Symonds warns Indians of backlash

MELBOURNE: Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has added fuel to his simmering duel with Indians by describing the ongoing tour as “hostile” and warning the team of a backlash when it tours Down Under this year.

Symonds, who is engaged in a war of words with the hosts since the seven-match series began, said he knew India was “never an easy place to tour, but I am surprised how hostile it has been”.

The all rounder, on his fifth tour of India, said the ‘World Twenty20 champions’ still had a lot to prove and were set for a searing summer in Australia.

“They’re saying they’ve built up this new Indian team, but we’ll see how much they’ve changed at the end of our summer,” he was quoted as saying by the ‘Sunday Telegraph’.

“We have had the edge on them here and we will get them again in Australia this summer. They’ve beaten us in a Twenty20 game and one one-dayer in four years. You can’t gauge much on that, but we’ll see how this so-called new Indian team goes on our soil,” he said.

On the crowd making ‘monkey chants’ at him during the fifth one-dayer in Vadodara, he said “I don’t know what is going to transpire from what happened to me the other day.

“I am a pretty liberal sort of bloke. But racism is a big issue in world sport, not just cricket. It is a sensitive issue and guys have been made an example of in the past, but what do you do in this instance if it’s coming from the crowd?

“I’m not allowed to comment on exactly what went on, but I’m not the most deadly serious bloke. Life goes on.”

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Let a private cricket league bloom

Cricket has become the second most popular sport in the world and is the dominant sport in South Asian countries. Cricket’s popularity is an opportunity for India to grow the nation’s service sector.

As an economy develops economically, the share of the sports, entertainment, and leisure industry soars. Sports leagues are multi-billion dollar franchises that generate not only income directly from sports, but also generate tourism, auxiliary businesses, jobs and revenue. In the United States the overall revenues for the National Football League (NFL), MLB (Major League Baseball) and National Baseball Association (NBA) are tens of billions of dollars. Experience across the globe suggest a strong latent demand for sports entertainment in India. What better way to realise this demand than to facilitate private cricket leagues?

The world’s most affluent cricket board, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has for long enjoyed a monopoly on all cricket-related actions in India. Founded in 1929, the BCCI has complete control over the selection of players, umpires and officials who represent India in international cricket events. After the tremendous success of the Twenty20 world cup, it might seem BCCI need not do anything more. Such complacency would be unfortunate. The potential to provide entertainment is boundless and held back only by the limited imagination.

The potential, however, won’t be unlocked unless privately owned, vigorously competitive teams organise themselves into a cricket league playing a large number of games in various cities in the Indian subcontinent. Whether such a league is a reincarnation and transformation of BCCI or a newly-formed league, e.g., the Indian Cricket League (ICL) is moot. What’s important is that competitive league cricket becomes a reality in India and that competition to develop a successful cricket league is facilitated, not subverted by the BCCI or the government.

Cricket is India’s national obsession. Schoolboys play it in midsummer heat. Offices ‘unofficially’ allow early going and late-coming if there is an important match on. That is for the national team. But ask the average Indian who won the last local first division league in his city, or to name the state Ranji squad, chances are you’ll come up blank.

Why should this be so? A Manchester United soccer team’s supporter would be able to name players of his club and national side. An LA Lakers basketball fan, or NY Yankees baseball fan, would not be caught out. Indeed, where sports have been promoted well, and marketed successfully, the fans have their thrills, the players their earnings, and clubs their profits. In India, however, the only winners seem to be the BCCI, and some player’s agents!

In part, this is British colonial legacy, when cricket was a ‘gentleman’s game’ to be unsullied by professionals, and untarnished by modern management methods. In Kolkata, the erstwhile capital of the British Raj, the sprawling Maidan is dotted with small, often worn down, tents and structure of clubs, with quaint names like Wari, Greer, George Telegraph, Aryans — nearly each has a first division side in cricket and football. Each is affiliated and has voting rights to select the state body, which administers the game in the state, and votes in turn for the national body, i.e., BCCI or AIFA, or IHF.

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BCCI didn’t receive letter from ICC: Shetty

The BCCI on Sunday said it had not yet received any letter from the International Cricket Council demanding an explanation on the alleged racist chants against Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds in Vadodara.

“We have not yet received any letter from the ICC,” said BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty from Mumbai.

When told that ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed had posted a letter on their official website which said the game’s world governing body had written to the BCCI asking for their comments on the issue in the light of media reports, Shetty said “they may have said anything but we have not received any letter from them yet.”

Symonds had complained of ‘monkey chants’ from a section of the Vadodara crowd when he was fielding on the boundary but Cricket Australia had refused to lodge an official complaint and left the matter for the BCCI to handle.

Shetty, however, hit out at Symonds for his remarks in the Australian media on the awards given to Indian cricketers after their Twenty20 World Cup win.

“He does not need to make comment on what we do,” he said referring to Symonds remarks that the Indian cricketers were treated like princes.

“Our blokes thought it 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.

“The Indian government gave them a heap of money. Yuvraj Singh got a Porsche. Blokes are getting houses and blocks of land,” Symonds told the ‘Sunday Telegraph’.

Twenty20 is bad for youngsters, says Gaekwad

Former India cricket coach and opening batsman Anshuman Gaekwad took a dig at the newest form of the game saying that Twenty20 was bad for youngsters.

“Twenty20 is not meant for youngsters. For youngsters it is very important to have their basics right. In Twenty20 cricket you don’t need to have your basics right because you don’t need to play cricketing shots to score runs,” Gaekwad said on Friday.

“It is a game for the mass and not the class. For youngsters my advice will be to focus on Test cricket. Players who are doing well in Twenty20 are those who have proved themselves in Test and One-day cricket,” the former Indian coach said.

“The real test of talent lies in Test cricket. ODIs are also an improvisation of Test cricket. In ODIs you have to play pure cricketing shots if you have to succeed,” said Gaekwad, who is the son of former Test captain Dattajirao Kishnarao.

Gaekwad, who has the slowest double century record to his name, also criticised the new initiatives taken by different bodies to promote cricket at the grassroots level by organising Twenty20 tournaments.

“It is a wrong way to promote cricket at the grassroots level. This will have a negative effect on the game,” he said.

The former India coach seemed to have been impressed by newly appointed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led the nation to victory in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship.

“Dhoni has all the ingredients of a good captain. The only thing he lacks is experience. I think he should be given more time to mature,” he said.

Gaekwad rubbished claims that the Indian team was suffering from a hangover from the Twenty20 win, which has resulted in three losses in the ongoing seven-match series.

“I would have agreed to it, but after seeing India winning in Chandigarh, I am not ready to buy that theory. The only problem is that we are playing badly against a tough opposition like Australia,” he said.

On the role of three seniors, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the former India coach said: “They have proved their critics wrong. They have been the most consistent performers in the team. Let the youngsters prove themselves and then challenge the three seniors.”

Australia Beats India by 18 Runs to Clinch 1-Day Cricket Series

Australia beat India by 18 runs in the sixth one-day cricket international in Nagpur to seal the seven-match series 4-1.Andrew Symonds hit an unbeaten 107 runs in 88 balls, with nine fours and four sixes, as his team totaled 317-8 in its allotted 50 overs.

In reply, Sourav Ganguly got 86, Sachin Tendulkar 72 and Robin Uthappa 44 as India could only total 299-7. Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg took 4-49.

The opening match in the series was abandoned because of rain.

Australia Beats India by 18 Runs to Clinch 1-Day Cricket Series

Australia beat India by 18 runs in the sixth one-day cricket international in Nagpur to seal the seven-match series 4-1.Andrew Symonds hit an unbeaten 107 runs in 88 balls, with nine fours and four sixes, as his team totaled 317-8 in its allotted 50 overs.

In reply, Sourav Ganguly got 86, Sachin Tendulkar 72 and Robin Uthappa 44 as India could only total 299-7. Left-arm spinner Brad Hogg took 4-49.

The opening match in the series was abandoned because of rain.

Gibson appointed England fast bowling coach

LONDON (Reuters) – Ottis Gibson has been named as England’s new fast bowling coach, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Sunday.

The appointment of the 38-year-old West Indian follows England’s 3-2 win over hosts Sri Lanka in the five-match one day international series which has just ended. Gibson was Durham’s leading wicket-taker this season with 80 wickets and is the current PCA player of the year.

In a statement on the board’s Web site , Gibson said: “I am delighted to be a part of the England team in a full-time capacity as bowling coach. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the team over the past few weeks in what has been a successful ODI tour of Sri Lanka.

“I’ve been involved with the ECB fast bowling programme for a number of years now and as a level four qualified coach who’s worked with both the senior England bowlers and several younger England bowlers, I feel I’m well equipped to take up the position as fast bowling coach.”

He added that the future looked bright for England’s bowlers. Peter Moores, the England team’s head coach told BBC Five Live on Sunday: “We know we are getting a great bowling coach and it has come at the perfect time.

“He had a great season with Durham and the time has come for him to hang up his boots and move into coaching. He can influence the bowlers and talk about some of the things he feels are important to be successful.”

Gibson’s decision will disappoint Durham, however, who hoped he would play for them again next season after they finished second in the county championship table.

Former South African fast bowler Allan Donald had worked with England from May until September, but rejected the opportunity to take on a full-time role.

State cricket boards will be given recognition: BCCI

Cricket boards of the North-Eastern states would be given recognition once they attain a certain standard, BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, said Friday.

“The state cricket boards of the region have applied for affiliation. Many of them, including Meghalaya, are strong cases,” Pawar told reporters here.

He said the boards would be given support all kinds of support like financial, infrastructural, technical and coaching.

“When they come up to a certain level, say by two or three years, the boards will be recognised by the BCCI.

“The BCCI has amended its constitution, and now it seeks to associate all the states, giving all possible assistance. We will definitely make these boards regular members of the BCCI,” he said.

The BCCI chief also underlined the need to develop cricketing infrastructure in the region to tap talent and provide a congenial atmosphere for their development.

Pawar, however, refused to comment on the recent drubbing of India by the Aussies.

Warning to India: antagonise Australia at your peril

IF EVER there was a case of a sporting team barking up the wrong tree it’s been the Indian cricketers in their current one-day series against Australia.

In the process they’ve not only made things difficult for themselves in the short term, but have set themselves up for some grief when they tour Australia in the summer.

For once the Australians can’t have the finger pointed at them about on-field shenanigans. Certainly they wouldn’t have been too impressed by the Indians knocking them out of the Twenty20 World Cup, but this situation seems to be entirely down to the undisciplined aggression of two Indian players in particular, pace bowler Shantha Sreesanth and spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Their antics will have played their part in the cat-calling of Andrew Symonds by sections of the crowd last week. It’s not a good idea to stir up fellows like Symonds and Matthew Hayden — they are imposing figures and they can play a bit, as Symonds showed again yesterday — and if they happen to be in something of a lull, as many of the Australians appeared to be when they arrived for the Twenty20, they are best left alone.

Sreesanth has been troublesome for months and needs to be hauled in for everyone’s sake. He is an overly hyped youngster with a lot to learn — he can bowl some good spells, but his temperament gets the better of him.

When he toured England in July and August he was a constant worry for his skipper Rahul Dravid. Inevitably he would lose his rag and bowl rubbish while his teammates at the other end used the conditions well and achieved a rare away-from-home Test series victory.

Singh is a different case altogether. Still only 27, he has been a terrific bowler for some time now and has over 400 international wickets to prove it — about 300 more than Sreesanth.

He’s always been a feisty competitor, but lost his place on that England tour and was no doubt less than pleased about it. The Twenty20 series thrust him back into the picture and got his competitive juices flowing again.

Buoyed by India’s win, he probably thought the only way to take these Aussies on was confronting them, but he’s struggled for support and has run into a ravenous opponent.

As a result he’s appeared to be an angry and frustrated cricketer. His frustration reached its peak when he lingered for what seemed an eternity after being given out stumped in the second match.

He was in a no-win situation with the Australians huddled in a pack, and it was no surprise to learn later that he’d been the subject of some rather pointed advice about his departure. It was a messy situation for umpire Steve Bucknor to sort out, and not good for the game.

Of course, the Australians have been no shrinking violets in all this.

Ricky Ponting must have been busting to get out there when he was sidelined with injury, and hasn’t stopped stirring the pot since he’s been back. When he’s making comments about the lowly batting position of the opposition captain, you know he’s up for a fight.

The Australians will always get up people’s noses with the aggressive way they play.

But in this instance Symonds and co have had the last laugh and given the Indians an inkling of their challenging summer to come.

Symonds lashes Indian team

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds used his newspaper column to attack members of the current Indian cricket team, saying he was surprised at how hostile Australia’s tour of India had been.

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 on Sunday.

“It’s been irritating because it’s been in our face. We see them on television every day.”

Symonds, who has been at the centre of claims of racial abuse by fans at the one-day international at Vadodada on Thursday, said he wasn’t allowed to talk about what happened, but said racism was a problem in world sport that needed solving.

“It’s a sensitive issue and guys have been made examples of in the past, but what do you do in this instance if it’s coming from the crowd?” he asked.

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.

“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.”

Symonds saved most of his venom for abrasive fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, with whom he clashed after he was dismissed during India’s win over Australia in Chandigarh.

“I was surprised Sreesanth said something to me,” he said.

“I was wild. I was really angry when I got out and then for him to run past and say things I didn’t think were right, I thought ‘right I’ve had enough of this bloke’.”

The sixth one-day match in the series takes place in Nagpur on Sunday.