Sports Round-Up

INDIA POST SOUTH ASIA BUREAU

Indian Pitches Overused, Say Experts

NEW DELHI: Kiwi experts on pitches have come to the conclusion that there is overdose of cricket on some grounds leading to their deterioration. Keith McAuliffe and Russell Smith, the two New Zealand curators, have visited 25 centers, including the 17 Wills World Cup venues, and they have come to realize the craze that accompanies the sport in India.

The Kiwi duo has identified the basic factors which make Indian pitches slow: excessive rolling which destroys the grass and makes the pitch numb, a lack of in-depth moisture which results in premature cracks and non-uniformity in the soil used.

Kapil Dev, the newly appointed Director of the BCCI Grounds and Wickets Committee, however, felt that the aim is not to produce fast wickets but ‘good, quality ones.’

Besides Kapil, there are five Zonal Directors--Daljit Singh (North), Dhiraj Parsana (West), Arun Lal (East), G Kasturirangan (South) and Amrit Mathur (Central)--who will co-ordinate with him.

"An ideal wicket should be loaded 60 per cent in favor of batsmen and 40 percent for the bowlers. The fast bowlers should be able to gain advantage in the first couple of days and the ball should start turning from Day three of a Test match," said Kapil.

Burdett summed it up even better: "The pitch should never be responsible for the demise of a batsman. It’s the bowler’s skill that should account for his dismissal." The Kiwi duo dismissed BCCI’s concept of uniform character of pitches as ‘vague.’

"That will not be the best of things to happen in cricket. The fun of playing in various conditions will not be there. Moreover, that is also not possible always because of the various climatic, soil and ground conditions."

Kapil stressed the need for quality outfields to improve the standard of fielding. "The grounds should be in very good shape. They should be soft enough for players to dive and take a brilliant catch," the world record-holding wicket taker observed.

What Kapil did not say at the two-day seminar in Calcutta was that the pitch was never a priority input in Indian cricket. It is left to the mali (gardener, groundsman) to see that not much money is wasted on a 22-yard strip of earth.

There has been general dissatisfaction with the preparation of pitches.

The way pitches are behaving all over the world, the International Cricket Council may have to send experts to all the cricket-playing countries.

President-elect of the ICC, Jagmohan Dalmiya, wants to set things right at home first.

Looking back at the four Test series played in India, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies and the unhappiness of the visitors illustrates the point.

The South Africans were livid with the pitch at Ahmedabad for the first Test and, to a lesser extent, with the one provided for the decider at Kanpur.

In a sincere attempt, the Indian Board invited the two soil experts from the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute to go round 17 major cricket centers to study the soil and advice the Indian groundsmen on pitch preparation.

This has provoked the reaction that there must be soil experts at all major farm universities in the country who can help out. When our agriculture scientists can work on inventing new strains of grain, coming up with ways to prepare ‘true’

pitches should not be beyond them.

‘Tennis Nirupama’ Making News

The regularity with which woman tennis star Nirupama Vaidyanathan has been making the main draw of Challenger and WTA Tour events has gladdened many Indian hearts.

But what is baffling is the All India Tennis Association’s refusal to give her financial aid.

The AITA, in its usual magnanimous fashion, offered that Nirupama should train at the Dhatia academy and travel out for tournaments. That’s a bit like asking Tiger Woods to tune up at the Delhi Golf Club!

She has now reached 158 on the WTA computer and her frequent appearances in big events have assured her a small but steady flow of funds, which, while nowhere near sufficient, at least helps her get to events week after week.

The results are now beginning to come, with good progress at Challenger events and first-round appearances at several tour events. It is a tribute to the tenacity and perseverance of the gutsy player that she has not only managed to survive abroad, but is in fact doing as well, even better, than expected. If only the AITA would realize that.

Learning Hockey Lessons From Pakistan

The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) should learn a lesson from its Pakistani counterpart in nurturing talent and promoting the game.

While the Indian juniors are facing all sorts of problems in their preparation for the junior World Cup to be held at Milton Keyes (England) in September, the Pakistanis have got down to business right away.

A report in the World Hockey, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) official magazine, states that the PHF is inviting the German junior side for a four-Test home series. Players have already been shortlisted with the PHF Secretary Col Muddasir

Asghar showing surprise at the depth of talent in Pakistan.

The Indians, on the other hand, have yet to shortlist the team, which was expected in the first week of April, not to talk of international exposure for our youngsters.

Given these circumstances, India faces the prospect of frittering away the gains made in the junior Asia Cup last year.

I-Cup Final 2-in-1 Tickets

The Independence Cup final (s) tickets in Calcutta have been priced at Rs 400, 250 and 100, CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya announced. The Rs 100 tickets will be only for players.

Briefing newsmen after presiding over a Working Committee meeting, Dalmiya said: "The total face value of the tickets for the finals will remain the same irrespective of whether one match is played or both are needed to decide the winner."

There will be two tickets for the finals, bunched together. While the one for the May 27 match will bear the price-tag, the second one, for May 28 (optional match), will just mention the day.

"In simple terms if only one match is played, the price of the ticket will be 400, 250 or 100 and if a second game is played it will be a sort of free entry for the spectators. As there will be no time for issuing tickets for the second match, we cannot help but club it together.

Incidentally, the tickets for the Wills World Cup semi-final were priced Rs 450, 300 and 100.

Now It’s ‘Official’ for Pepsi

Wonders will never cease. Pepsi which made life difficult for Coca Cola, the official sponsors of the World Cup 1996 last time over by devising its rip-roaring ad campaign of ‘nothing official about it,’ are themselves the title sponsors of the four-nation cricket tournament, the Independence Cup, this time.

The Pepsi Independence Cup also marks the beginning of a three-year contract up to 2000 during which Pepsi will have the first right of refusal to be the title sponsor for all one-day international matches and five-day Tests to be played in the country.

The ‘nothing official’ campaign caught on in such a way that it nearly attached disparaging connotations to the word ‘official.’ Coke for once was truly on the mat. All the sponsorship money it had paid to become the official drink of the tournament suddenly appeared a non-performing asset.

Deepak Jolly, Pepsi General Manager (Corporate Communications) says Pepsi does not intend to revive the official-unofficial issue in the run-up to the Independence Cup. "If you have observed the nature of our advertisements, it has always been about being young and fun-loving, with Pepsi being the drink of choice, not official.

He refused to divulge the strategy with regard to the Independence Cup.

Anand’s Brilliant, Varied Chess Wins

Viswanathan Anand, the world chess number two and the supremo of rapid chess, has of late been in sparkling form, winning tournament after tournament. Fresh after winning what is called the strongest chess tournament of 1997 at Dos Hermanas, where he remained undefeated, and displaying a superb performance in the exhibition match, beating six computers 4-2 at The Hague, he went on to win the Melody Amber rapid and blindfold tournament in Monte Carlo.

Anand is the only player to have won the tournament twice in its six-year old history. A winner in 1994, he won this time all the three titles--the combined, rapid and blindfold, making him richer by nearly rupees nine lakhs. No other player can boast of such achievements.

In the latest series, Anand established an early lead and maintained it throughout till he won the title with a round to spare, again something which no one had done earlier. He finished with 15.5 points compared to his last year’s second place 15 and the 17-point record set by him in 1994.

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