Column

Sep 20, 2010 20:09

THE RECENT controversy of alleged spot fixing at Lords by Pakistani players has brought back to the forefront the evil of corruption associated with betting in sports. A common factor amongst the recent and past controversies has been the involvement of bookies from the subcontinent; be it an Indian bookie ‘John’ approaching Australian players Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, Sanjay Chawla approaching Hansie Cronje, a Lahore based bookmaker approaching Salim Malik or in the present case Mazhar…

Sep 07, 2010 10:09

AS ONE more scandal rears its ugly head, test cricket is burdened with another, quite unnecessary diversion. With dwindling audiences, all it takes is the acts of a ‘few bad men’ and stains are once again cast on the impeccably white uniforms of those others who enact one of the most fascinating narratives in all sport. The events of the past few days, coupled with a…

Sep 06, 2010 08:09

EVERY once in a while, the old adages like ‘innocent until proven guilty’, ‘due process’, ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ and their siblings/spouses reek of legalese. Sometimes, the boys who cried wolf end up being the pied pipers who led the innocent public down the tunnel of no belief, ebbing and flowing with the fortunes of their exalted soldiers, who mercilessly plowed…

Aug 13, 2010 07:08

THE THIRST of the football fan, stoked by the World Cup in South Africa, is going to be quenched again this week as the English Premier League returns. Friends will be divided by litmus test like allegiances of red or blue for the next few months, as the world’s most popular domestic sports competition will capture their imagination over the next few months.

The…

Jun 18, 2010 08:06

SINGHS are Kings, and in the battle royale between the two Singhs, M S Gill and Raja Randhir Singh, the sports federations of the country are the foot soldiers suffering the most: penury, insecurity, stress and frustration.

The key to the rebellion by the Indian Olympic Association was financial independence, which Raja Randhir Singh said that the IOA and federations will manage on their own. 

The recent elections to the governing body of badminton, and the…

May 21, 2010 05:05

WE ARE familiar with terms like “that’s not cricket”, “cricket is a gentleman’s game” and all that sort of thing. We are also aware that Lord’s in London is a historic venue and that MCC are the headquarters of cricket. The annals of cricket tell us that the first recorded Test match was played between England and Australia in 1877. So, England can safely be assumed to be the…

May 18, 2010 05:05

SIR Vivian Richards has offered his services to young Indian cricketers in tackling the short ball. He wants to come in as a consultant to deal with our apathy for short pitched bowling. Locker rooms around the cricketing world have abounded with the whisper that Indian batters in the overs limit format aren't too keen to take on chin music.

Two T 20 World Cups over one…

May 10, 2010 12:05

AUSTRALIA have won the ODI World Cup on the last three occasions (1999, 2003 & 2007). But prior to this strong showing in the Caribbean, have failed to come to terms with the T20 format. In the inaugural World T20 in South Africa, the Aussies were beaten by India in the semi-finals. In the next edition in England, they failed to reach the last-four stage. This time however,…

May 07, 2010 06:05

A MOVE finally made by the cosy club of IPL franchise owners on the chessboard. The gambit unleashed by Rajasthan Royals's Raj Kundra asking for representation on the IPL Governing Council is significant for it provides a clue to the direction that at least seven of the franchisees may want to take in the future.

At the end of the day, it is all about protecting one's…

Apr 22, 2010 17:04

IF at the start of IPL III, someone had mentioned that come the semi-final stage and there will more interesting things on the agenda then the cricket itself, it would have been dismissed as a laughable suggestion. But that’s exactly what has happened.

On Wednesday evening, Mumbai Indians were playing Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL semi-final, but that was not…