India eye top spot in final Sri Lanka Test

MUMBAI: India will reach the top of the ICC Test rankings for the first time if they win the third and final Test against Sri Lanka starting on Wednesday.

India lead the series 1-0 after thumping Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in last week's second Test in Kanpur and have been given an added incentive to make it 2-0.

India are currently third on the world rankings behind South Africa (first) and Sri Lanka (second) but are close enough to leapfrog them both with a victory in Mumbai.

Climbing to the top spot would undoubtedly represent a major milestone in Indian cricket but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has tried to play down the significance, warning his players just to concentrate on the match and forget about the rankings.

"It will be an added responsibility," he said.

"Becoming the number one side is not important, we've got to maintain our performance level."

India's chances of beating the Sri Lankans have already suffered a blow with in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, the world's top-ranked batsman, pulling out of the match to attend his sister's wedding.

The left-handed Gambhir has played a significant role in India's great start to the series, scoring centuries in each of the first two Tests and sharing in a 233-run opening stand with fellow centurion Virender Sehwag in Kanpur.

He is expected to be replaced by Murali Vijay, an exciting but relatively inexperienced batsmen who played his only Test against Australia last year.

Batsmen have dominated the series so far with 10 centuries in the two Tests although Indian medium-pacer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth gave the seam bowlers some hope with a five wicket haul in the first innings in Kanpur.

Although they cannot win the series, the Sri Lankans are eyeing their own slice of history and are putting their faith in spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

They never won a Test on Indian soil and the form of Muralitharan remains a real cause of concern with the world record holder managing just five wickets at a cost of 396 runs.

"We got the worst bowling conditions in the last two Tests," Muralitharan said.

"We didn't have the bowlers, that was one of the factors."

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara remains confident Muralitharan can recover and play a starring role in what will be his final Test away from home.

"He is still the best bowler that has played the game," Sangakkara said.

"So you still have to have faith in him and trust him and keep backing him 100 per cent to do the job because he is going to do it at one point.

"We have still got a lot to achieve in Mumbai. Whether we can win the series or not, we can still equal the series and finish the series 1-1. That is a great motivation for us."

Gambhir named International Cricketer of the Year

MUMBAI: In-form Indian opener Gautam Gambhir on Sunday won the Ceat International Cricketer of the Year award for his stupendous performance with the bat in the 2008-09 season.

Gambhir, who has notched seven hundreds in his last nine Tests including four in the last four, also won the Test Batsman of the Year award at a function held on Sunday night.

Gambhir's India and Delhi opening mate Virender Sehwag won the ODI Batsman of the Year award.

The Test Bowler of the Year award was bagged by Australia's left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson.

Former spin great Erapalli Prasanna was given the Lifetime Achievement award while Australia got the Team of the Year award.

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was given a special felicitation award for completing 300 wickets in Tests.

The International Spirit of Cricket award went to Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera who got injured in the Lahore terror attack in March while his compatriot Ajantha Mendis bagged the ODI Bowler of the Year award.

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said at the function that these ratings are accurate as indicated by the fact that some of the previous International Cricketer of the Year award winners were modern day greats Brian Lara (West Indies), Muthiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) and Ricky Ponting (Australia).

"Ceat Cricket Rating strives to focus on identifying the right talent. The ratings are pretty much accurate as you can see some of the modern greats like Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting etc winning the Ceat International Cricketer of the Year in the past," he said.

While Gambhir got Rs 5 lakh for being named as the International Cricketer of the Year, the other individual awards were worth Rs 2 lakh each except Samaraweera's which was worth Rs one lakh. Prasanna received Rs 5 lakh. The Australian team was given Rs 10 lakh.

Gambhir said that his contribution towards India's Test series victory in New Zealand, after more than three decades, had given him a lot of satisfaction.

"I was happy to do something for India winning a Test series in New Zealand after 32 years," said Gambhir who batted for ten hours while making the match saving 137 at Napier in the second Test again New Zealand during India's visit between February and April.

Gambhir said that he himself was surprised that he could bat for so long.

"I myself was surprised that I could play a long innings as I am not a patient guy," he added.

The award winners:

International Cricketer of the Year and Test Batsman of the Year - Gautam Gambhir (India)
ODI Batsman of the Year - Virender Sehwag (India)
Test Bowler of the year - Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
ODI Bowler of the year - Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Spirit of Cricket Award - Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka)
300 Wickets Felicitation Award - Harbhajan Singh (India)
Lifetime Achievement Award - EAS Prasanna (India).

Car accident 'my fault', says Tiger Woods

MIAMI: Golf superstar Tiger Woods broke his silence two days after crashing his car on Sunday, saying the "embarrassing" accident was his fault

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and hitting out at "unfounded and malicious rumors."

In a statement posted on his website, Woods said he was solely responsible for the accident, which attracted worldwide attention and sparked speculation about his private life.

"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Woods said. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

But Woods again declined to speak to Florida Highway Patrol troopers, who had expected to talk with him Sunday afternoon as part of their investigation into the accident.

Officers, who were turned away on both Friday and Saturday, were to meet Woods at his home and discuss how his car came to hit a fire hydrant and then a tree near his two million-dollar home in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida.

Sergeant Kim Montes, a spokeswoman from the Florda Highway Patrol, said Woods' lawyer Mark Nejame informed the patrol that Woods would not be meeting with troopers Sunday afternoon.

"It has not been rescheduled," Montes said.

Woods is not required by Florida law to make a statement to officers investigating a traffic accident. Authorities have already said alcohol wasn't a factor in the crash. Montes said that the investigators had merely wanted to give Woods an opportunity to give his version of events.

Daniel Saylor, police chief of the Orlando suburb of Windermere, has said Woods' wife, Elin, used a golf club to smash out a rear window to help him get out of his Cadillac SUV when she heard the crash from inside their home in the at 2:25 am Friday.

While Woods broke his silence with his website statement, he gave few details, calling the incident a private matter.

"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said.

Leading the speculation about the crash, the celebrity news website TMZ.com reported that a dispute between the couple was at the center of the accident.

By the website's account, Nordegren confronted her husband about tabloid reports that he was having an affair with a New York club hostess.

"The only person responsible for the accident is me," Woods said. "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."

Woods was treated for facial cuts and released from hospital on Friday.

An initial Florida Highway Patrol report that Woods was in "serious" condition in hospital sparked a frantic wave of media coverage. A clutch of reporters have since been camped out near Woods's home.

"This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me," Woods said. "I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be."

Woods, a 14-time major champion, is one of the best-known athletes in the world. According to Forbes business magazine, he is the first athlete to break through the billion-dollar earnings mark.

He and his wife have been married for five years and have two children, daughter Sam Alexis, born in 2007, and son Charlie Axel, born in February.

At age 25, he became the first man to win the US Open, the British Open, the USPGA and the Masters on a roll to make him the first simultaneous holder of all four major championship titles.

Woods is scheduled to play his last tournament of 2009 next week, when he hosts the Chevron World Challenge in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks, California. The annual event benefits his charitable foundation.

Woods was scheduled to hold a news conference at the tournament on Tuesday, and that schedule had not been revised as of Saturday evening.

Chelsea in charge after 3-0 win at Arsenal

LONDON: Chelsea cemented their position on top of the Premier League and delivered a hammer blow to Arsenal's title hopes with an emphatic 3-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Carlo Ancelotti's side moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester United thanks to a decisive spell of two goals in four minutes before half-time.

Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead with a fine finish from former Arsenal star Ashley Cole's cross, then Gunners defender Thomas Vermaelen turned another Cole delivery into his own net moments later.

Drogba rubbed salt into Arsenal's wounds with a brilliant free-kick in the closing stages to take his goal tally to eight in nine games.

The Blues, now unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions, have defeated 'big four' rivals United, Liverpool and Arsenal this season and are increasingly carrying the look of champions elect.

In stark contrast, Arsenal are now 11 points behind the leaders after their second successive league defeat. Arsene Wenger's side once again failed to produce on the big occasion as they suffered their first home loss since Chelsea won in north London in May.

Although Arsenal have been able to sweep aside some undemanding opposition during their recent 14-match unbeaten run, they had stumbed in their only two serious tests so far against Manchester United and Manchester City.

In an attempt to rid his players of any inferiority complex, Wenger had issued a stirring pre-match plea for his young team to rise the occasion and show that their moment has arrived.

They made a promising start as Cesc Fabregas and company snapped into tackles with relish. But without injured Dutch striker Robin van Persie, Arsenal lacked the cutting edge to break down Chelsea's rock-solid rearguard.

Chelsea were gradually able to exert more control in midfield and the tide began to turn in their favour.

Nicolas Anelka was first to threaten when he surged onto Frank Lampard's pass, only for Bacary Sagna, tugging at the Frenchman's shirt, to do just enough to make him miscue his shot.

After a hold-up in play to deal with a camera thrown onto the pitch from the Arsenal end, Drogba had a sight of goal. The Blues striker latched onto John Obi Mikel's cross, but could only head tamely at Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal's weakness for several seasons has been the soft centre at the heart of their defence and the visitors always looked capable of exploiting it.

It was no surprise when they did just that in the 41st minute.

John Terry started an eye-catching move with a perfectly weighted pass to Cole down the left and he teased Sagna before whipping a cross towards Drogba in the six-yard box.

As William Gallas and Vermaelen dithered, Drogba nipped into the space between them and flicked a first-time finish into the top corner with the outside of his boot.

Now the lack of belief that Wenger so feared began to seep back into Arsenal's play and they stood off Cole again with disastrous results four minutes later.

Cole, causing havoc down the left, curled over another dangerous cross and this time Vermaelen could only divert his attempted clearance into his own net from close range.

Wenger sent on England winger Theo Walcott in place of Alex Song at half-time and his change sparked Arsenal back into life.

The Gunners, who had won all 11 of their home matches this season, thought Andrey Arshavin had given them a lifeline when he smashed home from close-range, but the Russian's effort was ruled out by referee Andre Marriner for Eduardo's challenge on Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.

Arsenal were keeping Chelsea penned into their own half, but the Blues had clean-sheets in seven of their last eight games and Terry summed up their refusal to be breached with a superb challenge to deny Eduardo.

When Cole was substituted in the closing stages he departed with jeers from the Arsenal fans ringing in his ears and responded with a clenched fist gesture.

But the last word belonged to Drogba, who bent a superb free-kick past Almunia from 25 yards in the 86th minute.

Davydenko downs Del Potro for World Tour Finals crown

LONDON: Russia's Nikolay Davydenko won the ATP World Tour Finals title on Sunday with a straight sets victory over Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at London's O2 Arena.

Last year's beaten finalist Davydenko won 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 24 minutes to claim the season-ending title, disputed among the world's top eight players.

The win meant Davydenko jumped up the rankings to finish the season as the world number six, while Del Potro remains at number five.

The Russian scooped $1,510,000 in prize money, while the Argentinian collected $740,000.

Davydenko became the first Russian to win the season-ending tournament.

"Coming here as number seven and winning the tournament, I surprised myself," said Davydenko, who downed the Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal, French Open and Wimbledon title holder Roger Federer and US Open champion Del Potro en route to claiming the title.

Del Potro told him: "Congratulations, you had a great, great week, you beat everybody, you are a great, great champion."

Both finalists finished second in their groups. In Saturday's semi-finals, Davydenko beat Swiss world number one Federer 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, while Del Potro defeated Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

The pair had only met three times before, with their last clash coming in the round-robin stage of this tournament last year. Davydenko triumphed in a 6-3, 6-2 victory in Shanghai.

The Russian entered the match with a 2-1 overall lead. Both his victories were on hard courts like the O2 Arena.

The win meant Davydenko won all five finals he contested this season, while Del Potro won three and lost two.

The match was dominated by full-blooded baseline rallies, with Davydenko looking the most dangerous in the first set, making greater inroads on the Argentinian's serve and mixing up the play with drop shots.

US Open champion Del Potro, 21, won the toss and chose to receive. Davydenko won the opening game to love and, after Del Potro held serve, the Russian served a second game to love.

Davydenko scampered round the court next game to keep himself in a point at 15-15, winning a thrilling duel at the net. He then took the game to deuce with a forehand winner down the line.

Last year's beaten finalist had a second break point after Del Potro was called for a foot fault, and won the game, leaving the Argentinian glaring at the baseline judge.

Del Potro won his first point on the Russian's serve when Davydenko hit the net but the 28-year-old still comfortably held serve next game for a 4-1 lead.

After being distracted by a baby screaming, Del Potro then held serve, winning the game with a fierce smash.

Del Potro had break point in the seventh game on a double fault but Davydenko forced a deuce with a forehand winner and converted his advantage at the second time of asking.

The Argentinian served with new balls to stay in the set at 5-2 down and though Davydenko took him to deuce, Del Potro hung on.

However, the Russian held three set points in the next game and won it when Del Potro fired long.

In the second set, Del Potro turned up the aggression and gave Davydenko a tougher challenge, though it was not enough to overcome the Russian.

The first two games of the set went with serve before both players served to love.

In the fifth game, Davydenko had a break point when Del Potro hit the net, but the Argentinian won the game on the second deuce.

Del Potro then had a break point next game when Davydenko shot wide but the Russian took it to deuce with an ace and won it on the second deuce.

The Argentinian then served to love for a 4-3 lead.

Davydenko held serve, then gained three break points in the following game, piling the pressure on Del Potro. He won it when the Argentinian shot wide following a lengthy rally.

On a roll and serving for the match, Davydenko got to match point with an ace and won it when Del Potro returned a smash into the net.

IPL is a threat to international cricket: Survey

MELBOURNE: Extremely popular Indian Premier League has failed to impress the Australian fans of the game as in a survey, they have termed the mega BCCI event as the biggest threat to the health of international cricket.

Launched by the Indian cricket board in 2008, the Twenty20 tournament has seen players earning mind-boggling contracts from the organisers via auction.

Senior and young cricketers from almost all the major cricket playing nations have expressed a strong desire to earn an IPL contract.

However, 54 percent of around 4000 respondents in the survey, conducted by Herald Sun newspaper, said the slam-bang format is not good for the health of international cricket while 43 percent were of the opposite view and four percent were not sure.

If the survey is to be believed as any inkling about the future of Test cricket, the purist and lovers of the traditional format of the game have reasons to cheer.

The 78 percent of the participant fans still believe that Test cricket is number one format and only 19 percent said that it has lost its status as top format of the game.

Also, 73 percent people believe that Twenty20 format cannot take over as number one form of the game and only 20 percent said it could.

In another thumbs down to the shortest format of the game, 76 percent fans do not want Twenty20 to replace One-day as short form of cricket, though 19 percent voted for it.

A whopping 64 percent feel too much cricket is being played in international cricket calendar.

Asked about the best One-day batsman from the ICC top-10 batsmen list, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni fetched the maximum 26 percent votes followed by Indian run-machine Sachin Tendulkar and their own skipper Ricky Ponting with 22 percent votes each.

Harbhajan Singh (4%) and Zaheer Khan (2%) were at number five and seven respectively in the list of top-10 bowlers.

Interestingly, 55 percent fans feel that Michael Clarke is the best man to fit into the shoes of Ponting but at same time maximum people (14%) feel that Clarke is most over-rated player of Australia.

Injury ravaged Aussie paceman Brett Lee is finished as a Test cricketer, feel 52 percent while 39 percent still believe that he could continue to wear the baggy green.

Gambhir best Indian opener after Gavaskar: Sehwag

KANPUR: Virender Sehwag has forced many a bowlers into submission by his explosive batting but now he doffed his hat to Gautam Gambhir describing him as the best Indian opener after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Gambhir (167) slammed his fourth successive century on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka and Sehwag, who himself scored a blistering 131, said his younger opening partner can score another hundred in the next match.

"He (Gambhir) is best opener India had after Gavaskar. He has hit four successive Test centuries and already has eight Test centuries in 25-30 Tests. I think with the kind of form he is in, he can slam a ton in the next Test as well," Sehwag said after India piled on 417 for two on the opening day.

"He was in good form and hitting well. So we were still scoring at over three and his boundaries took the pressure off me and I could wait before playing my shots," he said.

Sehwag was seen interacting with Gambhir after the left-hander foozled a shot against Muttiah Muralitharan in the morning session.

Asked what he told his Delhi team-mate, Sehwag said, "I told him to think big. You are good enough to score four successive centuries. Stay three hours and you will automatically get a hundred."

Sehwag said India would look to pile up 700 plus runs tomorrow and put enough pressure on Sri Lanka so that the visitors crumble.

Sehwag and Gambhir were involved in a blistering 233-run opening stand that proved the bedrock of India's stunning batting display on the opening day of the second Test and the right-hander insists his teammates cannot relax or relent yet.

"We are in a positive frame of mind. We have scored a good total for opening day and scored at a good rate (4.63) to boot. Tomorrow, we will try to get 700-800 and then put pressure on the Lankans and get those 20 wickets," he said.

Sri Lanka managed just two wickets after a hard day's toil but Sehwag believes his bowling colleagues can overcome the lack of life on the track and bowl his side to victory.

"We bowled out Australia twice in a placid Mohali track (last year) and there is no reason why we cannot do it here. I hope Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan (Singh), (S) Sreesanth and (Pragyan) Ojha will do it for us," he said.

Sehwag's own knock was a well-paced compilation as the Delhi dasher overcame a wobbly morning hour before blooming into his aggressive self.

"With little moister in air, I knew the ball would do something and I have to be careful. They had three spinners and I fancied my chance against them. So I took time and concentrated a lot before playing my shots," he said.

"In Ahmedabad they dropped me and here too they grassed one. I told myself to play first 8-10 overs and concentrate hard. I tried to leave balls outside off-stump and it's only after first hour that I played my shots," said the explosive opener, who got a life on zero when Mahela Jayawardene dropped him off Chanaka Welegedara."

Federer floors Murray to seal no.1 spot

LONDON: Roger Federer came alive once again after losing the first set, rallying to beat Andy Murray 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday at the ATP World Tour Finals and ensuring he will have the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fifth time.

Federer dominated Murray in the final two sets, finally controlling play from his serve and also getting his forehand on target. Murray, meanwhile, started to struggle to win points when he wasn't serving.

Federer, who has two wins from two matches in Group A and is favored to reach the semifinals at the season-ending tournament, still has to play Juan Martin del Potro in the round-robin stage. Del Potro beat Federer in the U.S. Open final.

Earlier, Del Potro held on to beat Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1), giving him a chance to reach the semifinals at the O2 Arena.

Because of Federer's win, he cannot be overtaken by second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who lost to Robin Soderling on Monday in his first Group B match.

Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors are the only other players to finish the year as the top-ranked player at least five times since the rankings started in 1973. Sampras, whose record of 14 Grand Slam titles Federer broke this year at Wimbledon, has the most with six.

Federer began the night by breaking Murray's serve, but it was more because of the Briton's errors than Federer's stellar play. The lead didn't last, however, because Murray broke right back, and then started to play the kind of tennis that earned him six wins over Federer in their previous nine meetings.

Murray then broke again for a 4-2 lead, and saved a pair of break points in the next game before eventually winning the first set.

In the second, Federer won his first three service games at love, and he then broke Murray to take a 4-2 lead.

Along with his improving serve, Federer's forehand was also starting to get back to normal. In the second set alone, Federer managed 10 of his 16 forehand winners -- after only two in the first set.

In the early match, Del Potro wasted two match points in the third set and then was broken while serving for the win.

"I served much better than the other match,'' said Del Potro, who lost to Murray in his opening Group A match. "I was very focused in the important moments, especially in the tiebreak, and I take my opportunities."

The fifth-ranked Argentine most likely will have to beat four-time champion Federer on Thursday to reach the semifinals. Verdasco, with two losses, will face Murray in his next match.

Del Potro and Verdasco traded powerful forehands and accurate backhands. But the U.S. Open champion had the advantage through much of the third set and earned his second break of the match in the sixth game -- with the help of instant replay.

Verdasco sent a shot toward the baseline, and Del Potro played it cleanly and sent it back over the net. But he also immediately raised his arm to challenge the call, believing it was long. He was right, and the reversal gave him a 4-2 lead.

"It's not enough to play good tennis to beat these guys," Verdasco said. "You need to play good tennis and also play very good in the very important moments."

In Group B, Novak Djokovic and Soderling won their opening matches and will play each other Wednesday. Nadal will face Nikolay Davydenko.

Liverpool out despite victory in Hungary

BUDAPEST: Liverpool's miserable season continued as they were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage despite a 1-0 victory over Debrecen at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium on Tuesday.

The five-time champions needed to win to stand any chance of progressing from Group E but Fiorentina's 1-0 victory at home to Lyon meant the Serie A side joined the French outfit in the knockout phase at Liverpool's expense.

David Ngog gave Liverpool an early lead with a neat close-range finish but Liverpool laboured thereafter and struggled to inject any kind of energy into their play after news of Fiorentina's goal filtered through.

The victory at least secures a berth in the Europa League but it will be scant consolation for a side whose last group-stage exit came in 2002-03.

"The disappointing thing was having to rely on other people," said Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, whose side are already 13 points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League.

"We played well tonight but now we have to try and move on, build on tonight and, with a lot of players coming back from injury, try and win the Europa League.

"Of course it's disappointing. The Champions League is the main trophy at the start of the season but the only consolation now is to try and win the Europa League."

Fernando Torres's absence has given Ngog his first real chance to shine in a Liverpool shirt and the Frenchman gave the visitors a nerve-settling early lead when he converted with a backheel after Fabio Aurelio's right-wing cross had been headed back across goal by Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool dominated possession despite a heavy, uneven surface but they received a reality shock mid-way through the first half when the stadium's tannoy announcer broadcast news of Fiorentina's opening goal.

Vukasin Poleksic twice denied Ngog, first comfortably and then with a spectacular flying save, before Gergely Rudolf spurned an excellent chance to equalise when he headed wide from eight yards as the hosts began to threaten.

Liverpool continued to dictate proceedings in the second period but they frequently ran into a wall of white shirts as the home side packed the midfield and dropped back to defend the edge of their penalty area.

Gerrard twice came close to extending the away side's advantage, first seeing his shot superbly blocked by Norbert Meszaros and then forcing a good save from Poleksic with a side-footed effort.

The game in Florence hung heavy over the second half, with Lucas glancing a header wide from Dirk Kuyt's right-wing centre and Carragher also nodding off-target as Liverpool vainly sought to quicken the tempo.

Gerrard lashed over from 20 yards after a slaloming run from Daniel Agger, while Fabio Aurelio and Javier Mascherano both tested Poleksic, but there was precious little zip to the visitors' passing.

Rafael Benitez elected to withdraw Ngog for midfielder Yossi Benayoun with just over 10 minutes remaining and Liverpool's profligacy was almost punished moments later when Jose Reina had to palm over Rudolf's goalbound strike from wide on the right.

Reina then had to save from substitute Adamo Coulibaly with the last action of the game as Liverpool clung to a faint hope that was swiftly extinguished when the final whistle sounded in Tuscany.

Suggesting Tendulkar greatest is demeaning to others: Atherton

LONDON: Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsman but to suggest he is the best ever is demeaning to those former greats who survived the bodyline series and stood at the crease without any modern-day safety gears, feels former England skipper Mike Atherton.

"To suggest that Tendulkar -- or, indeed, any modern, armoured or, to use (Viv) Richards's phrase, "pampered" player -- is the best ever is demeaning to those former greats who stood at the crease in the knowledge that their next ball could be their last," Artherton wrote in 'The Times'.

Atherton feels modern-day protections have made life easier for current batsmen compared to yesteryears and so it remains to be seen how Tendulkar's career would have shaped up if these gears were not available.

"Images of Tendulkar have adorned newspapers and websites throughout the week. Images, mostly, of the 'Little Master' at the crease, compact and balanced. So compact and balanced, in fact, that Bradman said Tendulkar was the modern player whose method most closely resembled his own.

"There was, though, one crucial difference, which the image of Tendulkar on these pages on Monday highlighted. Perched on top of Tendulkar's head ... was a bright blue helmet and a grille to protect his features.

"Tendulkar was batting in a One-day game, but had the image been of him batting in whites, there is a good chance that, along with a helmet, Tendulkar would have been wearing an arm guard and a chest guard, too. He is always amply protected," he wrote.

"Which is not to say that Tendulkar lacks bravery. Indeed, he proved his 'manhood' in his first Test series when Waqar Younis bloodied his nose and Tendulkar refused treatment and carried on batting," Atherton said.

"He wore a grille from then on, though, so that when James Anderson sent a ball crashing into it at Trent Bridge in July 2007, Tendulkar was able to shake his head and carry on as if he had been hit with a wet sponge," he added.

Atherton believes Tendulkar would be inconvenienced if he steps on the field without a helmet.

"Tendulkar's method suggests that he would be little inconvenienced by not wearing a helmet. He does not hook, nor does he plunge on to the front foot. And he watches the ball like a hawk.

"Nevertheless, would he have lasted as long, would he have scored as many runs, would that blow to his face by Anderson would not have affected his confidence in any way? We cannot know for sure.

"Bradman's average plummeted in the Bodyline series, when the need for raw courage was added to the equation. A few modern players would suffer, too.

"The ball is no softer now and the bowlers no less quick, but standing at the crease knowing that you can be killed demands a different level of courage from the realisation that you might just get hurt," he added.

FIFA receive Irish demands but play down replay hopes

PARIS: FIFA said on Thursday it had received a letter from the Irish Football Association (FAI) requesting a replay of their controversial World Cup qualifying play-off against France.

However, world football's ruling body seemed to indicate there could be little chance of granting that request.

"We've received the letter from the Irish federation," a FIFA spokesman said, although he was unable to say when any decision would be made.

After beating the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Dublin, France levelled the second leg in Paris 1-1 in extra time to qualify for the World Cup finals with Ireland crashing out.

The match was tinged with controversy, however, as France captain Thierry Henry used his hand to stop the ball going out of play before passing to William Gallas to head the goal which gave France a 2-1 win on aggregate.

What was a sporting now has now turned political, with the Irish Prime Minister lending his weight to calls for a replay - and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon responding by saying governments should avoid interfering.

Earlier on Thursday the FAI said in a statement: "The blatantly incorrect decision by the referee to award the goal has damaged the integrity of the sport.

"We now call on FIFA, as the world governing body for our sport, to organise for this match to be replayed."

The Irish football body pointed to a precedent: a FIFA decision in 2005 to invalidate the result of a World Cup qualification match between Ukbekistan and Bahrain on the basis of "a technical error by the referee of the match".

In that case an Uzbeki player had infringed the rules by entering the Bahrain defensive area while a penalty was being taken by one of his teammates.

Instead of having the penalty re-taken, the match referee gave an indirect free kick to Bahrain.

The FAI said it hoped FIFA would "act in a similar fashion so that the standards of fair play and integrity can be protected".

However when asked about such a precedent FIFA said: "It's a very different. (During the Bahrain vs Uzbekistan match), the referee saw the incident in question and simply failed to apply the proper rules.

Indian Weightlifting Federation's fate to be known on Friday

NEW DELHI: Dope-tainted Indian Weightlifting Federation's fate will be known on Friday after the sport's world governing body deliberates on whether to ban it or let it off with a fine in its ongoing Executive Board meeting in Goyang City, Korea.

The international body's Executive Board has not yet taken up the six doping cases from India on the opening day of its meeting yesterday as it had too long an agenda to discuss.

"The IWF Executive Board did not make any decisions since it will hold a second day of meetings tomorrow. The agenda is so long that we couldn't finish and get to the doping problems," IWF legal counsel Monika Ungar said in a statement.

The Indian Federation, which has been banned twice in the past, faces the prospect of a third sanction after six of its lifters tested positive for banned substances last month in out of competition testing.

Under pressure from the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association, the officials of the Indian Federation resigned en masse a couple of days ago after an emergency meeting.

Despite the mass resignations, the Indian Federation is being represented at the meeting by now former General Secretary B R Gulati.

Under international rules, if four or more lifters test positive in a calendar year, the national body can be banned for a maximum of four years.

But resignations by officials has somewhat brightened the chances of a lenient view from the executive board of the IWF as one of the international body's demands, in its letter to the IOA after the dope cases, was to change the whole set up of the national federation.

What the Indian officials are banking on is that considering India is hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games for the first time, IWF chief Dr Tamas Ajan, who is close to IOA officials, can influence the other members of the executive board to take a lenient view.

A one-year ban may give a chance to the country to participate in the Commonwealth Games though it does not solve all the problems.

Brasa dismisses revolt reports, rules out quitting

NEW DELHI: India's hockey coach Jose Brasa on Thursday dismissed reports of a players' revolt against him and ruled out quitting his job over the

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issue.

Although the Indian hockey circle is abuzz with the news of a revolt by some disgruntled senior players against the Spanish coach, Brasa claimed he enjoys the support of all his wards.

"All the reports of the players' revolt are false. They do not have even an iota of truth. I have good relations with the players and my association with Indian hockey would be for a longer period," Brasa said.

According to reports, some senior players including former captain Sandeep Singh are not happy with the Brasa's style of functioning and have even shot a letter to Hockey India in this regard.

The incident has forced HI President A K Mattoo to dash off to Pune to take stock of the situation as the players have assembled in the Baelwadi Sports Complex there for a preparatory Camp ahead of next month's Champions Challenge tournament in Argentina.

Asked whether he has spoken to the players about the reported revolt, Brasa said, "I don't need to talk to them because I am with them 24 hours and I know what they think about me."

Brasa also said that no Hockey India official has spoken to him on the issue as yet.

"No one has approached me as yet and no one has asked for any clarification and explanation," he said.

Already unhappy with the slow pace with which Sports Authority of India works, Brasa also criticised the way Indian hockey players were being treated at the ongoing camp.

"I have complained many a times about the food menu for the players and no one seems to be listening. Players are getting almost same type of food everyday. The chicken given to them is no more than bones. I don't understand this.

"I have prepared a menu for the players but no one follows that. I don't understand when things will change," he fumed.