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Police in the riot-torn state of Gujarat are stepping up security for three upcoming one-day internationals between India and West Indies amid fears that Hindu-Muslim hostilities could erupt at the cricket venues.Cricketing authorities said they would also screen unruly fans from entering stadiums in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Rajkot, where the three international matches will be held – beginning Tuesday in Rajkot.”Since the state has witnessed communal riots and a terrorist attack at the Akshardham Temple, we are taking all measures to ensure the safety of spectators,” Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) president Nihar Amin said.”The hotels where the players will stay and the buses in which they will travel will be checked. And before the players come on the ground, it will checked thoroughly by explosives experts,” said GCA executive member Hitesh Patel.”As there is a security threat, spectators will not be allowed to carry food boxes, water bottles, firecrackers, radios, mobile telephones or any object which can be used to cause trouble or a stampede,” he said.At least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the religious bloodbath that erupted in February after a Muslim mob attacked a train carrying Hindu activists and burned to death 58 of them in the Gujarat town of Godhra.Sporadic rioting has continued in Gujarat, where the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party has been widely blamed for not stemming the riots.In September, communal tensions resurfaced when two Islamic guerrillas attacked Gujarat’s revered temple of Akshardham and killed 28 Hindu devotees before being gunned down by commandos.Officials said extra precautions would be taken in Ahmedabad – the hub of the sectarian violence – where the fourth tie of the seven-match one-day series will be played on Friday.They said some 1,500 armed policemen will be deployed at the city’s 55,000 seat capacity Modera Stadium.

Kapil Dev has once again expressed the view that India can win the World Cup. And emphasizing on the “team work” that the Indians have produced of late, Ravi Shastri is the latest to jump on this upbeat bandwagon. And of course all over the country, and one suspects abroad too, cricket followers are chanting the mantra that India will win the World Cup.

I wish I could share this optimistic mood when it comes to analyzing India’s chances at the World Cup. But I am afraid I remain pessimistic. With just over two months left for the mega-event to commence there are three very important factors that are governing my rapidly increasing negative mood ­ the past, the present and the future.Let’s quickly examine the past record of India in the World Cup. In 1975 and 1979, India were novices in the field and predictably enough were eliminated at the preliminary stage. If a Test nation suffers its most inglorious moment when it loses to an associate member, then, India suffered that humiliation when they went down to Sri Lanka in 1979.The unexpected triumph in 1983 still constitutes the greatest moment in Indian cricket. Outsiders at 66 to one, Kapil’s Devil’s, as they were imaginatively labeled, surprised the cricketing world. The one cautionary note that triumph served was that from then on great things would be expected every time from an Indian team in the World Cup.What’s that adage again about it being hard to reach the top but it being harder to stay there? Realistically speaking, the Reliance Cup in 1987 represented India’s best chance to win the title again. The team had huge factors in their favour. They were the defending champions, the nucleus of the trophy-winning side was still intact and they were playing at home in familiarenvirons.The build up to the title defence was terrific and the crowd was behind them to a man. A semifinal spot was theirs for the asking for starters, and they did well too in the preliminary stage winning five straight games following a one-run loss to Australia in the tournament opener. And then, as everyone knows, the dream run and the dream itself was shattered by England in the penultimate round.In Australiasia in 1992, India never had a realistic chance, though, few expected them to finish as low as seventh among nine teams in the preliminary stage. However, hopes were renewed four years later when India were co-hosts again.This time too the Indians flattered only to deceive, being outplayed by ultimate champions Sri Lanka in the riot-torn semifinal at Calcutta. And despite all the hype surrounding their campaign for the 1999 tournament in England there was again never any realistic chance of India making much progress. They just about made it to the Super Six stage and that remained the extent of their challenge.So the net result is that in seven competitions, India have finished winners once and semifinalists twice. The past then does not inspire confidence. Much the same sentiments can be expressed when it comes to the present.A lot has been made of the NatWest Trophy triumph in England and the sharing of the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. Notable as these feats are, the fact remains that teams like Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa were not among the contestants in the NatWest Trophy while it must not be forgotten that the Champions Trophy was held in the sub-continent where India have always performed well.The conditions in South Africa are very different and to compound matters, India does not enjoy a very good record in that country. Yes, on present form, the team perhaps deserves a place in the Super Six, something confirmed by the latest team rankings but anything above that will have to be considered a bonus.And now to the future. India are in the much tougher Pool A. The other teams in the group are defending champions Australia, England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Holland and Namibia.The challenge of Holland and Namibia can be discounted. Associate members at the most have pulled off the upset victory in the World Cup ­ besides Sri Lanka defeating India in 1979, we have had Zimbabwe beating Australia in 1983, Zimbabwe upsetting England in 1992, Kenya shocking the West Indies in 1996 and Bangladesh surprising Pakistan in 1999 ­ but have not progressed beyond the preliminary stage. That still leaves four tough matches against Australia, England, Pakistan and Zimbabwe and India will have to win at least two of these to be in the running for a place in the Super Six.That’s easier said than done. Incidentally, the other group comprises South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Canada and Kenya. So there you have it. On past record, present form and a cursory glance at the future (the draw for the World Cup) it is not going to be an easy passage for India. As I said, anything beyond the Super Six must be considered a bonus. But then in 1983 even qualifying for the semifinal was thought to be out of the question. So, then, what was that adage again about man living on hope?

The England and Yorkshire pace bowler Darren Gough has been advised to resthis injured right knee for a further two weeks after seeing a specialist inSheffield yesterday.The rest period is designed to allow time for the inflammation in Darren’sknee to subside and he will not be available for selection for the 2ndnpower Test at Trent Bridge.Darren underwent a scan yesterday that revealed no further damage to hisknee. He will see the specialist again in a fortnight’s time for a furtherre-assessment of the injury and it is hoped that he will be given theall-clear to resume training thereafter.

Steve Harmison’s spirits have lifted considerably after a vastly improved performance against Western Australia on day one of the Perth warm-up. His tour had got off to a wretched start in the opening game at Lilac Hill last week.”It wasn’t brilliant today, but it was a lot better than at Lilac Hill andthere’s been a little bit of an improvement since then,” he said. “I was possibly trying too hard during that first match, but it was a one-day game andI’ve never really played much one-day cricket.”My confidence was dented a touch and I struggled early on, but I started to get some rhythm today and it felt a lot better. I’m gradually getting my confidence to where I want it to be and I want to get better and better.”Hopefully I can get some more overs under my belt in the next couple of weeks and get my rhythm fully back from that.”

Ian Bell’s coach at Warwickshire was full of praise for the 20-year-old after he won the gold award for carrying the Bears to victory in the last-ever Benson and Hedges Cup final.Bell’s unbeaten 65 saw Warwickshire home by five wickets after Essex had under-perfomed with only 181 for eight. Bell shared in an 84-run third-wicket stand in only 12 overs with Jim Troughton, ensuring Warwickshire’s victory with almost 14 overs to spare.Coach Bob Woolmer said: “Ian has a terrific big-match temperament. Here, as in the quarter-final against Sussex in a tight situation, he came in and never looked like getting out. That is the sign of a very good player. He plays as if he is there for bed and breakfast.”Warwickshire’s winning captain Michael Powell praised both Bell and Troughton.”Bob picked his man of the match last night and he was right,” said Powell. “But I said then `the other one may not be too far away either’. To watch those two guys out there helping us win a final was a joy.””With the bat the best thing for us was me and Nick (Knight) getting out as early as possible and letting these two get in.”Bell himself said: “This was the biggest occasion of my career so far, and I would like to think I came through it quite nicely. It was a great experience, and I would like to do it again some time.”Essex captain Ronnie Irani admitted: “We were poor in all departments andwe let ourselves and our supporters down. Our one-day form speaks for itself this season. We have been outstanding – but we came down at the final hurdle when it mattered most today.”We have to go away and learn from it. We cannot go and sink our heads in thesand. Unfortunately our execution – obviously our batting, but our bowling aswell – was wrong today.”

It’s one of the more amazing feats in New Zealand’s cricket history, and by the beauty of modern technology it has been enshrined for all time.The feat is the scoring of triple centuries for New Zealand.It has been done only five times, and all five players were from Dunedin, four of them members of the Albion Cricket Club in Dunedin. The fifth was from the neighbouring Carisbrook Cricket Club.In honour of the fact Dunedin computer expert Richard Dingwall produced a computer generated photograph of all five participants.The odd man out, if he could be called that, was Carisbrook player Roger Blunt, the first of the triple century club.He scored his 338 not out for Otago against Canterbury at Lancaster Park on December 26-27 in 1931.Next was the recently deceased champion left-hander Bert Sutcliffe, who scored two triples centuries. The first of 355 was against Auckland at Carisbrook on December 31, 1949 and January 2, 1950. The second, the world record for a left-hander was 385 for Otago against Canterbury at Lancaster Park on December 26 and 27, 1952.Glenn Turner, New Zealand’s leading run scorer achieved his triple, as his 100th century for Worcestershire against Warwickshire at New Road, Worcester on May 29 1982. He finished on 311 not out.Ken Rutherford was playing for New Zealand against D B Close’s XI at Scarborough on the 1986 tour of England when he scored his 317 on September 1.And last year on September 9 and 10, Mark Richardson completed the quintet when scoring 306 for New Zealand against Zimbabwe A at Kwekwe.The five are pictured in front of the Albion Pavilion at Culling Park on April 28, 2001.They are: back, from left, Ken Rutherford and Roger Blunt; front, Mark Richardson, Bert Sutcliffe and Glenn Turner.

Army physical training instructors at Colchester Garrison will today put the Essex County Cricket Club squad through its paces on a training day designed especially for the squad.Head Coach, Former England and Essex Captain Graham Gooch said: “We obviously train continuously throughout the year and we need to make our activities as varied and interesting as possible. We wanted to do something different and exciting to stimulate the players. And they’re really looking forward to spending the day with the Army.”Sports and physical fitness play an important part in Army life and I wanted to see what we as professional sportsmen, can learn from them. The Army has put together a great programme, which gives us a taste of how they do things, but will also help the players in developing the particular skills unique to the cricket pitch.”The 18 squad members will take part in a typical Army physical training lesson, as well as a specially designed cricket-orientated team building session. They will also find out about how the Army helps soldiers who have injured themselves get back to full physical fitness.The cricketers will also try their hand at the Army assault course, competing against soldiers from the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment (3 PARA).Physical and adventurous training instructor Sergeant Major Martin Staines, who will be running the day, said:”We hope that the County Cricket Squad enjoy the day. We’ve had fun putting the programme together and I’m sure the lads will relish the challenge of having professional athletes to race against. It should be competitive and we’ll give it our best shot, as I’m sure the Essex County Cricket Squad will do too. It will be interesting to see what happens.”

B.A.T.Sports Cricket Club have installed a new club secretary since the beginning of the season.South coast newcomer Stephen Jones, who advertised his services as scorer and statistician on the Southern Premier League web-site during the winter after moving from Norwich, has taken over from Stephen Buss with immediate effect.He can be contacted at:
Stephen G. Jones,
18 Collett Close,
Hedge End,
Southampton,
Hampshire, SO30 2RR.Contacts: 01489 789581 (home),
07815 458949 (mobile),
e-mail: [email protected]

Tamim Iqbal has said that he has not yet been paid by Chittagong Kings for the first season of the Bangladesh Premier League. Tamim also said the franchise’s owner and chief executive, Sameer Quader Chowdhury, asked him to tell the BPL governing council that he had been paid, though the franchise denied that claim. The BPL confirmed Tamim was the only unpaid Kings’ player after the league’s first season.”I couldn’t play many of the BPL matches, so I told him [Chowdhury] let’s sit and decide a figure, which came to Taka 1 crore ($123,000), but I still haven’t received a single taka,” Tamim told the Bengali newspaper . “Samir Quader Chowdhury gave me a check worth Taka 1 crore six or seven months ago, but it bounced. Since then he has given me dates but has never kept the commitment.”According to the initial BPL ruling, which asked franchises to pay its icon players 10% more than its highest-paid player, Tamim was supposed to receive $210,000 (Tk 1.7 crore approximately) as Chittagong’s icon. Chowdhury, however, insisted the BPL governing council had changed the payment structure. The bounced cheque, he said, in fact had been stopped.”We gave him the cheque a long time ago but we had stopped it because we found out that the payment for the icon players had been reduced to $100,000, which amounts to approximately Tk 80 lakh, and after 10% tax deduction it ends up as Tk 72 lakh,” Chowdhury said. “We asked the board how much we should pay Tamim, but we haven’t heard back from them. We asked them to take the fact that he played only two matches into consideration too. Unless they tell us, we can’t pay him.”BCB director Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir, the secretary of the BPL governing council, said the league had asked the franchises to decide after discussion with individual players, on a case-by-case basis, as to what the icon salary should be pegged at.”All the other franchises have spoken to their icon players and I expect it to end amicably with Tamim and Chittagong as well,” Alamgir said. “He is the only unpaid player in their franchise and I expect it to be completed before the October 20 deadline, when the teams have to complete all payments.”Tamim also said he was asked to misinform the BPL about his payments. “Sameer [Quader Chowdhury] asked me to tell the board that I got my full payment, but I didn’t. I informed the BPL governing council of what he asked me to do, though I didn’t lodge a complaint. I didn’t want to ruin my relationship with Sameer but now, after so long, I have no other options [but to tell the media].”Chowdhury denied the claim, saying, “If that was true, why would I ask the board how much we should pay him?”This is the latest episode in the fractious relationship between Tamim and the Chittagong franchise. After missing four BPL games due to a groin injury, Tamim was reportedly kept sidelined after a bust-up with Dean Jones, the team’s technical director at the time. It escalated when he was left out of the team’s first home game, though his name was initially in the playing eleven and later cut out. Jones soon left for India and Tamim played the following match. Both parties denied any problems at the time.

Mumbai were held to a draw by Gujarat in the West Zone Under-14 match atthe Elf Vengsarkar ground in Mumbai on Wednesday. The hosts bagged fivepoints for the first innings lead while the visitors went home with threepoints in the kitty.On Monday, Gujarat skipper Rajdeep Darbar won the toss and decided toparade his side’s batting skills. They did well to score 308 all out in102.4 overs. Healthy contributions from the lower order helped Gujaratreach the 300 run mark. Wicketkeeper Kuldeep Gadhavi topscored with 61 off82 balls with 12 hits to the fence. Vinay Panchal returned unbeaten on 53off 90 balls with seven hits to the fence. The skipper chipped in with 49off 77 balls with 11 hits to the fence. Skipper Shoeb Shaikh bagged fivefor 63 with his medium pacers.In reply, the hosts rattled up 430 in 106 overs before being dismissed.Prashant Naik made a fluent century as the innings revolved around him. He was dismissed for 103 off 204 balls with 13 hits to the fence. Shoeb Shaikh chipped in with a breezy 78 off 81 balls with seven hits to the fence. The highlight of the innings was a 139-run partnership for the fifth wicket off 34 overs between Naik and Shaikh. The Mumbai innings had as many as four run outs.The visitors batted to their hearts content in their second essay. OpenerSunny Patel scored 109 off 124 balls with 17 boundaries. Mrunal Patel remained unbeaten on 71 off 156 balls with 12 hits to the fence. Gujarat ended the day on 225 for three off 67 overs, thus earning a honourable draw.