Cricket: Four-wicket Ntini guides South Africa to victory

LAHORE, Pakistan - Fast bowler Makhaya Ntini sliced through the Pakistan top order with a four-wicket haul as South Africa survived a late Shahid Afridi charge to record a 45-run victory in the first limited-overs cricket international.A. B. de Villiers (103) and Herschelle Gibbs (102) powered South Africa to a challenging total of 294-5 and then Ntini (4-69) took four wickets in his five overs before Pakistan was dismissed for 249 in 46.3 overs.Hard-hitting batsman Shahid Afridi (47 off 26 balls) and No. 9 rookie Sohail Tanvir (26) added a brisk 43 off 25 balls but their effort came a bit too late to stop South Africa taking 1-0 lead in the five-match series.Ntini exposed Pakistan's weakness against short deliveries with Shoaib Malik (18), Younis Khan (12) and Mohammad Hafeez (6) all falling into the trap. Imran Nazir (16) hit three well timed boundaries before Justin Kemp took a smart reflex catch at short cover as Pakistan slumped to 55-4.To-scorer Mohammad Yousuf (53) hit a fighting half century and shared the highest partnership of the innings when he put on 60 runs with Kamran Akmal (35) before Jacques Kallis got rid of both batsmen in his successive overs.Earlier, a second string Pakistan pace attack failed to restrict South Africa after captain Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat.De Villiers made an unbeaten 103 off 95 balls while Gibbs scored 102 from 128 deliveries as Pakistan's attack struggled without injured fast bowler Mohammad Asif.De Villiers was ruthless in the latter part of his innings when he hit two sixes and two fours in debutant left-arm fast bowler Tanvir's one over.He completed his century in the 49th over as South Africa hit 77 runs in the last 10 overs. De Villiers hit nine fours and three sixes in his unbeaten century.De Villiers and Gibbs shared a 137-run third wicket stand off 157 deliveries before a tired-looking Gibbs was run out in the 43rd over when he attempted a second run.

Gibbs hit 11 fours and a six in scoring his career's 18th hundred.Gibbs laid a platform with Smith (34) on a perfect one-day batting wicket where Pakistan bowlers struggled to get quick breakthroughs. They put on 85 runs off 88 balls before Smith was run out in a mix-up as Gibbs refused to go for a second run.Pakistan had to rely on its back-up pace bowlers after Asif was ruled out due to elbow injury that he incurred during the second test against South Africa last week.Tanvir was named for his one-day international in Asif's absence. His unorthodox bowling action that troubled batsmen in last month's World Twenty20 event in South Africa, could not make much impact on Thursday.Player of the test series Kallis (8) lobbed an easy return catch before Gibbs and De Villiers took charge to setup a strong total.The second game of the five-match series will be played in Lahore on Saturday. Faisalabad (Oct. 23) will host the third match while the remaining two matches will be hosted at Multan (Oct 26) and Karachi (Oct. 29).

Three Pakistan players join Indian board's new league

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and team mates Younis Khan and Mohammad Asif have signed up for the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL), organisers said on Thursday.New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum has also joined, taking to 29 the number of foreign players who have committed to the lucrative Twenty20 event which starts in April.The 44-day tournament will feature eight franchises, the IPL said in a statement, with each squad containing 16 players.The $3 million (1.46 million pound) IPL was launched by the Indian cricket board in September, with support from other national boards to counter an unofficial version planned next month.Those already signed up include international captains Graeme Smith of South Africa and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka and Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf.

Three Pakistan players join Indian board's new league

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and team mates Younis Khan and Mohammad Asif have signed up for the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL), organisers said on Thursday.New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum has also joined, taking to 29 the number of foreign players who have committed to the lucrative Twenty20 event which starts in April.The 44-day tournament will feature eight franchises, the IPL said in a statement, with each squad containing 16 players.The $3 million (1.46 million pound) IPL was launched by the Indian cricket board in September, with support from other national boards to counter an unofficial version planned next month.Those already signed up include international captains Graeme Smith of South Africa and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka and Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf.
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Indian cricket fans accused of racist abuse

Four Indian cricket fans are to face charges of racially abusing the Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds after allegedly taunting him with monkey gestures, police in Mumbai said yesterday.The four were ejected from Wednesday's one-day international (ODI), which India narrowly won, after officials showed police pictures of three men and one woman making racist gestures towards Symonds, who was the only black player in the Australian team.The fans were charged with "misbehaviour and harassment" and were freed on bail pending a court appearance.Australian newspapers also carried photographs of the Mumbai crowd, clearly showing spectators making offensive gestures.

The seven-match ODI series, which Australia won 4-2, was marred by allegations of racial comments aimed at the Australians.Symonds, who was the outstanding batsman of the series, had complained that fans in the western city of Vadodara earlier this month had been shouting monkey chants.The city's police chief claimed the supporters were praying to the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman.Symonds has also run the wrath of the Indian cricket crowds after heated exchanges with the bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Shantakumaran Sreesanth.Both Indian and Australian cricket officials were quick to condemn the Mumbai spectators yesterday."There is no place for racism in cricket either on or off the field," Sharad Pawar, India's top cricket official, and Creagh O'Connor, his Australian counterpart, said in a joint statement. "All cricket nations have to be on guard to ensure that the fun does not cross the boundary into unacceptable behaviour."Mukul Kesavan, one of India's best-known cricket writers, said he was surprised that Indian newspapers were not "exactly jumping to denounce" the racism."A cricketing crowd in India is a seething mass of diverse prejudices and a low-wattage racism is one of them. You did not see it with the West Indian cricketers because Indians always admired them a bit like Brazil and football. Symonds is seen as part of an abrasive, white team. But it is still deplorable racism.".

Cricket-Asif ruled out of first one-day international

Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif has been ruled out of the first one-day international against South Africa on Thursday due to an elbow injury, manager Talat Ali said on Wednesday."He is required to have more rest to regain full fitness," Ali told reporters.A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Asif could also be disciplined after signing a contract with English county Surrey for next season.The official said Asif had not received permission from the PCB.

Oram joins Indian Twenty20 league

South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock, his New Zealand counterpart Jacob Oram and Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar have signed up for the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 series, organisers said.Their inclusion takes to 25 the number of foreign players who have committed to the lucrative league due to start next April.Shoaib, who completes a 13-match ban after the first four one-day internationals against South Africa which start on Thursday, said he had signed up after getting clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board."I will be available to play in the IPL only when I am not needed by Pakistan. That remains my top priority," he said."But my first hope is to tour India next month with Pakistan and play in the tests and one-dayers."The IPL, with $3 million prize money, was launched by the Indian cricket board in September with support from other national boards to counter an unofficial version planned from next month.The inaugural edition will feature eight teams to be bought by franchisees, with plans to double the field by 2010.Those already signed up include retired Australian bowling stalwarts Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, New Zealand's Daniel Vettori and Stephen Fleming, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya, South Africa's Graeme Smith and Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf.Yousuf had earlier been linked to the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is now under pressure after the official version lured many top names in the game.Each IPL franchise would have a squad of sixteen, which would comprise local players, juniors, members of the Indian national squad and overseas professionals.

Inquest hears of blood, vomit in Woolmer death

A Jamaican chambermaid said on Tuesday she found a bloodied bed, an overturned chair and a smell like alcohol and vomit when she stumbled on former Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's unconscious body in his Kingston hotel room earlier this year.Chambermaid Bernice Robinson, the first witness to testify as a long-awaited inquest opened into Woolmer's startling death during the Cricket World Cup, said his body lay blocking the bathroom door of room 374 at the Pegasus hotel, one of his feet stretched up to the wash basin."I started to look around the room, and I noticed that there was a chair that was overturned," she said."There was blood on the pillow and the bed. I continued looking around the room and didn't see him. And then I went into the bathroom. The door was closed, I knocked, got no response, then I tried to open the door but I couldn't open it as something was pressing against it."Robinson said she panicked and shouted, "Sir, sir, is everything OK?" before running for help. She recalled a smell "like vomit and alcohol mixed together" and saw vomit on the bathroom floor.Her discovery of Woolmer's unconscious body on March 18, a day after Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup following an ignominious defeat by underdogs Ireland, kicked off a maelstrom that gripped the international cricket world for months.Jamaican police initially said Woolmer was strangled and launched a murder investigation. That touched off frenzied media speculation that the former English international player, 58, might have been killed by a gambling syndicate or disgruntled Pakistani fans or players. But the Jamaican police delivered another shock in June by saying they had made a mistake about the murder claim and that pathologists from Canada, Britain and South Africa had found Woolmer died of natural causes.

Dr. Nathaniel Carey, a British pathologist who examined the autopsy report confirmed that view."Based on the photographs that I saw, and the histology results, I came to that conclusion," he said. "Mr. Woolmer had a heart condition and he had diabetes, plus he was found behind a door as if he had suffered an attack."However, the pathologist said it was possible someone had been with Woolmer around the time of his death."Would you agree with me there could have been a third party in Mr. Woolmer's room at the time of his death," Director of Public Prosecutions Kent Pantry asked Carey."Yes, there could have been," Carey replied.Coroner Patrick Murphy, who is presiding over the inquest, took careful notes during the testimony and told a jury of six women and five men the inquest would probably last until Nov. 9. He said it would be up to them to decide Woolmer's cause of death.

Ponting: Cricket is our Number One sport

No wonder cricketers love coming to Mumbai. Especially from abroad. They are gobbled up by corporates as their brand ambassadors. It was, not one, not two, but three such occasions in India's Commercial Capital on Monday evening.No sooner had the teams checked in at the team hotel than Australian captain Ricky Ponting was named brand ambassador of automotive products Valvoline Cummins Ltd. Both teams arrived late in the afternoon after their travel was delayed by a bird hit. The accident occurred 10 minutes after take-off from Nagpur. Five blades of one of the engines were damanged by the bird."I always love coming to Mumbai," Ponting said. "Whatever product I am associated with, either on and off the field, I am associated with the best," he said.There was only one cricket question asked at what was a business press conference. And it was related to the alleged racism remarks made by Andrew Symonds after the Vadodara ODI.

Asked why so much hue and cry was made on the Symonds issue, Ponting said: "I don't think Andrew Symonds has made a big deal of the racism remarks. It were the Indian journalists who made me aware of what happened. Andrew has dealt with it in the most sensible way. He did not run into anybody and tell what happened."Ponting also disagreed that cricket was not the number one sport in Australia. "Cricket is Australia's favourite and number one sport. It is certainly a big business in Australia, and with our success in the last 10 years, the game is spreading not just in Australia but all over the world."

Australian cricket team's plane returns to Nagpur

THE Australian cricket team was involved in a minor emergency yesterday when its plane was forced to return to Nagpur Airport after hitting several birds, believed to be eagles.The birds were sucked into both engines just after the 8.55am take-off.Ricky Ponting's men knew they were in a spot of bother after the plane's captain announced there was "some bad news"."We have hit a number of birds and this may have damaged an engine. We will need to return to Nagpur for maintenance," the pilot said.The Jet-Airways plane was carrying a full load en route to Mumbai, including both the Indian and Australian squads and touring media.Passengers were served breakfast as the plane sat on the tarmac for 30 minutes as attempts were made to repair the engine.The Australians eventually took to the skies at 1.30pm local time.It was another twist in an eventful tour for the Australians, with Andrew Symonds racially abused by spectators and players embroiled in sledging controversies.

Andrew Symonds drew inspiration from race controvers

Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds said the controversy over his racial abuse led him to an unbeaten century in the sixth one-dayer against India here.Symonds smashed 107 off just 88 balls to shape up Australia's series-clinching 18-run win and banish unpleasant memories of the previous game at Vadodara, where he is alleged to have been subjected to monkey chants."I drew on that for my innings today. It helped me get going," Symonds told reporters after the match.The 32-year-old hard-hitting batsman, the national team's only black player, also said he was disappointed by the reluctance of the authorities concerned to deal with the matter."I didn't mind when it happened. What disappointed me was that someone and somebody denied it happened. It's not in my hands, but for the powers to be, to deal with the matter," he said.The International Cricket Council has demanded an explanation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the incident, but a board official denied receiving any communication"We have noted media reports of racist chanting during the India-Australia ODI in Vadodara on Thursday and also of racist abuse directed at South Africa players and team officials in Lahore," ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement Sunday.

"In the light of those reports we have written to both the BCCI and the PCB (on Saturday) asking for their comments on the incidents," he said.However BCCI's secretary Niranjan Shah said they had not received any ICC letter and that it would be tough for anyone to prove that such an incident happened.Symonds meanwhile also used his newspaper column to attack some members of the Indian cricket team.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."It's been irritating because it's been in our face. We see them on television every day."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."(Shanthakumaran) 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."The teams now travel to Mumbai for the last game of the seven-match series which Australia have clinched 4-1.