Cricket News
India desperately seeking Dhoni
Not too long ago, whenever the man with the long hair and typical swagger strode on to the middle, bowlers shuddered. Captains strategised. As many men as possible were posted on the boundary. Crowds braced for a catch in the stands. After all, MS Dhoni could explode any moment. As captaincy got him married to responsibility though, Dhoni tempered his game. The big sixes disappeared, so did the thick mane of hair. And like Samson, who lost his strength after his hair was shorn off, India’spied piper too seemed to lose not so much his ability, but his desire to strike the ball out of the ground. Where is the Dhoni we knew and admired? Since becoming captain, the blaster has become more of a finisher. Often, he guides the team in the middle overs, rotating the strike and letting others play the big shots. This change of role didn't hurt his consistency, though, nor did it hurt India's results. They still kept winning over 60 per cent of their matches in One-dayers. His average improved from 44.67 to 56.02. His strike rate dipped from 97.77 to 85.17. The captain swapped flamboyance for efficiency. While the approach has worked extremely well in One-dayers, where the batsmen have time to set themselves, it has debatable whether Dhoni's conservative approach has helped the side in Twenty20s. In the IPL too, Dhoni chose to bat lower down the order. Has he forgotten that he himself, not very long ago, was a massive striker of the cricket ball? In T20, India need to rediscover the MS Dhoni of Vizag and Jaipur in 2005, of Lahore and Karachi in 2006 and of Nagpur in 2007. Why has the metamorphosis come about? Ask the skipper himself and he says, "Cricket is not only about hitting sixes. There are quite a few players in the team who have to fill in different roles in T20 or the One-day format. Gautam Gambhir is doing the job at the top of the order and I am supposed to do it in the late middle-order. I would like to get back to hitting sixes, but I don't think my cricket stops at hitting sixes. There's plenty more to come," he promises.
Katich determined to make amends
Simon Katich admits he is desperate to erase the bitter memories of his last Ashes tour as the Australia batsman bids to make the most of an unexpected return to England. The 33-year-old suffered a miserable time during Australia's 2-1 Ashes defeat against England four years ago. Then a middle-order batsman, Katich scored only two half-centuries and averaged 27.56 in the series before losing his place in Australia's line-up just two Tests. He would never have expected a second crack at an Ashes trip after that painful experience, but proved to be the catalyst for Katich to reinvent himself as a highly-successful Test opener. The left-hander took advantage of the opening created by Matthew Hayden's retirement to enjoy an impressive run of form which has established him as a major threat to England's Ashes hopes. With Australia's full Test squad training together for the first time on Thursday at Kent's Beckenham ground as they build up to their 12-a-side match with Sussex starting at Hove on June 24, Katich can't wait for the first Test to begin in Cardiff on July 8. "Obviously last time (2005) was a disappointment, but at the same time it is a bonus to be back," Katich said. "If I had been asked three or four years ago I probably wouldn't have thought I would make it back on another tour - it's nice to have fought back and be here and I just want to enjoy it." In the last 15 successive Tests - including home and away series against South Africa - Katich has averaged 54.19 having scored five centuries and passed 50 a further seven times. "The role is totally different to last time and I've enjoyed the challenge in the last 12 months of batting at the top of the order because that's where I've played a lot of my first-class cricket," he said. "I know it's going to be tough wherever you bat, but I do feel comfortable opening the batting.
Football News
Mourinho Or Hiddink Can't Help Indian Football – Houghton
The Englishman felt that the lack of vision amongst those running the show in the country has been a problem to contend with. "After three years of being here, I don't think the game has moved forward very quickly. We don't see the whole picture, not just the AIFF (All India Football Federation) but the general footballing body, about the standard we need to achieve,” said Houghton. Indian football has a rich history having won the Asian Games and putting on a good show in the Olympics as well. Over the years, India has slumped in the FIFA rankings and that hasn’t helped the game in the country one bit. Houghton believes that India must do away with “nonsensical” tournaments and have a more professional approach. “Professionals playing Santosh Trophy against a bunch of amateurs at the end of the season don’t make any sense. Do you believe Steven Gerrard will play for some hotchpotch trophy at the end of the season? “If you are playing these tournaments then do not ask why the National team does not qualify for major tournaments and why we are 147 in the world,” added Houghton. Earlier this year, Sports Minister M.S.Gill had criticized the Indian national team stating that an Australian school team could beat the current set of players. “I remember the Sports Minister saying this Indian team would lose even to an Australian school team. I don’t know what prompted him to say that but I feel, instead of being cynical he should’ve asked himself why the facilities aren’t there.” Indian team is set to travel to Dubai for a training camp and thereby, shall play a few friendlies at Camp Nou. The former Fulham midfielder believes that the lack of proper infrastructure is the primary motive behind him taking his boys abroad for training.
Kim Jong-il vs Obama? That's political football
Sepp Blatter, Fifa's president, loves to imagine that his organisation can resolve global crises through football. So it can be assumed he is already dreaming of the moment when, in the VIP box at one of next year's World Cup venues, he can turn to Barack Obama and say: "Mr President, I'd like to introduce Kim Jong-il, Dear Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, I don't believe you two have met, but I'm sure you've lots to talk about." It could happen following North Korea's qualification for World Cup 2010, their first finals appearance since 1966. With the United States team on the brink of securing their own qualification, the prospect looms of the most politically charged finals tie since the US met Iran at France '98. The way Fifa seeds teams means North Korea cannot be drawn against South Korea, who have also qualified for South Africa, but could well be paired with the US.Iran's failure to defeat South Korea on Wednesday helped North Korea to qualify. Six members of the Iran team wore green wristbands, seemingly in support of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated candidate in the Iranian presidential election. The players were asked to remove the armbands at half-time but three would only cover them with white tape. Mansour Pourheidari, Iran's coach, said: "This was not a political move but rather players were using an Islamic symbol. Because players felt the move may be mistaken for a political act, we asked them to take off the bands." It was certainly interpreted as a political act. Within hours, photos of the players were being waved by opposition demonstrators.It would inevitably have been feared, by many in the North, that South Korea would throw the match as they had already qualified, but Manchester United's Park Ji-sung destroyed such conspiracy theories when he levelled nine minutes from time. WhenNorth Korea held Saudi Arabia, they became the fifth team to qualify for 2010 following Japan, Australia, South Korea and the Netherlands. Quite how many fans will be allowed to travel from the secretive state, or how the team's authorities will deal with Fifa's media requirements, remains to be seen. The majority of the squad play in North Korea but a few play in Japan, Russia, South Korea and Switzerland. These are usually Japanese-born Koreans, known as Zainichi.
Tennis News
Buoyant Federer ready to reclaim Wimbledon crown
Will Roger Federer reclaim his Wimbledon throne? Will Rafael Nadal's knees permit him to defend his title? Can Andy Murray finally put the worn-out Fred Perry statistic to bed?Those are the three burning questions as the All England Club's famous lawns get their final trim before the start of the year's third grand slam on Monday.A sun-kissed first week is in store, according to the weather forecasters, but the British climate can be unpredictable, just as the men's game has been in recent weeks.Who would have thought Federer -- who was ashen-faced 12 months ago when his pursuit of a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title was ended by Nadal in a stupendous final and hysterical after another defeat by the Spaniard in Melbourne -- would breeze into London as the French Open champion?The cards fell favourably for the Swiss master in Paris when first Novak Djokovic, then Nadal and then Murray, were all knocked out allowing him the relatively straightforward task of beating Swede Robin Soderling to equal Pete Sampras's record haul of 14 grand slam titles.After finally claiming the French crown and completing his career grand slam, Federer remarked that he could now play without pressure -- safe in the knowledge that few would deny he is the greatest player ever to swing a racket. "Now, going into the grasscourt season, and Wimbledon, and being on top of the world, it's a fantastic feeling," said newly-married and soon to be father Federer.It was all a bit different last year when Nadal, having humiliated Federer in the final at Roland Garros, promptly won the Queen's Club grasscourt title and then pole-axed the Swiss in the place he calls his own backyard.A month later Nadal took Federer's world number one ranking and although the Swiss hit back to win the U.S. Open it seemed that a seismic shift had occurred in the sport.
Why Tennis Hates to Admit Women’s Game Is All About Williams
Venus and Serena Williams are headed back to their favorite patch of London lawn, and none too soon for women’s tennis. Overshadowed by the rivalry of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer atop the men’s game, and trying to overcome the lack of a dominant player in its own draws, the portion of the sport that produced past stars such as Chris Evert and Steffi Graf again turns to the American sisters for relief at Wimbledon. The Williamses have been belittled by the former top-ranked Evert, who wrote an open letter in 2006 to Serena in Tennis Magazine, and other players including nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, for spending too much time on acting and interior design, and for following losses with behavior more associated with opera divas. “I just think they could be better,” Navratilova said in a 2007 interview. “Serena is designing dresses, and I feel she wants to be an actress more than a tennis player.” Some of those critics also say the sport can’t do without them. “Women’s tennis right now is in a state of flux,” Marry Carillo a tennis commentator for ESPN and a former French Open mixed doubles champion, said in an interview. “Any sport, especially tennis, needs a great sustaining rivalry. Women’s tennis doesn’t have that.”
