PCB chief defends punishment of top players

Akmal|Muhammad Yousuf

Day in Pics: March 10

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt defended the punishments imposed on seven top players, saying strong action was needed to stamp out indiscipline in the national side.

"I am not apologetic; I think the board has taken the right decision and such strong action was urgently required to put Pakistan cricket back on the right track," Butt said on Thursday.

"This problem of indiscipline and groupings in the team has been festering for a while now and we thought this was the best time to take action."

On Wednesday, the PCB imposed various bans and fines on Muhammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal after considering the recommendations of a committee that looked at poor performances and infighting on the recent Australian tour.

"We are not worried about the consequences of our action. There is no shortage of talent in Pakistan and we want players to remember they have to give 100 percent to the country and follow the code of conduct," Butt said.

The board, after issuing two statements to clear up confusion about the bans on Wednesday, said it would not consider former captains Yousuf and Younis for national team selection for an unspecified period. It banned Malik and Rana for one year and fined them Rs 2-million each.

Afridi and Kamran were each fined Rs 3-million and put on six months' probation while Umar was fined Rs 2-million.

Pakistan lost every match of their three-Test, five One-day and Twenty20 series in Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar named UN Goodwill Ambassador

Day in Pics: March 11

UNITED NATIONS: India's cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar has been named a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Tendulkar, the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, will use his massive global popularity to raise awareness and harness support for environmental action in his home country of India and around the world, the UNEP announced on Friday.

"I have played and enjoyed my cricket across the planet. Now it's also time to do something for the planet, which is our only home," he said.

"Being part of the effort to save the planet is an immense undertaking but it is a challenge I am ready to undertake. Working with UNEP and cricket fans across the globe, I am in good company. Together we can do it."

The agency's Executive Director, Achim Steiner, voiced confidence that Tendulkar's "character, personal integrity, intellect and profile will catalyze widespread environmental action."

With 2010 being the UN's International Year of Biodiversity, the cricket legend will work with the agency to boost the global and grassroots response to the loss of animal and plant diversity worldwide.

Tendulkar is no stranger to the work of the UN, having lent his voice to a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) campaign in India on the importance of personal hygiene.

As one of his first duties as Goodwill Ambassador, he will lead a Green Pledge to save the planet when the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off its third season tomorrow night in Mumbai.

The vow to be made in front of the millions of fans expected to be watching live on television, YouTube or at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai reads "the Earth is our home and together we must conserve our precious wildlife, forests and oceans. I am proud to pledge that I will play my part in caring for our natural heritage."

Along with Tendulkar, team captains from the Deccan Chargers to the Kolkata Knight Riders will sign a giant globe made out of recycled materials.

Noting that as a rapidly developing economy, India's consumption and production patterns could define the planet's future, Steiner said: "We need to make the right choices in terms of how best to manage energy and natural resources."

"To borrow a cricketing metaphor, these choices will define whether the world is running or soon will be run out."

Australia beat Netherlands 2-1, to meet Germany in the final

Day in Pics: March 10

NEW DELHI: Australia defeated the Netherlands 2-1 on Thursday to qualify for a third successive final against defending champions Germany in the Hockey World Cup.

The Kookaburras recorded their 10th win in a row over the Dutch in major competitions to set up Saturday's title clash between the top two teams in the sport.

Luke Doerner and Glenn Turner scored once in each half, before Taeke Taekema converted a penalty stroke 12 minutes from the end to narrow the margin.

Doerner and Taekema, the two leading penalty corner specialists, head the goal-scorers list in the tournament with seven goals apiece.

Germany won the last two World Cup finals against Australia in 2002 and 2006, before adding the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The Germans, hoping to become the first team in history to bag a hat-trick of titles, outclassed England 4-1 in the other semi-final to avenge their defeat in the European Cup final last year.

Germany took a 2-0 lead by the 11th minute as Jan-Marco Montag converted a penalty corner and Oliver Korn deflected in a pass from the right.

England, playing their first World Cup semi-final since 1986, made it 1-2 in the 19th minute with their lone penalty corner of the match when Richard Smith scooped the ball into the net.

Martin Haner and Linus Butt scored on either side of the break to seal the emphatic win for the champions.

The Germans, with just three players who helped win the last World Cup at home in Moenchengladbach in 2006, remain the only unbeaten team in the current tournament with four wins and two draws.

"It was a tough match, the scoreboard does not reflect what happened on the field," said German coach Markus Weise.

"We were clinical, but then a coach is not always pleased. If we had not scored two early goals and England had scored one, it would have been a different game."

England coach Jason Lee said his team's lack of experience told in the end.

"Germany has played in 11 World Cup semi-finals and this was only our second," he said. "We lagged in experience, but we will learn from our defeat.

"Going 2-0 down softly was the turning point. The semi-final did not do justice to the way we played in this tournament."

Australian coach Ric Charlesworth, who played in his team's lone World Cup-winning team in 1986, hoped it will be "third time lucky" against the Germans.

"Semi-finals are always difficult and this too was a difficult game," he said.

"We learnt from our earlier mistakes and stepped up our game. Now I hope we play a further step up in the final.

"Germany are very consistent in their game and have high quality players around the field. They don't have any weaknesses, but we have to find some in the final.

"Who knows, it could be third time lucky for us."

Earlier, four-time champions Pakistan slumped to an embarrassing 3-2 defeat by Canada on Thursday to finish last for the first time in the sport's premier event.

Scott Tupper scored a golden goal two minutes before the end of extra-time in the play-off for the 11-12 positions to hand Canada their first win in the tournament.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) reacted to the defeat by sacking the team management, including manager Asif Bajwa and coach Shahid Ali Khan, and the selection committee.

In a separate statement, the PHF's media manager Shahzad Malik said the entire 18-man squad had offered to "retire from international hockey".

Pakistan hockey team 'retires' after World Cup debacle

Day in Pics: March 11

NEW DELHI: Pakistan sport, still reeling under the unprecedented action against its top cricketers, was hit by another bombshell on Thursday. The Pakistan hockey team retired en masse following their last-place finish in the ongoing World Cup on Thursday. The announcement came soon after Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) had reacted to the side’s pathetic performance by sacking the entire team management and the selection panel.

Pakistan were desperate to win their match against Canada to avoid the wooden spoon, but they failed to deliver. By the time the game ended in a 3-2 loss through a golden goal, the pain of finishing last was writ large on the players’ faces. That the 18-member team was expecting some sanctions for its shoddy show was clear, but PHF’s quick and stiff action took everyone by surprise.

The players held a meeting after returning to the hotel and decided to retire. Some of these players are teenagers or in their early twenties.

‘‘We apologize to the nation. We have let everybody down. We don’t feel like continuing any more in the national team,’’ a player said after the loss. This was the four-time champions’ most abysmal performance in a World Cup - the previous worst was an 11th place finish in 1986, where India had finished last.

There was speculation that the players might have taken the extreme step to save themselves from a public backlash on returning home. There is also talk that the players wanted to show solidarity with the coaching staff.

Captain Zeeshan Ashraf said the team decided to retire as they could not meet expectations. ‘‘We will support PHF in the future in any aspect of the game and will also be available if Pakistan needs any player any time,’’ Ashraf said in a statement.

Team coach Shahid Ali Khan was a distraught man. ‘‘This is the right thing to do. We don’t deserve to continue in this position after what happened in this World Cup. The players have also sent their retirement letters to PHF,’’ he told TOI.

Pakistan’s misery was compounded by an inspired Canada who came from behind twice to restore parity (2-2) in regulation time. Rehan Butt and Akhtar Ali twice gave Pakistan the lead but Canada fought back with strikes from Connor Grime and Mark Pearson before winning the tie with a Scott Tupper golden goal in the extra-time.

Soon after the match, the coach apologized to the fans back home and said that he was ready to step down. ‘‘In the end, the loss to India proved decisive,’’ Khan said. ‘‘We could never come back on track after that loss. We tried hard but somehow lost the plot as the tournament progressed. The loss to South Africa ensured that we could only finish in the bottom half of the tournament. It’s our worst performance ever. We are shattered,’’ he said.

KKR up against defending champions Deccan Chargers

MUMBAI: It’s not just a winning start that Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking at when they face defending champions Deccan Chargers in the opening match of the third Indian Premier League (IPL) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday.

To begin their campaign with a positive mindset, shred every bit of negativity that had seeped in such abundance last season, to gel as a team and enjoy their cricket will play equally on their minds.

In 2009, the South African sojourn turned out to be a disappointing outing for the team. With John Buchanan as coach, who eventually lost his job after facing a lot of criticism, and Brendon McCullum as captain, the Knights never remained in fray for any top slots throughout the tournament. This year, with Sourav Ganguly in charge of the affairs, a fresher outlook is what the team - with Dav Whatmore as the new coach - will be seeking.

"I don’t believe in team meetings and discussions as much as I believe in going out there and executing things. 90% of what we do, has to be the execution and 10% what we meet and discuss," Ganguly said on the eve of the match after a strenuous net session.

The fact that KKR will be taking on Deccan, the 2009 champions, makes the job relatively tougher. Adam Gilchrist, the DC skipper, is confident of continuing from where his team had left last year. "There are many young Indians this time who want to play aggressive and smart cricket. That is something almost all of them seem to have imbibed," he says.

Both teams are running short on the foreign quotient. For Deccan, only four foreigners - Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs, Chaminda Vaas and Gilchrist - have arrived while KKR have only six - Brad Hodge, Owais Shah, Ajantha Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Mashrafe Mortaza and Charl Langeveldt - to choose from.

Teams

Deccan Chargers: A Gilchrist (captain/wk), A Reddy, A Singh, A Bilakhia, H Gibbs, H Singh, VVS Laxman, M Mishra, P Ojha, D Ravi Teja, R Sharma, RP Singh, T Suman, B Sumanth, A Symonds, C Vaas, V Rao and A Yadav

Kolkata Knight Riders: S Ganguly (captain), V Aaron, A Agarkar, A Dinda, E Ahmad, R Gavaskar, B Hodge, I Abdulla, M Kartik, H Khadiwale, A Mathews, C Langeveldt, A Mendis, C Pathak, C Pujara, W Saha (wk), O Shah, I Sharma, LR Shukla, M Tiwary and G Vignesh