India’s Ganguly Hopeful of Team’s Fightback in 2nd ODI

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

LONDON, 3 September 2004 — A resurgent England, buoyed by their big seven-wicket win in the opening match of the NatWest Challenge, take on a beaten and bruised India in the second match of the cricket series at the Brit Oval here today. India, their much-touted batting in total disarray, yet again face the must-win situation if they have to keep alive their chances in the three-match series. The Indians had a long stint at the nets yesterday under the watchful eye of coach John Wright. Skipper Saurav Ganguly was hopeful that his boys will fight back after the recent series of setbacks. But he feels that there is nothing wrong with the Indian strategy of fielding seven batsmen and making Rahul Dravid keep wickets. Unfortunately with master batsman Sachin Tendulkar ruled out with a tennis elbow, his options have been considerably narrowed. Rohan Gavaskar will again play as the seventh batsman. But Ganguly thinks it is about time that the top order batsmen, including himself, got into top form and scored some runs. Of the four seam bowlers, he has been playing three in most matches. Irfan Pathan is joined by Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar or Lakshmipaty Balaji. Ganguly has favored leg-spinner Anil Kumble over Harbhajan Singh, the off-spinner but Harbhajan is likely to get a look-in today. However, India’s fortunes depend heavily on how the batsmen do and unless they strike timely form, their dismal run will continue. England captain Michael Vaughan was overjoyed at his team translating their Test match form into the one-day variety of the game. The England team also had nets at The Oval but it was closed to the media, a tactic usually adopted by top soccer nations but unheard of in cricket. Vaughan, who got out for a duck at Trent Bridge on Wednesday, said after the match: “We played good cricket and to restrict the innings to 170 out there was a fantastic effort. I think our fielding was excellent — all three disciplines were good and we must build on that. “ “It is key to take county form into the international arena and I am delighted Alex (Wharf) has come in and played well and Vikram (Solanki) has carried his county form over. Having Flintoff back bowling was also a big factor,” Vaughan added. The home team, unlikely to see any change from the side that won at Trent Bridge, go into today’s contest with their tails up. India need to put up a much better batting and bowling display if they hope to win and keep the series alive.

Dutch Washout Helps Pakistan Qualify

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

AMSTELVEEN, 24 August 2004 — Pakistan qualified for the final of the Videocon Cup tri-series cricket tournament yesterday as the league match between world champions Australia and India was abandoned as a draw due to heavy rains. Australia and India shared the six points for the match and have three points each. The win over India on Saturday has given Pakistan the maximum of six points including a bonus point and India cannot overtake them, having finished their two league matches. In theory, Australia can overtake Pakistan if they win the league match tomorrow and will then qualify to meet Pakistan. Also talking theoretically, a big win by Pakistan over Australia, by about 200 runs, will take India into the final but that appears a very remote possibility. When rains halted play in the last over of the Australian innings, they had reached 175 for seven in 31.4 overs. For the second match in a row, play was delayed because of rains and was reduced to 32 overs per side at the VRA cricket ground here as a drizzle in the morning soaked the outfield and made it unplayable. After two inspections, umpires Steve Bucknor and Jeremy Lloyds announced that play would begin at 3 p.m. And after play was stopped in the 32nd over, it started raining heavily and the umpires declared that the match was abandoned. Australia were struggling on a slow wicket with low bounce after Ricky Ponting won the toss and opted to bat. Newcomer Brad Haddin was all at sea against the Indian seamers and was snapped up at mid-off by Lakshmipati Balaji as he drove Ashish Nehra but failed to keep the ball down. He made five. Matthew Hayden and Ponting appeared to steady the innings, Ponting hoisting Nehra over the long on fence and Hayden driving forcefully on both sides of the wicket. But Balaji struck two deadly blows in his second over dismissing both of them. He had Hayden driving uppishly to Ganguly in the covers and trapped Ponting leg before as he tried to put him away and missed the line. Australia were 70 for three in the 15th over. Virender Sehwag and Anil Kumble tied the batsmen down with their spin bowling as the ball came slowly off the pitch, making strokeplay difficult. Kumble had Andrew Symonds snicking to wicketkeeper Rahul Dravid. Soon after Sehwag clean bowled Damien Martyn as he stepped out and missed the line. It was Michael Clarke who batted brilliantly to give the Aussie total some respectability. But Darren Lehmann became Kumble’s second victim as he was brilliantly caught by Rohan Gavaskar who had to cover a lot of ground to take a difficult low catch. Clarke was in full flow as he cut, drove and pulled to smash six boundaries. It was an unbelievable one-handed catch by a leaping Sehwag on the boundary line that dismissed Clarke off Balaji as he tried to clear the ground. He made the top score of 42. Balaji was once again the most successful bowler taking three wickets for 20 runs while Kumble’s two wickets cost him 37 runs. Indian captain Saurav Ganguly gracefully accepted the fact that rain denied it the chance to beat Australia and stay in the race for a berth in the final. “We needed to win today to stay with a chance of qualifying for the final but there is no point blaming the weather,” he told reporters. In response to a question if he considered the event in the Netherlands as a mere warm-up for the matches in England Ganguly said: “We came here to play well and win this tournament but not to use this as preparation for the Natwest Challenge against England to the ICC Champions Trophy,” he said. India will take a day’s break and get back to nets at the Kampong ground in Utrecht on Wednesday, shifting their focus on the assignment in England. The team is hoping that the players in the sick bay — Sachin Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar — will regain fitness and become available for selection for the first game against England on Sept. 1. Asked if his team would have liked to go to England ahead of the three-match Natwest Challenge series against the home side next month rather than stay till Sunday, Ganguly said: “It is the price we have to pay for not playing well against Pakistan. We didn’t play well against Pakistan and don’t deserve to be in the final.” The Indian captain was happy that Balaji showed a lot of character in coming back after a bad time in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. “He didn’t bowl too well on the flat wickets in Sri Lanka but I am happy he has worked hard,” Ganguly said.

Amsterdam Diary: Tendulkar Hopes to Be Fit for England Series

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Sachin Tendulkar, the master Indian batsman, is likely to be fit for the three-match Natwest Challenge one-day series against England starting on Sept. 1. He is out of the Videocon Cup here with a tennis elbow. He was at the VRA cricket ground as the team warmed up for the match against Australia yesterday. He stood by team physio Andrew Leipus as I spoke to him and asked Leipus about the injury. He first shrugged his shoulders and looked heavenward as if to say only God knows but then said: “We are giving him physiotherapy. This is something which is internal and it is difficult to say how long it will take to heal but hopefully he will be fit for the England series.” Tendulkar also has a slight touch of the flu and said he found it difficult to stretch the left arm or even his left leg. However, he assisted coach John Wright in giving catching practice to the slip fielders. Rains Cause of Worry The rains which badly affected the opening match of the Videocon Cup between India and Pakistan on Saturday, caused the second match to be abandoned yesterday after it was reduced to 32 overs a side. In the morning, the Australian and Indian teams were at the ground warming up and continued going through their paces despite a slight drizzle. Holland’s captain for the 2003 World Cup and now an official, Roland Lefebvre made an interesting remark about the local weather. “If you don’t like the Dutch weather at the moment, just wait for five minutes and it will be fine,” he said. One hopes he is right. The day dawned gray and despite waiting for several five minutes, it has only changed for the worse. The rain intensified forcing the players indoors. Play finally began at 3 p.m. after two inspections by umpires. In the last over of the day, Irfan Pathan had bowled only four balls when it started pouring and the players rushed to the pavilion. The rains intensified thereafter and the umpires had no option but announce the abandonment of the match. Stars of Yesteryears Among TV commentators there are some top stars of yesteryears among the satellite TV commentators here. South Africa’s top batsman Barry Richards with his silvery gray hair is prominent among them. He feels that this type of tournament is good for the game. “The three leading teams in the world are taking part in this tournament. It will help in promoting the game in this part of the world,” Richards told me as he stood with Indian coach John Wright discussing the day’s weather. Former Indian captain and allrounder Kapil Dev is here as an expert commentator. So are Rameez Raja, Sanjay Manjrekar, Michael Slater and Arun Lal, all former players. And Navjot Sidhu, a new member of Parliament and former Indian opener, is also here. He made a name for himself with some of his bizarre but humorous television comments dubbed as ‘Sidhuisms’. “How are you sir,” said Siddhu as he shook hands with me and was polite enough to remark that ‘of course I remember you”. Sidhu and Kapil met and shared a few jokes as they signed autographs and posed for photographs. Also here is India’s former dashing wicketkeeper and opening batsman Farokh Engineer. He is doing commentary for an English radio station. Dressed in a pink T-shirt, a lot heavier but looking debonair as ever “Rookie” said he would love to do commentary for one of the TV stations. “But nobody is asking me to do commentary for them,” he told me.

Pakistan Taking It Easy in Last League Tie

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

AMSTELVEEN, 25 August 2004 — Australia and Pakistan, the world’s top two cricketing nations, face off today in the last league match of the Videocon Cup tri-series tournament but the rivals approached the game in contrasting styles. While world champions Australia scheduled a full-fledged nets at nearby Utrecht, the Pakistanis opted for a light workout at the VRA cricket ground here, the venue of the tournament. It is a different story that a heavy downpour just as the Aussies were assembling at their hotel lobby to set out for the nets resulted in their canceling the practice session altogether. Pakistan can afford to take it easy since they have already qualified for the final of the tournament. But the Australians must avoid a heavy defeat to make the grade. It will be a morale-booster if they can win and reach the final with a clean slate. India are the third team in the competition and their chances were literally washed out by rains which have badly affected this tournament when their match against Australia was abandoned as a draw on Monday. Australian captain Ricky Ponting is looking forward to the match against Pakistan. “Obviously, the match against Pakistan is another important part of our preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy,” Ponting said yesterday. He was disappointed that the tournament has been badly affected by rains. “We will keep our fingers crossed that the rains stay away because we would like a full game in to give our bowlers a full workout and the spectators a great spectacle,” Ponting said. He was not familiar with the Pakistanis since the two teams have not played for some time now. “It has been a while since we played Pakistan so it will be interesting to see what they can serve up,” Ponting added. The Australians are missing opening batsman and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist who stayed behind due to family commitments. His replacement Brad Haddin did not make much of an impression in the match against India and it was obvious that the Aussies would not get the same rollicking start usually given to them by Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. But the Australian batting has a lot of depth. The openers are followed by Ponting, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke who are all highly talented batsmen. Though Shane Warne has quit one-day cricket, Australia still boast off a formidable attack. Fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee are back after long layoffs with injuries. Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz complete the pace quartet but it will be interesting to see if the Aussies opt for left-arm spinner Brad Hogg and leave out one of the fast bowlers as they did against India. The wicket has helped spinners in the first two games and Hogg is likely to get the nod again though Ponting said they would finalize their playing 11 only on the morning of the match. Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer also hoped that it did not rain and full quota of overs could be bowled in the match. He did not agree that his team would take it easy today having already entered the final. “We play every game as it comes. Any one-day game is important for us and tomorrow’s game is no exception,” Woolmer told me. He said the team management had not yet decided about the composition of the team for the match. “We will use the match to give our players the opportunity to get into top form,” Woolmer added. He said the wicket was slow and it was not easy to score runs on it. “South Africa played one match here in the 1999 World Cup and I was familiar with the wicket. I don’t think it has changed character over the years. It is the sort of wicket I had expected it to be. As the ball becomes older, it becomes tougher to score runs,” Woolmer added. Pakistan’s new ball attack failed to deliver in the match against India. Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar was unable to generate the kind of pace which has made him a terror for the batsmen. Mohammed Sami, Shabbir Ahmed and Abdur Razzaq also were unimpressive. Like they did against India, leg-spinner Shahid Afridi and off-spinner Shoaib Malik can again trouble the batsmen. Malik has also been in good form with the bat. Afridi’s whirlwind batting can give Pakistan a good start. But it is about time that other leading batsmen like Yasser Hamid, skipper Inzamam ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan came good. Then only can Pakistan put up a big enough total to defend against the Australians or successfully chase any target given by the opponents. The weatherman has forecast heavy rains for today. If the rains come again, it will be truly unfortunate.

Amsterdam Diary: Rains Keep Players Indoors

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Rains have been playing havoc with the Videocon Cup tri-series cricket tournament at nearby Amstelveen. The first two matches of the event were badly hit and in fact the second one involving India and Australia was abandoned after being reduced to 32 overs per side. It was the same story yesterday as persistent drizzle and a few heavy showers kept the players indoors. The Australians had to cancel their scheduled net practice at Utrecht and the Pakistanis had to abandon the idea of going for physical exercises at the VRA cricket ground, the venue of the tournament. Ganguly in Big Demand Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly has been in great demand by the media. He has been most accommodating by giving time to almost everyone who approaches him. At the Hilton lobby, he was first interviewed by ESPN’s Gautam Bhimani. He then immediately went into an interview with two Australian print journalist. Barely time for lunch and he was again in front of the camera. This time it was the Indian channel Aaj Tak which has both Hindi and English channels and Ganguly has apparently signed a contract to speak exclusively to them. After that he found time to talk to India’s leading photographer Pradeep Mandhani who wanted some quotes from him on master batsman Sachin Tendulkar on whom he is planning a table top pictorial book to coincide with the record of highest number of Test centuries. Cricket 51st Among Sports in Amsterdam Simon Cook is the Associated Press correspondent covering the Videocon Cup. He also teaches a myriad of subjects at the Utrecht University, including English and journalism. He is a keen cricketer himself. Sitting next to me at the media center, he started talking about the sport in Amsterdam. He said there were about 3,000 active cricketers in Holland though the official record puts the number at 6,000. “Well, all those who are members are counted though some of them may be over 80 years of age. However, the correct figure is about 3,000,” Cook told me. He also made an interesting revelation. “In one recent survey to find out the popularity of various sports played in Holland, cricket came a lowly 51st,” Cook said. I wonder which are the 50 other sports that are more popular in Holland than cricket. Also, with the amount of rains they have here, it will be a big surprise if any matches are played to full quota and completed.

Amsterdam Diary: Shoaib and the Masserati

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar aka Rawalpindi Express is a great admirer of this sparkling black Masserati in the Hilton hotel parking lot. (Photo by Javed Akhtar) Shoaib Akhtar, the Rawalpindi Express, found perhaps more than his match in a manner of speaking when he came face to face with a sparkling Masserati in the Hilton hotel parking lot. The Pakistani speedster who holds the world record of the fastest ball ever bowled at over 100 miles per hour, admired the car interior through the window and exclaimed: “Wow! What a car!” He had fans and admirers watching him as he went round the black Masserati. “You come to Germany and we will gift a car like this to you,” one of them told Shoaib. Lucky Shoaib to have friends like that!! Mercedes Taxis • Talking about cars, I must mention the taxis in Amsterdam. They are the latest models of the most expensive brands. The first one I hired was a silver Mercedes 230E and the driver was dressed in a blue pinstriped suit! And it was a BMW driven by Raqeeb Jahangir that took me from the ground to the hotel. I was surprised when he spoke to me in Hindi. “Aao jaldi aajao (come, come soon),” he told me. I asked him his name and how he could speak Hindi. “My grandfather came here from Dutch Guyana (now Surinam) and I was born here. I don’t exactly know but my forefathers went a long long time ago to Dutch Guyana from somewhere in north India, perhaps Bihar,” said Raqeeb, a Muslim. Big Event a Damp Squib • What was dubbed as one of the biggest cricket events of the year has so far turned out to be a damp squib thanks to the weather. The Videocon Cup was billed as a clash of three cricketing titans but the rains have reduced the event to a non-starter. Australia, Pakistan and India competing on a league basis saw three matches scheduled but only one of them produced a result. Wednesday’s Australia-Pakistan clash was washed out without a ball being bowled. The other two matches were reduced to 33 overs and 32 overs. In the first, Pakistan defeated India by 66 runs and the second was abandoned in the last over of the Australian innings with the Indians fighting hard to come back in the competition. It was bright and sunny on Wednesday afternoon but yesterday morning the rains returned again. The organizers have suffered a big loss. They have had to build temporary stands at heavy costs and announced that the tickets for Wednesday’s match would be valid for the final. But the biggest losers are the sponsors Videocon, an electronic company in India and SET Max, a wing of Sony, India who had the telecasting rights of the event. The participating teams tried to resurrect the event by playing on the two rest days before the final but the ground would not be ready and there were other logistic complications which made it impossible to reschedule the matches.

Aussie-Pakistan Tie Abandoned

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

AMSTELVEEN, 26 August 2004 — World champs Australia qualified to meet Pakistan in the final of the Videocon Cup tri-series cricket tournament as their last league match with the Pakistanis was washed out without a ball being bowled. The teams shared the six points for the match with Pakistan ending at the top of the league table with nine points from two matches. Australia were second with six points and India finished last with three points. Unusual heavy overnight rains which continued yesterday morning had caused puddles at the VRA Cricket Ground and the teams did not even bother to leave their hotel and the match was called off. An attempt was made to revive the tournament badly hit by rains and team management members from the participating countries were involved in a long-drawn meeting which lasted for several hours to see if the match could be played today as today and tomorrow are rest days in the competition. As mediamen waited patiently, the representatives discussed and debated various aspects and possibilities. However, media in-charge Hugo Nelissen had a long face as he announced that there was no change in the schedule and status quo remained. Hence Australia and Pakistan will meet in the final on Saturday. “There were at least three reasons for not scheduling a rematch. One of them was the groundsman’s inability to get the ground ready for the match,” Nelissen told newsmen. “Also, there was the logistics problems. A lot of people have their plane reservations which would not be possible to change at the last minute,” he added. And finally he said the teams had tried to help the Dutch board by agreeing to salvage the tournament in whatever way they could but it did not work out to everybody’s satisfaction. Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said it was sad that the event had been so badly hit by the weather. “We were looking forward to some good matches in this competition but it is sad that rains have caused such havoc,” Woolmer said. He said his team was looking for the chance to get some good practice but the weather spoilt all their plans. Australian coach John Buchanan voiced similar sentiments. “Yes, we are disappointed that the weather has so badly affected this tournament. Our bowlers were raring to have a go at the opponents but now they have to wait till the final to get that chance. We only hope that the weather improves by Saturday,” Buchanan said. “This is the height of summer here in Holland and in the whole of last decade we have had very fine weather. That is why we scheduled the tournament at this time,” Nelissen later told me after the news conference. The weather forecast is not good for the next few days and it will be truly tragic if the last match of the tournament also becomes a victim of the rains.

Pakistan Will Try to Reverse Trend of Losing Final

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

AMSTELVEEN, 28 August 2004 — World champions Australia and Pakistan will clash today in the final of the Videocon Cup tri-series cricket tournament. In what is a repeat of the 1999 World Cup final, former champs Pakistan are keen to reverse the trend of losing the final clash to the champs. “The boys are all fit and raring to go. Insha?llah we will do our best to win tomorrow,” Pakistan skipper Inzamam ul-Haq told Arab News. He said he hoped the full match of 50 overs would be played. ”If the match is shortened and the number of overs is reduced then anything can happen,”said Inzamam. He said the boys were looking forward to some action after spending most of the time in the hotel due to rains. “We hope the weather is fine tomorrow and we get the chance to put up a good show for the local fans,” Inzamam added. The tournament has been badly affected by unseasonal rains. Of the three preliminary league matches, two were abandoned, without a ball being bowled and there was result in only one game which was also reduced to 33 overs per side. The two teams could not have nets as it rained the whole day yesterday and instead opted to go to the gym and do some swimming to stay fit. Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie spoke to the media about his team’s chances. “Of course we are going all out to win tomorrow. We are playing for our country and whenever we play, we try to win every game,” Gillespie said. He said it was nice to see the full complement of pace attack available for selection after a long time. “Well, it does put some pressure on us to fight for a place in the team but it is good as we all try to do our best,” Gillespie added. He said it was not always possible to get ideal conditions for nets and training when the team is playing abroad. “This place is no different. But any good team does its best to adapt to the available conditions and we do the same,” he added. About the VRA cricket ground wicket Gillespie said it was really very very slow. “You have seen how slowly the ball comes off the pitch. But that is the nature and character of the wicket. I am sure it won’t change overnight since the same pitch will be used,” Gillespie added. Australia are without opener and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist but there is still a great deal of depth in their batting. His substitute Brad Haddin failed to impress against India. But Matthew Hayden, skipper Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke still constitute a formidable line-up. The slow wicket will perhaps see the Australians opt for only three fast bowlers as they did against India and include left-arm spinner Brad Hogg in the final eleven. Pakistan also have batsmen till low down in the order but they will look for a good start from Yasser Hamid and Shahid Afridi. But they will again be looking to all-rounder Shoaib Malik to shine with bat and ball. The slow wicket will be a dampener for all fast bowlers including Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Sami. Shabbir Ahmad is likely to be more successful with his better control rather than his more illustrious teammates. It will be an interesting encounter — provided of course the weather holds and the full 50 overs quota of each side can be played.

Amsterdam Diary: Rumor Mills Active Again

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

The rumor-mongers and cynics are active again and typically at a time when the Indian cricket team is losing. They are out of the Videocon Cup after losing to Pakistan and already there is talk of dissension and groupism in the team. A lot of the talk is around star batsman Sachin Tendulkar who is out of the competition with a tennis elbow. “This is not the first time he has done it. Tennis elbow is not something you develop overnight. It takes weeks and it also takes weeks to get OK,” one cynic remarked. “He is doing this after the Multan declaration when he was on the verge of a double century,” remarked another. “Why do you think Sachin, Ajit Agarkar and Rohan Gavaskar always go out together and sit in the same car when the team is going out together. They don’t mix with the others,” said a third. All this talk is really sad but when there is so much hype and the players, especially the likes of Tendulkar, are under such microscopic scrutiny, tongues are bound to wag. Well, it will take only a couple of good wins for India and a good performance from Tendulkar to silence all the critics. Shoaib, Lee Hit It Off Well They may be fierce rivals on the field of play but fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan and Australia’s Brett Lee are good friends away from the ground. There was a time a few years ago when they were fighting for the title of the fastest bowler in the game and also who could break the 100-mile barrier first. Well, Shoaib did it ahead of Lee who has had a series of injury problems and has been in and out of the Australian team because of that. Shoaib has had his share of problems with the establishment. But all that is now behind him and the Rawalpindi Express seems to have turned over a new leaf. He was seen going alone for a run accompanied by two team officials. It showed that he is now very serious about his fitness and eventually about his career. A New Trend A new trend, and a happy one at that, is wives and families accompanying cricketers on the circuit. There was a time when a lot of fuss was made and only on long tours wives were allowed to join their husbands midway. But times have changed and how! Now not just wives but even children are allowed to go along with the cricketers. What has made it possible is the fact that earlier two players had to share a room. Now each player is given a separate room which he can share with the family. Australian captain Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Michael Kasparowicz and Darren Lehmann have their wives here. The Lehmanns have very cute twin daughters. Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq’s wife, son and daughter are also here. So is Imran Farhat’s wife and their very very sweet chubby daughter barely a few months old. Among the Indians, captain Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and V.V.S. Laxman have their wives here. Dravid, Sehwag and Laxman are newly married and the wives are really lucky that they can accompany their husbands on the trip which is going to last over a month.

Amsterdam Diary: Indo-Pak Series Has Done Wonders to Boost Friendship

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

The last India-Pakistan cricket series in Pakistan has done wonders to promote peace and friendship between the subcontinent neighbors. Even the cricketers themselves have had very cordial relations through the years. So it was no surprise to see them greet each other warmly in the hotel lobby. Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar and Indian Irfan Pathan are two fast bowlers and fierce competitors on the field of play. So it was nice to see them chatting and exchanging notes. Shoaib is a fan of Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan and is likely to make an ad film with him in the near future. He is also very friendly with Indian actor Sunil Shetty. Two locals — Pakistan’s Haseeb Haroon and India’s Ajay Kumar — have joined hands to launch a website for a peace initiative. The site is indo-pakpeace.org as part of a “six continents initiative for permanent peace and friendship between India and Pakistan.” The two invite “Indian and Pakistani friends of peace all over the world to send us their support by signing to this noble cause.” Van Gogh Museum • A big attraction in Amsterdam is the Van Gogh Museum dedicated to the late nineteenth century Dutch painting genius. It has a large collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh who died young after leading a tumultuous and eventful life marked by illness and poverty. Ironically one of his paintings sold for a record price at an auction by Christie’s. The museum holds a literal treasure trove as it also has paintings by other impressionist painters like Edouard Manet, Claude, Monet, Gauguin and Cezzane. Prints of Van Gogh’s paintings, picture post cards and books are available in the museum’s shop. Woolmer Happy With Pakistani Team • Bob Woolmer took charge as coach of the Pakistani cricket team in June and in less than three months his influence is already visible. Woolmer delivered some sort of a coup by bringing back Shoaib Akhtar into the team. Shoaib had been having a series of problems with the establishment. After the series loss to India, he was asked to appear before a medical panel. But once Woolmer joined, he had a chat with Shoaib. “He was told that if he wanted to be in the team, he had to join the training camp before the Asia Cup. He came and so the rest is history,” Woolmer said. Woolmer has changed the outlook of the team management. “We have made three committees to look after various aspects and this has helped a lot,” he said. Woolmer also did not like the long training camps the team used to have. “It was like preseason training. So I have changed that. Now there is everyday training. Each player is told what he is supposed to do stay fit. And the camps have become shorter,” Woolmer said. He said he was very happy with their response. “This morning eight of the boys went for a run on their own. Nobody told them to do it. That shows the attitude,” Woolmer added.

Ganguly Keeps Faith in Pace Trio Against England

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

TRENT BRIDGE, 1 September 2004 — With their morale at a low ebb after recent poor performances, India embark on yet another one-day cricket series when they clash with England in the NatWest Challenge here today. Skipper Saurav Ganguly put up a brave face as he spoke to reporters on the eve of the match. “We have had a good run over the last two years when we did well all over the world. The mindset is that we should not worry too much about the recent poor shows and get inspiration from those performances and try to do well in the future,” Ganguly said. He said England have done well in the past in Test matches but not in one-dayers. “We have to play well and win. We are familiar with all English players. I personally have been watching a lot of their matches on television,” he added. Ganguly said the team will stick to the seven-batsmen policy in the near future. “We will play another batsman in place of Sachin who is out of the series. There is no reason to play a specialist batsman when Rahul has done well behind the stumps,” he added. Ganguly lamented the fact that the country has failed to produce a good all-rounder in the immediate past. “We don’t have a top class all-rounder in domestic cricket. This is one area of worry. We have Sehwag and Tendulkar who are batsmen but have bowled well in the past,” Ganguly added. He said the team management had not decided whether to play three seamers or two spinners. “We will decide tomorrow after having a look at the wicket,” he said. He had a lot of expectations from young fast bowlers Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipati Balaji. “They are both young and on their first tour of England. The conditions here should help them to swing the ball much more and I hope that they will do well,” Ganguly said. The absence of Tendulkar means Rohan Gavaskar is likely to be included in the final 11. Ashish Nehra may get preference over Ajit Agarkar to constitute the pace trio with Irfan and Balaji. And it will be either off-spinner Harbhajan Singh or Anil Kumble, the leg-spinner who will be included. The Trent Bridge wicket has a history of producing big scores and today’s match is unlikely to be different. England skipper Michael Vaughan said his team was looking forward to a tough challenge and a good series against India. “We have to build up on our success early in the season and the boys are in good shape and spirit,” he said. Vaughan agreed that at times the support for the Indians was so much that he felt he was playing abroad. “But that does not matter. It just puts some extra pressure on us and that is good for the team,” Vaughan added. Vaughan said the Indians were going to be tough opponents even without Tendulkar. “I am sure they will field another top class batsman in place of Tendulkar as they have a lot of talent,” Vaughan added. The only time the Indians have played England at Trent Bridge was in 1990 when India led by Mohammed Azharuddin won by five wickets. Azhar was India’s top scorer with 63 runs. The Indians will be eager to get back to winning ways after their poor showing and at Trent Bridge they can draw some inspiration from history books.

England Diary: Tendulkar Injury Woes Continue

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Sachin Tendulkar’s injury woes continue. The left tennis elbow suffered by the master batsman ahead of the Videocon Cup in Holland has not fully healed. He failed a fitness test at the Trent Bridge ground in Nottingham on Monday and is now also out of the NatWest Challenge three-match series against England. Manager Gautam Dasgupta told reporters that the team management is not seeking any replacement for Tendulkar. However, Dinesh Mongia who is playing club cricket in England has been asked to remain on standby and his services may be sought if necessary. The Indian team had sickness and injury problems while in Holland. Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had a viral attack. Then medium pacer Ajit Agarkar had a side strain and middle order batsman Mohammed Kaif had a strain in the right shoulder. India face Kenya in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy starting at three venues in England from Sept. 10. But the most important game of their group is against Pakistan on Sept. 19. So Indian team physio Andrew Leipus has almost three weeks to get Tendulkar back into fitness for that crucial clash with Pakistan. Notting Hill Carnival • The Notting Hill carnival in London may be no match to the original in Rio de Janeiro and its samba dancers but nevertheless it is a big draw. What is said to have started in 1964 as a racial protest has become a regular annual event which people look forward to. There is a definite South American-West Indian flavor to it as far as the music goes but the participants presented a rich racial mix on Monday. The carnival lasts for two days — the first day is reserved for kids. Nearby tube stations are closed as revelers in their thousands flock to Notting Hill. The crowd on the first day was reported at 250,000 and on Monday it exceeded 300,000. Residents of the area are inconvenienced by all the noise and milling crowds but some of them also capitalize on the opportunity to make a fast buck. They allow visitors the use of their toilets at one pound per head. Nottingham Made Famous by Robin Hood • Mention Nottingham and the first name that comes to mind is that of mythical character Robin Hood and his merry men. They operated from the nearby Sherwood Forest and robbed the rich to help the poor. At the Acorn Hotel in Nottingham, its manager Alan Wright says about Robin Hood: “Well, he is a mythical character but someone like him did exist a long time ago. We do believe in that. There is a castle nearby where you can see a picture of Robin Hood,” he said.

Trent Bridge Ground Is One of the Oldest Test Venues in England

≈ Javed Akhtar, Arab News

The Trent Bridge ground in Nottingham has been one of the oldest Test venues in England. Nottinghamshire have been represented by some of the top cricketers, both domestic and international. Douglas Jardine’s bodyline weapons Harold Larwood and Bill Voce were both from Nottingham. And among outstation players Sir Richard Hadlee had a long county career here. So did South African Clive Rice. Indian Dilip Doshi had a successful sting with Notts. Among those who also played for England include Reg Simpson, Derek Randall, Chris Broad, Bruce Finch and Tim Robinson. The day dawned bright and sunny for the first NatWest Challenge match between India and England. The weather forecast says it is going to be nice and sunny all day long. The locals hope to have a better September after one of the wettest Augusts in years. The ground itself is well maintained and the pitch has traditionally been full of runs. The match was sold out and most of the spectators were Indian supporters. Nottingham Well Connected • The city of Nottingham is well connected with London, by road as well as trains. The main line train from St. Pancras station takes about one hour 45 minutes and the ticket is 21 pound sterling. It is a bit cheaper if you buy it in advance. Coincidentally, sitting next to me was Ian Styles, director of business development and marketing for Avenance. He was going to Nottingham for business. We started talking and he turned out to be a county cricketer. “I played for Sussex under Tony Greig in the early 1970s,” he told me. Now he does watch cricket on TV but no time to go to the stadium as he used to do in the past. “I still play some cricket over the weekends but not much chance to watch it. My son plays rugby so cricket is out for me,” he said. Excellent Arrangements for the Media • The England and Wales Cricket Board have made excellent arrangements for the media covering the NatWest Challenge. The press box is big enough to accommodate about 100 media men and is equipped with all necessary facilities for journalists to carry out their duties. Clare Fathers is the media relations officer of the ECB. If you have not collected your media accreditation from the ECB office at the Lord’s, you find an envelop waiting for you when you arrive at the media center with your pass and a small note from Clare saying: “With compliments from Clare Fathers.” And there is a booklet provided with all details and personal profiles of the players, statistics and a diary for you to take notes as you cover the match. The accreditation for matches at the Lord’s ground are handled by Clare Skinner of the Malylebone Cricket Club. So even though a NatWest Challenge match is scheduled at Lord’s on Sept. 5, one has to collect the pass for that from Clare Skinner.

England Thrash India in Opener

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

England’s Stephen Harmison celebrates taking a hat trick against India in the NatWest Challenge cricket match at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. (Photo by Javed Akhtar) TRENT BRIDGE, 2 September 2004 — England thrashed India by seven wickets in the opening match of the NatWest Challenge yesterday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series. It was yet another pitiful batting display by India who were all out for 170 and England replied with 171 for three in 32.2 overs. The star of England’s victory was debutant fast bowler Alex Wharf who dismissed India’s top three batsmen for just eight runs at one stage. He was a worthy winner of the man of the match award. Fast bowler Stephen Harmison became only the second England bowler to take a hat trick as he dismissed India’s last three batsmen off successive deliveries. The difference between the two bowling sides was obvious. While the bigger and stronger Englishmen got a lot of lift and bounce from the wicket, the Indians failed to do so. And the Indian batting miserably failed again. This time, however, they were not chasing a target but rather setting it. Vaughan won the toss and put the visitors in. They were immediately in trouble. Sehwag tried to flick Gough but played too soon and off the top of the bat, the ball ballooned to mid-on where Vaughan took a simple catch. The top order batsmen all perished playing irresponsible strokes. Ganguly and Laxman looked like setting up a big total when they added 52 off 54 balls. But then the slide was started by debutant Alex Wharf. The 29-year-old Glamorgan fast bowler dismissed three Indian batsmen in 14 balls conceding only eight runs. In his very first over, Ganguly was dropped in short cover off a stiff shot by Flintoff. But the very next ball he top-edged trying to pull and wicketkeeper Jones ran back to take a well-judged catch. In his next over Wharf had Laxman driving and edging to Jones to become his second victim. And when Dravid also went caught in the deep as he tried to pull Wharf, India were in deep trouble at 80 for four. Their cup of woes got fill to the brim when Yuvraj was run out going for the third run as Ashley Giles threw straight to the wicketkeeper and the third umpire ruled him out. India had lost their top five batsmen in the 19th over for only 89. But thereafter Mohammed Kaif batted responsibly and with Rohan Gavaskar gave some respectability to the Indian total. They added 40 for the sixth wicket before Rohan was smartly caught at point off Flintoff for 20. Irfan offered an easy return catch to Giles whose 10 overs cost 25 runs. Kaif reached his half century in 78 balls, with the help of four hits to the fence. He fell off the next ball as Harmison mopped up the tail to take a hat trick. Kaif was given caught behind but the decision by umpire David Shepherd seemed harsh. The next ball hit Balaji in the forearm but he was also given out and Harmison became only the second Englishman to complete a one-day hat trick when Nehra gave him a simple return catch. England needed to score at less than 3.5 runs an over and were given a fluent start by openers Trescothick and Solanki who put on 63 runs at more than five runs an over. Balaji then dealt two quick blows. He had Trescothick caught at point and then had Vaughan edging to Dravid. England were 65 for two. But the target was too small to defend. After Solanki was trapped leg before by Irfan for 52 which had eight boundaries and came off 75 balls, Flintoff and Strauss smashed their way to give England a comfortable victory. Flintoff made big-hitting look so easy as he slammed three huge sixes in his unbeaten 34 and Strauss was 41 not out. England had won with 17.4 overs to spare.

England Diary: ‘Gangster’ Wharf Makes a Dream Debut

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Alex Wharf made a dream one-day debut for England at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. The 29-year-old was not in the original squad but was included in the playing 11 and removed the top three Indian batsmen in his first three overs to win the man-of-the-match award. Wharf said he had never thought of playing for England until the late call-up when Kabir Ali reported injured. “It is just amazing. It is great to be around some great players. I am still on cloud nine. I’m a pretty quiet guy so I’ll just take it in my stride,” Wharf said after the match. “I had never dreamed of playing for England, let alone take the wickets of Saurav Ganguly, V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid in my first match,” he admitted. “I enjoyed going out there and doing the best I could. “ He said it was time for him to get rid of his nickname, Gangster. “It is something that has carried on from my younger days. It is time to get rid of it,” he said. England captain Michael Vaughan was full of praise for Wharf. “Alex has always been good and has a strong action that enables him to take pace off the wicket,” he said. “It was his all-round package that made us pick him. We have seen only one aspect today - his bowling. He is a good fielder and a pretty useful batsman. There is not a lot that can actually go wrong for him,” Vaughan said. “We haven’t been fielding too well and Alex’s inclusion has helped us. I was happy with the discipline we showed on the field today.” Ganguly Frustrated by Continued Batting Failures • Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly said it was frustrating that the top-order batsmen, including himself, did not carry on playing big innings after getting themselves in. He was reacting to the dismal failure of his team to post a bigger score than 170 in the opening game of the NatWest Challenge against England at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. After the seven-wicket defeat, he was hopeful that the side would turn the corner sooner than later. “We haven’t batted well in the last three or four games and we need to sort this out. But I know it is a matter of one innings for things to fall in place. It is not the quality of the batsmen that is in question. It is just a matter of getting the mindset right,” he said. Ganguly said that England’s debutant fast bowler Alex Wharf bowled a good line but denied that the team was surprised by him. “We had seen him take six wickets for Glamorgan last weekend. I tried to dominate him early but did not succeed,” he said of his own fall to a steepling catch to the wicketkeeper when he tried a pull. He defended the composition of the team, including seven batsmen. “It is not a formula and you cannot take it at face value. It has delivered the results for us and I have to back the batsmen who have done well for India in the past,” he said. “We do not need to look at the batting order now since Sachin (Tendulkar) is not available. Viru (Virender Sehwag) is a quality player and we need him to fire. I have to back him,” Ganguly said. In response to a question about the difference in leading the team when it is underachieving compared to the time when it was on a high, Ganguly was candid and said he would find out how good he was as captain over the next four or five months. “We have to get together as a side now and find out how good we really are,” he said. Vaughan Ready for India Backlash • England captain Michael Vaughan said he was delighted with his team’s confident showing against India in the opening match of the NatWest Challenge. He also said his team was ready for a backlash by what he called the world’s second best One-Day International side. “We know they have an outstanding line-up and will come back harder,” he said after the comprehensive seven-wicket win. “I got lucky to win the toss and put them in. I believed we could put them under pressure by getting a few early wickets. Their batsmen played a few strokes that they may not on another day.”

Flintoff Steers England to Series Win

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

LONDON, 4 September 2004 — Giving a superlative display, England took a winning 2-0 lead in the NatWest Challenge when they defeated India by 70 runs in the second match at the Brit Oval here yesterday. Asked to bat first by Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, England amassed a massive 307 for five in their 50 overs thanks to two fine innings from Man of the Match Andrew Flintoff (99) and Paul Collingwood (79 not out). In reply, India gave yet another pathetic batting display to be all out for 237 in 46.3 overs. The capacity crowd, mostly Indian supporters, were yet again disappointed as the poor batting form of the Indians continued. Mohammed Kaif was again India’s top scorer with 51. But it was the last wicket pair of Harbhajan Singh (41 not out) and Lakshmipati Balaji who set a new record for India in one-dayers, scoring 64. The record stood in the name of Ajay Jadeja and Javagal Srinath, who made 62 against South Africa in Sharjah. Ganguly’s decision to field first after winning the toss surprised many. England were soon off to a fluent start with the in-form Vikram Solanki and Marcus Trecosthick scoring at a fast pace. They had no problem facing the Indian seamers and took their team to past 50 in only 49 balls. Solanki was particularly harsh on Agarkar hitting him for three fours in his second over. But the introduction of spin in the form of Harbhajan Singh’s off-spin not only applied the brakes to England’s free scoring but also gave India the much-needed breakthrough. Trescothick tried to hit Harbhajan out of the attack and was caught in the deep for 27. Harbhajan’s second victim, caught behind trying to glance was England captain Michael Vaughan for four. England’s progress was somewhat halted at 93 for two in the 16th over. In a wise move, Ganguly employed double spin attack by introducing Sehwag with Harbhajan. New batsman Strauss fell trying to sweep Sehwag and top-edging to Ganguly who had to dive to hold a superb catch. Solanki appeared on the verge of his second successive half century after making a comeback to the team but got out when just two runs short. He cut Sehwag into the safe hands of wicketkeeper Dravid. Solanki’s 48 had eight boundaries. India were back into the game with England at 105 for four in the 21st over. But then came together Flintoff and Collingwood. Flintoff, known for his aggressive and slam-bang methods displayed another facet of his batsmanship. He offered a straight bat and dour defense to frustrate the Indian bowlers. Collingwood was equally patient and both batsmen knew that the innings was not even halfway through in terms of number of overs. They had a plan — to see through the spell of Harbhajan and Sehwag. Harbhajan bowled amazingly accurately and his immaculate line and length commanded respect even from Flintoff. His 10 overs cost just 14 runs. Flintoff and Collingwood gradually opened out as they judiciously selected the loose balls to punish. Flintoff was a sheer delight as he lofted, hooked and pulled effortlessly to see the ball sail into the stands. They added 175 runs for the fifth wicket. Flintoff, reprieved when on 80 by Balaji off Irfan, was unlucky to miss his hundred. He top-edged Agarkar and Dravid ran back to take the catch. Flintoff’s 99 came off 93 balls and was compiled with the help of four mighty sixes and nine fours. Collingwood remained unbeaten on 79 and slammed 11 boundaries while facing 85 balls. England amassed 100 runs in their last 10 overs and 60 in the final five. India needing to score at the rate of 6.16 runs per over, were off to a disastrous start losing both openers with only 14 runs on the board. Sehwag was trapped leg before by Darren Gough in his first over and Ganguly collided with Laxman taking a quick single to be run out. He dropped his bat in the mid-pitch collision and was yards out. The gamble to send Mohammed Kaif at No. 4 paid off. The gutsy batsman who got a half century in the first match, was in irresistible form. He and Laxman revived Indian hopes with a fighting partnership. Kaif was in punishing mood as he cut and drove with panache. He smashed Alex Wharf for three fours in his first over and Vaughan had to take Wharf off the attack. Kaif and Laxman added 88 runs for the third wicket before Laxman was well held by Collingwood in the covers off Giles. Laxman made 33. Dravid’s poor form continued and he did not last long, edging Wharf to the wicketkeeper for just one run. Kaif duly completed his ninth one-day half century but was out immediately after falling in the leg trap as he tried to sweep Giles. His 51 had eight boundaries and came off 69 balls. India at 113 for five were struggling for survival. It was all practically over when Rohan Gavaskar was bowled by Giles who finished with three wickets for 26 runs in his 10 overs and Yuvraj was caught by Vaughan at short mid-wicket for 24. Irfan was caught for a duck off Gough and Agarkar smashed two sixes and a four in his 22 Wickets kept falling at regular intervals but the Indian tailenders threw their bats about to take their team past the 200 mark. Harbhajan and Balaji put on a record 64 runs off 63 balls for the last wicket. Flintoff yorked Balaji to end the Indian innings. He made 18. Harbhajan remained 41 not out, hitting one six and five fours in 39 balls. Gough finished with four for 50.

England Diary: Brit Oval Steeped in History

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

The Brit Oval, the venue of the second NatWest Challenge match between India and England is steeped in history. It was here in 1880 that England played their first ever home Test match against Australia. England won by five wickets with W.G. Grace smashing 152. Since then it has become traditional for The Oval to host the final Test of the summer. During World War II, the ground was used as a prisoner of war camp. It was here in 1948 that Sir Don Bradman walked out to play his last Test innings. He needed just four runs to retire with a Test average of 100 but the crowd was stunned when he fell for a duck. The Oval is home to Surrey and the county dominated local cricket in the 1950s, winning seven titles in a row with players like Jim Laker, the Bedser twins, Tony Lock, Peter May and Ken Barrington. Adam Hollioake’s side has secured a stranglehold on the county championship in recent years with England stars Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe and Mark Butcher in the ranks. Pakistan’s, Mushtaq Ahmed, Intikhab Alam, Azhar Mahmood, Waqar Younus and Saqlain Mushtaq have played with distinction for Surrey. The Oval is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, a title owned by heir to the British throne Prince Charles. It is currently undergoing massive redevelopment project that will increase its capacity by about 5,000 to 23,000. Edgeware Road, a Mini Middle East • When walking on Edgeware Road which connects Paddington to the shopping area in Oxford Street, one cannot help but feel that one is on a street in one of the Middle East countries. Snatches of conversations in Arabic hit your ears as you walk past families taking a stroll in the evening or sitting by on the roadside. I literally bumped into a former colleague at the Arab News and was pleasantly surprised to meet an old friend. She used to be a reporter at the paper. “Where are you now?” I asked her. “Well, I am working for the Voice of America,” she told me. The Edgeware Road also has the largest collection of very good Lebanese restaurants, situated very close to each other. Lord’s Media Center • The media center at Lord’s was newly built for the 1999 World Cup is one of the best in the world. The media accreditation all other matches in England are controlled by the England and Wales Cricket Board except for Lord’s. Clare Fathers is the media in-charge for ECB and issued press passes for NatWest Challenge matches at Trent Bridge and the Brit Oval. But another Clare — Clare Skinner — is responsible for issuing passes on behalf of the Marylebone Cricket Club or MCC which are valid for the Australia-Pakistan match as well as the third NatWest Challenge match.This has made journalists run from pillar to post especially since access to the MCC office is not easy. One hopes that the ECB will arrive at some understanding with the MCC so that at least the foreign press can be issued passes from one source. Pakistan face Australia in a one-off match at Lord’s today in what is billed as the repeat of the 1999 World Cup final. And India face England tomorrow in the third and last match of the NatWest Challenge.

England Diary: Australians Prove Champions Credentials

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

The hallmark of a champion team is to produce a man of crisis. Like true champions, Australia found not just one but two men who rose to the occasion in the NatWest International against Pakistan at Lord’s on Saturday. The world champions, put in by Inzamam ul-Haq, were struggling at 148 for five, but Andrew Symonds came to their rescue with a breathtaking unbeaten century. And when the Pakistanis, after a fighting fifth wicket stand of 162 between Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana, looked like bringing off an unlikely victory, Michael Kasprowicz hit back with two quick wickets to snuff out their rally. While Symonds has been a regular in the one-day Australian side, Kasprowicz has had to struggle to keep his place. “With the return of McGrath and Lee, one has to do that bit extra to remain in the playing 11. It is good for me and I enjoy working that much harder,” Kasprowicz said. Australians continue to head the one-day championship table of the ICC with 138 points, followed by Sri Lanka 123, New Zealand 117 and Pakistan 105. After Saturday’s win and the Videocon Cup triumph in Amstelveen a week ago, Australia head into the ICC Champions Trophy beginning on Sept. 10 with their morale sky high. Lord’s, the Home of Cricket In hoardings and billboards around the stadium, Lord’s calls itself the home of cricket. It is also home to the legendary Marylebone Cricket Club, popularly known as MCC. Lord’s is to cricket what perhaps All England Club, the home of Wimbledon is to tennis. It is named after Thomas Lord who opened his first ground in Dorset Fields in 1787 leading to the formation of the MCC. The Lord’s ground moved to its third and present site in 1814 and the present pavilion was opened in 1890. In 1899, Albert Trott hit a six clean over the pavilion — a feat never since repeated. Well, perhaps Andrew Flintoff can do it sometime in his career. India’s legendary Sunil Gavaskar had his problems with MCC authorities during his playing days. But he made his peace with them and was given an honorary life membership. Not only that, the MCC have honored the Little Master by naming a stand after him at the Lord’s ground. Similar distinction has been accorded to Sir Garfield Sobers of the West Indies undoubtedly one of the greatest ever allrounders the game has seen. Then there are banners and hoardings commemorating various feats of cricketers. India’s Sachin Tendulkar has two. His 125 at Lord’s has been put up at the entrance to the grandstand and a meeting point has also been named after him. When in London They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So also in London. And I found that most Londoners preferred the tube for commuting. So I went to the Paddington tube station and asked at the ticket window for a ticket to Oxford Circus to go for some shopping. “Sir, are you aware that it is cheaper and faster to go there by bus?” asked the man at the window. He then also told me which bus to take to go to Oxford Street. I was amazed by the sincerity and honesty of the man. I wonder if this kind of thing can happen anywhere else in the world. The tube has a vast network and one can go from point to point and very close to one’s destinations. Stations and connections are clearly marked. The bus system is also equally good and efficient. One can buy a day pass or even up to a week, which works out much cheaper. This pass called a Travelcard is valid on tube trains as well as buses. Meeting Old Friends Back on the cricket circuit after a long time, one gets to meet several old friends at the grounds. It was nice to meet Dicky Rutnagur of the Telegraph after a couple of decades. Khalid A.H. Ansari of Mid-Day, Scyld Berry of the Sunday Telegraph, Geoffrey Dean of The Times, photographer Graham Morris, Qamar Ahmed of the BBC, Vijay Lokapally of the Hindu and Sportstar, Debashish Dutta of Aaajkaal and many others. It was nice to exchange notes with them and catch up on what had happened in their lives as also to tell them all about myself and my family.

India Salvage Pride at Lord’s

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

LONDON, 6 September 2004 — Indian bowlers gave a super display to give their team a narrow 23-run victory over England in the third and final match of the NatWest Challenge at Lord’s here yesterday. The consolation win after England had won the first two games of the series came as a big morale booster for Saurav Ganguly and his men ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy beginning in England on Sept. 10. Batting first, India scored 204 in 49.3 overs thanks to skipper Saurav Ganguly’s match-winning 90 and his deputy Rahul Dravid’s patient 52. Despite a fighting 74 by captain Michael Vaughan, England were all out for 181 in 48.2 overs. Ganguly won the man of the match award while the man of the series title went to England fast bowler Steve Harmison. A biased capacity crowd consisting mainly of Indian supporters, booed the home team and cheered the Indians as they coasted to a deserving win. India decided to blood young wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, left out batsman Rohan Gavaskar and seamers Lakshmipaty Balaji and Ajit Agarkar from the squad for the last match. In came left-arm medium pacer Ashish Nehra and leg-spinner Anil Kumble. England rested Andrew Flintoff and brought in Anthony McGrath. Ganguly opted to bat first after winning the toss. But when he came out to open the innings, his usual partner Virender Sehwag was not there. Instead V.V.S. Laxman walked out with him. The change in the batting order did not bring any change for India as both Laxman and Sehwag coming at No. 4, failed. Laxman was yorked by Steve Harmison for nine. And Sehwag offered a simple return catch to left-arm spinner Ashley Giles for one. In between it was Ganguly who tried to commit hara-kiri and poor Mohammed Kaif had to pay the price. Ganguly played Giles in the covers and just took off for a run. Kaif, having hit half centuries in the last two games, was promoted to No. 3. Kaif is usually a nimble-footed good runner between the wickets but he was taken by surprise by Ganguly as he stood rooted at the non-striker’s end but had to sacrifice his own wicket. Ganguly more than made up for this lapse with his own batting. Considered strong on the off-side, the England bowlers bowled to him on the leg and he displayed his mastery on the on-side by pulling and flicking for sixes and boundaries. Dravid played a supportive role as Ganguly went after the bowling, smacking three sixes and five fours in his 119-ball innings. He and Dravid put on 93 runs for the fourth wicket to bring India back into the game. Ganguly had made 90 when he pulled Harmison straight to Vaughan at mid-wicket. Dravid stayed put and got his own half century in 85 balls with three fours. Apart from Ganguly and Dravid, other Indian batsmen failed to reach double figures. Irfan Pathan was the third top scorer with 14 runs. The Indians lost their last seven wickets for 63 runs in 82 balls. Harmison was the most effective England bowler claiming four wickets for 22 runs in 10 overs to return his best career figures. Darren Gough finished with two for 41 but became the first England bowler to take 200 one-day wickets when he got rid of Harbhajan. With a poor total to defend, the Indian seam bowlers toiled hard. Irfan and Nehra bowled with venom and fire on a track offering them some assistance as England chased 205 at the rate of 4.1 runs per over. The almost packed stadium roared in unison as Nehra gave the Indians their first success inducing an edge from Marcus Trescothick for Laxman to take a regulation slip catch. Nehra struck again, Vikram Solanki pulling into the safe hands of Harbhajan in the deep. England were 22 for two in the fourth over. Encouraged by the early successes, the Indians worked harder as they fielded brilliantly. And when Irfan dealt two quick blows, India were well and truly back in the match. He trapped Andrew Strauss and McGrath leg before playing and missing the line to have England reeling at 29 for four. Brilliant work by Kaif at short leg gave India their fifth wicket. Paul Collingwood stepped out to Harbhajan but played straight to Kaif who threw down the wicket in a flash. Geraint Jones smashed a six and a four before he was brilliantly caught by a diving Sehwag at mid-wicket. England had lost their sixth wicket for 62 in the 20th over. Vaughan who had failed with the bat in the first two matches, came good when it mattered. He found an able ally in veteran Giles and the two batted resolutely to take the total past the 100-mark in the 29th over. Vaughan reached his 50 off 100 balls with the help of six fours. The required run rate mounted with Harbhajan, Kumble and Sehwag bowling a tight line and length. After 40 overs, England at 143 for six needed 6.2 runs an over for a win. It was Harbhajan who not only broke their stubborn partnership but also got rid of both Vaughan and Giles. He forced Giles to drive a ball of fuller length for a well held return catch. Giles made 39 in a partnership of 92 for the seventh wicket. In the same over, the 43rd of the innings, Vaughan stepped out and Karthik brought off a brilliant stumping to virtually end England’s hopes. Vaughan smashed eight boundaries in his 74 off 141 balls. Yuvraj also bowled tightly and was rewarded with a wicket when Wharf ballooned a top edge for Karthik to complete the formality. Fittingly, Nehra who had begun England’s destruction also completed it when he yorked Gough for 10. He ended with three for 26 while Harbhajan had three for 28 and Irfan two for 32.

Call for Emulating Sir Syed’s Inspiring Leadership

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

Khaled A. Almaeena presents a plaque of appreciation on behalf of Jeddah Cricket League to Tehelka Editor in Chief Tarun Tejpal. At left is JCL’s Afsar Faheem. JEDDAH, 9 October 2004 — Inspiring references to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University, marked the founder’s day celebrations, organized by two groups of the university old boys at different functions here on Thursday night. “Indians need a lot to learn from the examples set by Sir Syed and others of the previous generations,” Tehelka Editor in Chief Tarun Tejpal said speaking as a guest of honor at the function organized by the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys’ Group at Al-Salam Holiday Inn Hotel. “As a people, we have to learn from the generations of the past. They remind us of our duties and responsibilities,” said Tejpal who shot into prominence with his sting operation exposing corruption in the BJP-led NDA government. Former cricketer Syed Kirmani was the chief guest and Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena was a guest of honor. Consul General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed presided. Tejpal reminded how the ideals of leaders like Sir Syed and Mahatma Gandhi were relevant today. Tolerance, non-violence and compassion were among the great ideals of Gandhi, which he preached and practiced alongside his great sense of humor. Shedding fear and following the virtue of endeavor, or action, were the need of the hour, he said. Khaled Almaeena referred to the demonization of the Muslim world that was being continuously projected by the West following the Sept. 11, 2001, events in the United States. He recalled how the Saudis who were being consistently accused for the Sept. 11 events were instrumental in supplying cheap oil, thus contributing to the rebuilding of Germany and parts of Europe after World War II. “Since Sept. 11, everyone has become an expert on Islamic terror,” he said and called for an end to demonizing religion. He said India with its diversity had shown how to live in harmony. “India is a great country and harmony can help make it a great economy. You have to see India emerging as a colorful, peaceful country, and a country without corruption. You’ll need people like Tejpal for that. Speak the truth without fear,” he said. He also emphasized that in today’s concept of a global village, India should be viewed through Sir Syed’s eyes for future progress. Dr. Ausaf Sayeed pointed out that literacy among Muslims, especially women, in India was “very low” compared to other communities. “We have forgotten the message of Sir Syed and need to encourage education among Muslims. Then there will be no need for reservation and no need for anyone’s help,” he added. Syed Kirmani recalled how the national team played with passion and patriotism during his time. “If we respect our own religion then we can respect all other religions,” he added. A.G. Danish conducted the proceedings competently, interspersing his comments with aptly selected Urdu couplets, which won applause and praise from the audience who far outnumbered the seats provided in the hall. Sir Syed, a Great Reformer At the function held at Al-Nakheel Village, Obhur, organized by the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys’ Association, Khaled Almaeena was the chief guest. Around 400 AMU alumni and their families were present at the picturesque location. Syed Mohammad Hussain, a senior Aligarian of the 1947 batch, presided. Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi, a former Saudi diplomat in India and an Aligarian and Dr. Ali Abdullah Bin Sager of the King Abdul Aziz University, were the guests of honor. “Sir Syed contributed a lot to reforming the society that was reeling under the feudal system. In a bid to bring about change, what Sir Syed did 100 year ago needs to be followed as an example today,” Almaeena said. “Sir Syed was brave enough to fight against the obscurantists who did not want women to progress. Islam is not against women’s progress. Only those who are ignorant talk like this,” he said and emphasized, “The best way to pay homage to the founder is to live up to his ideals.” Hassan Arabi, a senior Aligarian introduced Almaeena. “Arab News has been reflecting on and guiding social and political changes under Almaeena’s stewardship,” he said, adding that the Almaeena had also been promoting sports, especially cricket, tennis and squash, aside from football. S. Nihal, vice president of the organization, introducing Dr. Ali Abdullah Bin Sager, said the King Abdul Aziz University professor was known for his specialty in fine arts and humanities and had participated in many symposiums in and outside the Kingdom. Nasir Mohammed Khan, president of AMOUBA which is now renamed as AMU Alumni Association, in his address described AMOUBA as the representative body of Aligarians who stand as one team. Dr. Al-Ghamdi called for unity among the Aligarians. “Aligarians living outside India can do a lot to improve the conditions in and around Aligarh,” he said and assured full support in this effort. Asad Khan conducted the proceedings and Rashid Quraishi, secretary, proposed a vote of thanks. Both functions ended with the traditional AMU “tarana” rendered in chorus by Aligarians. Sir Syed would have been proud of the way the Aligarians remembered him but perhaps he would have been happier if they were also united in their endeavor.

I’ve Lived ‘Three Lifetimes in Three-And-a-Half Years’

Javed Akhtar & K.S. Ramkumar, Arab News

Tarun Tejpal makes a point during the interview. (AN photo by Javed Akhtar) JEDDAH, 12 October 2004 — Tehelka tapes, which exposed corruption at the highest political level in the BJP-led NDA government three-and-a-half years ago, continue to be in the news. What has happened since then is now widely known. Instead of acting on the expose contained in the tapes, the previous BJP-led NDA government relentlessly harassed Tehelka for exposing corruption. Tehelka’s nearly 100 hours of investigative tapes, shot under the most trying circumstances, was subjected to a legal scrutiny. Tehelka’s story is about one and only one thing; rampant and endemic corruption in governance and that seems to have been forgotten or ignored by those in power then, says the Tehelka brain, Tarun Jeet Tejpal, who by his own account has lived three lifetimes in three-and-a-half years. Last Monday (Oct. 4), Indian Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj announced the decision of the ruling Congress-led UPA government not to extend the term for the Justice S.N. Phukan Inquiry Commission looking into the Tehelka tapes, but that the CBI would investigate the Tehelka tapes as they revealed the involvement of “personalities” in the defense deals where bribes had allegedly been given. In the three-and-a-half years that the Tehelka investigation has dragged on, the commission, first under Justice Venkataswami and then under Justice Phukan, has examined every conceivable issue except the central one that was revealed by Tehelka’s video camera, says Tejpal in an exclusive interview with Arab News. Tejpal, who was in Jeddah to attend a function organized at hotel Holiday Inn by the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys’ Association (AMUOBA) to mark Sir Syed Day, is confident that he will finally win the battle and continue his campaign against bribery and corruption through the Tehelka weekly tabloid and online newspaper that he edits. Excerpts from the interview: Question: What are the new developments in the case of Tehelka tapes? Answer: I wrote a letter to the prime minister just before I came here which must have reached him today (Thursday). We have made our position clear in that. We have said that we don’t feel elated about the decision (of handing over the case to the CBI) but are glad that the government is making a move on the Tehelka (tapes) issue. All along we have said that we want a fair and just inquiry and fair and just action. Unfortunately, in the past three-and-a-half years there have been none. There has only been action against us, victimization of us. Even now our stand has been the same. Please have fair and just action. I have written three points for the PM to act on, that he must ensure that all the people who were party to the victimization of Tehelka and First Global must also be brought to book. Otherwise, they will do this to somebody else tomorrow. So it must go along its logical course. Secondly, we said we don’t want a bailout from the government. We have already been exonerated, as in the past three-and-a-half-years we have been endlessly investigated by the vindictive (NDA) government and in spite of that nothing has been found. We have had an honorable exoneration and the government must declare it as an honorable exoneration after all inquiries instead of bailing us out. Our motives are clear and nothing has been found. All the government officers who colluded in the witch-hunt against the Tehelka and First Global must all be made accountable. What happens every time is that the government guys always get away with it. We have told them to make sure it does not happen again otherwise they will do this to somebody else. Thirdly, we have said that we must be compensated for the state abuse we have suffered. The state is mandated to protect the lives and liberty of its citizens. In our case, the state actively and maliciously destroyed our life and liberty. Once the state has admitted that it did that then they must make a proactive gesture of reparation, of compensating us for that. Q. Do you think the sting operation served its purpose? A. I have a very simple way of understanding journalistic actions. As journalists, all you can do is to expose and inform. You are not the legislature, you are not the police, you are not the executive, and you are not the judiciary. We should be focused in our role of doing what we have to do. Then other institutions have to kick in. I think Tehelka did what it could do. There was nothing more that we could do. To that extent we are happy. We stood by our story for nearly four years every day. Whether other institutions kick in is always a question mark. We don’t control them. We have to hope that we have to do our job and others will do their job. The very fact that the Tehelka story after nearly four years still catches the imagination of the Indian people says something for its true potency and power when we tend to forget everything after two days. The Tehelka story after four years shows it has potency and true power. You set in process the deterrence bit by bit. It’s a mistake to be complacent but it is also a mistake to be too impatient. Change comes gradually. Sometimes it comes cataclysmically, but sometimes it comes bit by bit. We became independent in 1947 not because we started the struggle in 1946. We got it after 50 years struggling for it. So there is a process. There is a process of accretion that goes on. Things like what we did and many others do is part of that process. Q. In what way were you victimized? A. It was incredibly a malicious action. The first thing they did was to start an endless propaganda campaign against us...that we were ISI people, that we belonged to the Hindujas, that we belonged to the Congress, that we were crashing the stock market, that we were Dawood Ibrahim’s men. There was nothing that we were not accused of. There was a constant false propaganda campaign that was going on that the state was carrying out. Then the agencies got into action. The income tax, the Enforcement Directorate, the Intelligence Bureau...every single agency of the government got into the act. We are basically a media company and we must be the only company in India that has three CBI cases going on against us even now. So there has been constant harassment. The result of the harassment was very, very clear. First thing they did was to ensure that no investor would come anywhere near us. Eventually our offices were shut down and we were dragged into the commission of inquiry. In the commission of inquiry the government took the most immoral stand possible. Aniruddha (Bahal), (Mathew) Samuel and I deposed before the commission for weeks. For weeks we were cross-examined. Whereas not a single person found guilty of corruption was cross-examined by the government’s law officers. So it was incredibly an immoral stand. Q. So you had to close down everything? A. Absolutely. Everything closed down. We had a staff of 120 people and finally we had only four people left. The offices closed down. Then I borrowed a room from a friend of mine and then borrowed another for five months. We built the paper back bit by bit and today we are back with 190 people. Q. What did you learn from this? A. Oh, my learning has been endless. I have lived three lifetimes in three-and-a-half years. And I am no longer the journalist or the person I was before we broke the story. You only live through an experience and are not altered fundamentally. I have been fundamentally altered by my experience. Q. What kind of support did you get from the common man? A. Incredible. The good will and love was incredible. Wherever I go in India, it is humbling the kind of good will and love we get. We are attributed much more than what we actually did. This tells me that as a society, as a people, we are really desperate for hope. So even if you pinpoint a small ray of hope, people see it as a big floodlight of hope. And we really went through the experience of people giving us immense affection and love. Q. What did you do after the website was closed down? A. I was determined. I said I’m not going to lose this. Curiously by then Bollywood producers started coming forward to picturize the Tehelka story. I told them Tehelka story will become a film when my first (newspaper) issue hits the newsstand. I told them I don’t know anything about the Tehelka film but I know the last scene and that is the first issue of Tehelka paper coming out. Because I don’t want these good guys losing a good story. So what I did was to travel up and down India and began to talk to groups of people and asked them to buy advance subscriptions to the paper. I told them we are going to create a weekly paper called Tehelka. I told them you have seen what has happened to us in the pubic domain. I told them we ask you to be part of a small act of citizenship. In 10 months, by the end of 2003, we had collected enough money to launch the paper. It is not enough to run the paper but we created the paper without any investment, without any funding and there is no parallel in the world where a mass media publication has been created without any investment. Tehelka is (just) that. The lesson I learned is that if you go forward with some idealism and you touch others’ idealism they will respond. If you have clarity of vision, if you have purity of intent people will come forward and back you. In our case, people did back us. 13,000 to 14,000 people sent us (checks). Q. What about the tapes being sent to the labs? What has come out of it? A. For three years they kept attacking us saying the tapes had been doctored. Every single expert they managed to bring said the tapes are fine. Finally what they did was, two-and-a-half-years later, they sent the tapes to a British forensic expert. They did not tell us who the expert was and which was the lab. It was sent by the NDA government. Finally, the British expert said the tapes are totally clean. Our story was clean. I told them the tapes were clean and now you have to act on them. If you did not choose to act then that was everybody’s problem. Like I said in my deposition in the court. I told the judge if you look at the tape and find everything is fine and nothing is wrong then let everyone see the tape — the lawyers, media, and the public. Q. Let us talk from the moralistic point of view. As you know, bribery and corruption is widespread and what you have done is to expose only a few people. A. It’s a nihilistic argument. But at the end of the day you can do only what you can do. Tehelka exposed what it could. Some others should do what they can. On March 13, 2001, in my first press conference, I said this story is not about one political party or individual cast or character. In my opinion even if any other political party had been in power (regardless of) the cast, the character, we would still get the same story. The story is about endemic corruption. And you need to address the system. I imagined (the then Prime Minister) Atal Behari Vajpayee would cover himself in glory by acting on the tapes. He would then have been the real hero, not I. They could have sent a great message about corruption to government, business, and ordinary citizens. Instead, it seemed (the policy was) the corrupt are OK but those who expose them are the ones they’ll target. All agencies were after us. Even if there was one single bone (leave alone a skeleton) in our cupboard, they would have cleaned us out. Q. What happened to you, I am sure must have happened to a lot of people. A. I don’t want that to be the story. The story is we came back and we succeeded. If we don’t, if we die then nobody will undertake a story like this again. Which is the reason we need to succeed. We have to make sure we don’t die. Q. What plans do you have now? A. We are still doing what the Tehelka tapes did. The weekly newspaper is breaking stories. It broke 20 stories in six months. Our website is also on. And there are more (stories) in the pipeline. In a country like India the website can never be a tool for battle. Only a paper or a TV channel can be a tool. I was using other people’s platforms to wage a battle. The paper is critical. It makes it possible to wage a war.

Indo-Pak Relations Are Set to Improve, Says Rahman

Javed Akhtar, Arab News

JEDDAH, 19 October 2004 — India’s relations with its arch rival Pakistan look set to improve, according to K. Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament). “The people in both countries have welcomed the peace move,” Khan said here yesterday. “Both countries have realized that good relations are essential and must prevail between them. People-to-people contacts have increased,” said Khan, a Congress politician from the southern Karnataka state. He recalled a visit to Pakistan as member of a parliamentary delegation last year. “We received a rousing welcome from our Pakistani counterparts and the leadership and we returned the same gesture when they visited us,” he said, adding that bilateral relations were improving in the cultural and many other spheres. “Hopefully, they will further improve.” Khan, who is here to perform Umrah and pray at the Prophet’s Mosque, gave full marks to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. “There is all-round appreciation of Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) and Prime Minister (Dr. Manmohan Singh),” he said. The prime minister is a known economist and he should lead the country to progress. He is in “full control,” he said when asked whether Manmohan had a free hand as prime minister. The party (Congress) has been playing a major role and it will continue to do that. The people have given it the mandate. “The party does play a role but that does not mean that the position of prime minister is being diluted. The prime minister has made it clear that the party president has both complementary and supplementary roles.” He said the attitude of the Left Front, which supports the UPA government, was “not negative.” The Left Front and many other secular forces are part of the UPA’s prepoll alliance. As a political party, the Leftists may have different views, but that does not come in the way of the UPA government, as it pursues policies under a common minimum program. Khan said the Lok Sabha (Lower House) speaker has called a meeting of all political parties early next month to discuss all that happened in the last parliamentary session. The session was marked by adjournments due to noisy demonstrations and walkouts by the opposition. “What happened then was unusual, but everything will be sorted out at the Nov. 8 meeting.” In a democracy, the role of Parliament is important and so is the role of its presiding officer. “This is not a new role for me. I’ve been a presiding offer in the Karnataka state legislature for a long time. However, I enjoy this role, although for a short time I was a minister.” Referring to the Lok Sabha election held earlier and the recent Maharashtra state election, Khan said the people’s mandate had always turned out to be all-important. “Whenever a crisis has arisen, the Indian people have upheld secular principles. India is a secular country and will remain one. It’s the divisions within the secular forces that sometimes help communal forces to come to power. Secular parties have to remain united.” He termed the policy of reservation of jobs for Muslims as an “emotional approach.” With computerization, there is hardly any increase in government jobs. So the government finds it difficult to offer jobs. “In fact, unemployment and school dropouts have been many in the community. Our people should create jobs. We should see how to compete. If we go on asking for reservation, we’ll lose the competitive spirit. I’m not against reservation. I’m the one who got reservation in Karnataka 10 years ago. “We should work within the parameters and the constitution and get our rights as citizens of the country and not as Muslims. The moment you demand something as a Muslim, you lose the battle. In a secular society, you cannot ask anything in the name of religion. The very approach is wrong. However, the Muslim community, that has remained backward, could put forth demands on the basis of backwardness,” Khan said.