Govt refuses permission for Sharjah tri-series

The Union Government on Sunday finally refused permission for the Indian team to participate in the tri-nation series in Sharjah. In an official release, the government expressed its reservations over the team playing at non-regular venues. The government has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of its decision refusing permission for the team to participate in the tournament, also featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to be played from April 8-20. New Zealand has already agreed to participate in the tournament as a replacement for India.

An official release said that "Government has decided, after careful consideration, that the Indian cricket team should not participate in cricket tournaments at non-regular venues such as Sharjah, Singapore, Toronto etc, for at least three years. The BCCI has accordingly been informed that the Indian cricket team should not participate in the forthcoming tournament in Sharjah commencing from April 8, 2001."

Muthiah lauds Tendulkar's feat

The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India AC Muthiah said on Saturday that he was delighted at Sachin Tendulkar's feat of being the first batsman to cross 10,000 runs in one day internationals. Muthiah, in a press release from Chennai described Tendulkar's achievement as a 'a magnificent record.' "I am delighted Sachin has completed 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, achieving a magnificent record," he said in the statement.

Saying that the BCCI was proud of him, Muthiah conveyed his congratulations to Tendulkar, who reached the milestone in India's third one-day match against Australia in Indore on Saturday. He also wished him many more such achievements.

Steve Waugh says Ganguly breached ICC regulations

The Australian captain Steve Waugh is peeved with the haphazard use of technology in umpiring decisions. Waugh is planning to write a letter to the International Cricket Council expressing his dissatisfaction with the haphazard use of technology in umpiring decisions. Waugh told the Sydney Morning Herald, "The technology is not really up to it. The other day on a slow motion replay you couldn't tell whether Mark (Waugh) and Darren (Lehmann) crossed. Most players feel that until there was a more comprehensive use of technology, it would be fairer not to use it at all. Until you get the proper technology, there's no point bringing it in."

On Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's protests to the umpires about Lehmann's run out, the Australian captain said, "Ganguly's call for the use of a video replay breached ICC regulations. So far, match referee Cammie Smith has taken no action against Ganguly. Under the rules, you're not allowed to call for a third umpire. But I didn't think it affected the game so it shouldn't be read into too much."

Media reports from Sydney said that the latest shortcoming in the use of technology occurred during the second one-day international between Australia and India at Pune on Wednesday when there was no appropriate camera angle to help the third umpire decide whether Mark Waugh and Darren Lehmann had crossed during a midwicket mix-up that led to Lehmann's dismissal and prolonged protests from the Indian team.

Eastern Railway defeat South Central

Hosts Eastern defeated South Central by six wickets in the 15th Inter-Railway women's cricket tournament at Kolkata on Saturday.

Put in to bat, South Central were restricted to 179 for six in 45 overs. Rajini Venugopal (62) and Mithali Raj (67) added 120 runs off 22.4 overs for the second wicket. While Rajani, adjudged the best player in the recently concluded senior national tournament at Asansol faced just 42 balls and hit three fours, Mithali faced 87 balls and hit six fours. There was precious little substance in the rest of the batting however and with Purnima Chowdhury bagging three for 31, South Central ended up with a less than competitive total.

Eastern lost three wickets for 48 but then Shyama Shaw and Seema Desai came together to add 85 runs for the fourth wicket. Shyama made 49 off 77 balls with four boundary hits. After her fall, Seema and Neetu Singh steered Eastern to victory in 42.1 overs. Seema was unbeaten with 55. She faced 77 balls and hit three of them past the ropes. Neetu came up with a cameo of 25 not out off 20 balls with three boundary hits. This was South Central's second defeat in two days. They had gone down to Western on the opening day on Friday.

TNCA first division league enters final stage

The eight month long Tamil Nadu Cricket Association first division league competition for the Rajah of Palyampatti Shield has entered the final knock out stage. In the semifinals, Jolly Rovers meets Kohinoor CC on April 4 and 5 while Indian Overseas Bank plays Globe Trotters on April 6 and 7. The final is scheduled for April 10 and 11. All the matches will be held at the MA Chidambaram stadium.

Jolly Rovers topped the league table with 49 points followed by IOB (46), Kohinoor (44) and Globe Trotters (40). The two teams relegated to the second division next season are Southern Railway (25) and UFCC (T'Nagar) with 23 points.

This was the first time that the TNCA conducted the premier club competition in the state on a league cum knock out basis with the top four teams qualifying for the semifinals. Hitherto each of the 12 teams played against each other for a total of eleven games in the round robin league.

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