even under lights. The spotting has been a major area of concern with the pink ball, especially in the twilight phase, when the sun sets and the floodlights take over.

The pink ball takes around seven-eight days to make, and the process starts with the preparation of the pink-dyed leather. Once the leather is ready, it is cut into pieces which shall later become the covering of the ball. The leather is softened overnight to ensure that it is not too hard and can be easily wrapped around the cork, which forms the core of the ball.

After this, the cups are stitched from the leather cuttings and are once again coloured. After this the cork is inserted and that is followed by stitching the balls. The inner stitching takes place first and the ball is then stitched from the outside. Once the main formation is complete, the final layer of colouring and shining is done before the ball is finally weighed and approved. The pink ball is heavier than the conventional red ball. IANS