Harbhajan Singh has been cleared of making racist comments and, as a result, has had his three-match ban rescinded, according to the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI).
Harbhajan had been accused of calling Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey" during the second Test in Sydney.
However, after an appeal at the Federal Court in Adelaide the charge was downgraded to one of using abusive language and Harbhajan has been fined 50% of his match fee as a lesser punishment.
VR Manohar, Harbhajan's counsel, said: "BCCI made it clear during the hearing that racism charge was like laying blame on the board and the nation, and should be dropped."
Match umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor had brought the charge against Harbhajan under section 3.3 of the ICC code of conduct after receiving a complaint from Australia captain Ricky Ponting on day three of the Sydney Test when the spinner was batting alongside Sachin Tendulkar.
Harbhajan was ushered into the Federal Court on Tuesday morning without making any comment to the media, and was followed in soon after by Tendulkar.
The Australian team members had arrived earlier, while Ponting left the hearing shortly after noon, again without making any comment.
Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young is keen for both sides to put the unsavoury incident behind them and concentrate on the triangular series involving the two teams and Sri Lanka looming on the horizon.
"All parties will move on with the cricket," Young said. "The game is the important thing."
Showing posts with label Ricky Ponting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ricky Ponting. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Adelaide Test : Can India Square the series
Australia and India are both set to gamble on recalled players in their fourth and final Test at the Adelaide Oval, starting here Thursday.
Trailing 2-1 but determined to square the series, India seem almost certain to recall spinner Harbhajan Singh after relegating him to 12th man duties for the third Test at the WACA Ground.
If India win in Adelaide, it will be the first time since the two sides met in 2003-04 that the Australians have failed to win a home series.
Harbhajan was suspended for three Tests following the contentious second Test in Sydney, but is free to play pending an appeal that appears certain to be heard after the series.
His absence enabled India to play three fast bowlers in Perth and while the move worked as the Indians broke Australia's 16-match winning streak with a 72-run victory, the seamers are less likely to have a major impact here.
India may drop struggling opener Wasim Jaffer and reshuffle its top order, enabling Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bat at six and all-rounder Irfan Pathan at seven, or they could axe a fast bowler.
Either way, Harbhajan is likely to be wanted to partner captain Anil Kumble with the spin duties, despite Virender Sehwag's pivotal cameo with the ball in Perth.
Trailing 2-1 but determined to square the series, India seem almost certain to recall spinner Harbhajan Singh after relegating him to 12th man duties for the third Test at the WACA Ground.
If India win in Adelaide, it will be the first time since the two sides met in 2003-04 that the Australians have failed to win a home series.
Harbhajan was suspended for three Tests following the contentious second Test in Sydney, but is free to play pending an appeal that appears certain to be heard after the series.
His absence enabled India to play three fast bowlers in Perth and while the move worked as the Indians broke Australia's 16-match winning streak with a 72-run victory, the seamers are less likely to have a major impact here.
India may drop struggling opener Wasim Jaffer and reshuffle its top order, enabling Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bat at six and all-rounder Irfan Pathan at seven, or they could axe a fast bowler.
Either way, Harbhajan is likely to be wanted to partner captain Anil Kumble with the spin duties, despite Virender Sehwag's pivotal cameo with the ball in Perth.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Day 3: Advantage Aussies
India will have to do what no other Test team has done before to come from behind and win the first cricket Test after Australia set them a historic run chase at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Australians offered the Indians 499 runs to win with two days left after declaring their second innings at 351 for seven late on the third day.
India safely reached stumps at six without loss, with Rahul Dravid on three and Wasim Jaffer on two.
Only three teams in Test cricket history have scored 400 or more in the fourth innings for victory.
The West Indies hold the Test record of 418 for seven when they beat Australia at St. Johns in 2003, while India amassed 406 for four to down the West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1976 and Australia hit 404 for three to defeat England at Headingley in 1948.
But the drop-in pitch is playing low and cracking, making high scoring problematic in the fourth innings.
"I'd like to say they have no chance, but the reality is they have to get 493 runs and they've got two days to get it so they have plenty of time," Australian batsman Michael Clarke said.
Before lunch India claimed the wickets of first-innings centurion Matthew Hayden and skipper Ricky Ponting, followed by the dismissals of Phil Jaques, Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds in the middle session, with Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist sent on their way after tea.
Opener Jaques picked up his sixth consecutive Test half-century and was out next ball to a return catch by Anil Kumble for 51 shortly after lunch.
Hayden had just passed 8,000 Test runs when he skied finger-spinner Harbhajan off a leading edge to Sourav Ganguly at long-off for 47.
Harbhajan's Test career high point was his 32 wickets at 17.03 in the three-match home series against Australia in 2001.
SCOREBOARD
Australia 1st innings: 343 M. Hayden 124, P. Jaques 66; A. Kumble 5-84,
Zaheer Khan 4-94
India 1st innings: 196 S. Tendulkar 62, S. Ganguly 43; S. Clark 4-28,
B. Lee 4-46
Australia 2nd innings
P. Jaques c and b Kumble 51
M. Hayden c Ganguly b Harbhajan 47
R. Ponting c Dravid b Harbhajan 3
M. Hussey c Tendulkar b Singh 36
M. Clarke st Dhoni b Kumble 73
A. Symonds lbw b Zaheer 44
A. Gilchrist c Singh b Harbhajan 35
B. Hogg not out 35
B. Lee not out 11
Extras lb3, nb13 16
Total for 7 wkts declared 351
Fall of wkts 1-83, 2-89, 3-139, 4-161, 5-243, 6-288, 7-316
Bowling
Zaheer 20-2-93-1 (13nb)
Singh 16-1-50-1
Kumble 25-2-102-2
Harbhajan 26-0-101-3
Tendulkar 1-0-2-0
India 2nd innings
R. Dravid not out 3
W. Jaffer not out 2
Extras nb1 1
Total for no loss 6
Bowling Lee 3-1-4-0 (1nb)
Johnson 2-1-2-0
Clark 2-2-0-0
Hogg 1-1-0-0
The Australians offered the Indians 499 runs to win with two days left after declaring their second innings at 351 for seven late on the third day.
India safely reached stumps at six without loss, with Rahul Dravid on three and Wasim Jaffer on two.
Only three teams in Test cricket history have scored 400 or more in the fourth innings for victory.
The West Indies hold the Test record of 418 for seven when they beat Australia at St. Johns in 2003, while India amassed 406 for four to down the West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1976 and Australia hit 404 for three to defeat England at Headingley in 1948.
But the drop-in pitch is playing low and cracking, making high scoring problematic in the fourth innings.
"I'd like to say they have no chance, but the reality is they have to get 493 runs and they've got two days to get it so they have plenty of time," Australian batsman Michael Clarke said.
Before lunch India claimed the wickets of first-innings centurion Matthew Hayden and skipper Ricky Ponting, followed by the dismissals of Phil Jaques, Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds in the middle session, with Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist sent on their way after tea.
Opener Jaques picked up his sixth consecutive Test half-century and was out next ball to a return catch by Anil Kumble for 51 shortly after lunch.
Hayden had just passed 8,000 Test runs when he skied finger-spinner Harbhajan off a leading edge to Sourav Ganguly at long-off for 47.
Harbhajan's Test career high point was his 32 wickets at 17.03 in the three-match home series against Australia in 2001.
SCOREBOARD
Australia 1st innings: 343 M. Hayden 124, P. Jaques 66; A. Kumble 5-84,
Zaheer Khan 4-94
India 1st innings: 196 S. Tendulkar 62, S. Ganguly 43; S. Clark 4-28,
B. Lee 4-46
Australia 2nd innings
P. Jaques c and b Kumble 51
M. Hayden c Ganguly b Harbhajan 47
R. Ponting c Dravid b Harbhajan 3
M. Hussey c Tendulkar b Singh 36
M. Clarke st Dhoni b Kumble 73
A. Symonds lbw b Zaheer 44
A. Gilchrist c Singh b Harbhajan 35
B. Hogg not out 35
B. Lee not out 11
Extras lb3, nb13 16
Total for 7 wkts declared 351
Fall of wkts 1-83, 2-89, 3-139, 4-161, 5-243, 6-288, 7-316
Bowling
Zaheer 20-2-93-1 (13nb)
Singh 16-1-50-1
Kumble 25-2-102-2
Harbhajan 26-0-101-3
Tendulkar 1-0-2-0
India 2nd innings
R. Dravid not out 3
W. Jaffer not out 2
Extras nb1 1
Total for no loss 6
Bowling Lee 3-1-4-0 (1nb)
Johnson 2-1-2-0
Clark 2-2-0-0
Hogg 1-1-0-0
Thursday, December 20, 2007
AUS vs IND: Australian squad for first India Test
Cricket Australia named a 12-man squad to take on India in the first Test of the summer series on Tuesday, with spinner Brad Hogg replacing an injured Stuart MacGill.
Fast bowler Shaun Tait has recovered from injury to return to the team which will play India in the first of four Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting December 26 "The Boxing Day".
Cricket Australia chairman Andrew Hilditch said the final side would be decided once the conditions at the MCG were inspected.
India's team arrived in Australia on Tuesday for the four Test series.
Australian Squad for first test:
Ricky Ponting (captain)
Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain)
Phil Jaques
Matthew Hayden
Michael Hussey
Andrew Symonds
Mitchell Johnson
Stuart Clark
Brett Lee
Shaun Tait
Brad Hogg
Michael Clarke.
Fast bowler Shaun Tait has recovered from injury to return to the team which will play India in the first of four Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting December 26 "The Boxing Day".
Cricket Australia chairman Andrew Hilditch said the final side would be decided once the conditions at the MCG were inspected.
India's team arrived in Australia on Tuesday for the four Test series.
Australian Squad for first test:
Ricky Ponting (captain)
Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain)
Phil Jaques
Matthew Hayden
Michael Hussey
Andrew Symonds
Mitchell Johnson
Stuart Clark
Brett Lee
Shaun Tait
Brad Hogg
Michael Clarke.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
LG ICC Player Rankings: Sangakkara and Ponting share top spot
Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Australia’s Ricky Ponting are sharing number one position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen in one of the closest battles for top spot in many years. The two are locked on 936 ratings points but Sangakkara has the first chance to move ahead again when Sri Lanka and England take the field for the third and final Test of the series in Galle, starting on Tuesday.
Also ready to pounce from third place is South Africa’s dependable all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who is just one ratings point adrift. His push for the top begins when the Proteas take on the West Indies beginning on 26 December in Port Elizabeth.
Ponting, too, will get another chance to reclaim the number-one ranking when the first Test of the four-match series against India gets underway in Melbourne on the same day.
Sangakkara’s team-mate Mahela Jayawardena has gained three places and is back into the top 10 following his magnificent 195 in the drawn second Test at Colombo. Jayawardena moves ahead of Rahul Dravid of India, Michael Clarke of Australia and the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul into ninth position.
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 14 December):
Batsman:
1. Ricky Ponting Aus
K.C.Sangakkara SL
3 Jacques Kallis SA
4 Mhd Yousuf Pak
5 Mike Hussey Aus
6 Kevin Pietersen Eng
7 Matthew Hayden Aus
8 Yunus Khan Pak
9 M.Jayawardena SL
10 S.Chanderpaul WI
Bowlers
1. M.Muralidaran SL
2. Makhaya Ntini SA
3. Dale Steyn SA
4. Stuart Clark Aus
5. Anil Kumble Ind
6. Brett Lee Aus
7. M’thew Hoggard Eng
8. Shane Bond NZ
9. Shaun Pollock SA
10. Shoaib Akhtar Pak
All-rounders
1. Jacques Kallis SA
2. Andrew Flintoff Eng
3. Shaun Pollock SA
4. Daniel Vettori NZ
5. Chaminda Vaas SL
Also ready to pounce from third place is South Africa’s dependable all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who is just one ratings point adrift. His push for the top begins when the Proteas take on the West Indies beginning on 26 December in Port Elizabeth.
Ponting, too, will get another chance to reclaim the number-one ranking when the first Test of the four-match series against India gets underway in Melbourne on the same day.
Sangakkara’s team-mate Mahela Jayawardena has gained three places and is back into the top 10 following his magnificent 195 in the drawn second Test at Colombo. Jayawardena moves ahead of Rahul Dravid of India, Michael Clarke of Australia and the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul into ninth position.
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 14 December):
Batsman:
1. Ricky Ponting Aus
K.C.Sangakkara SL
3 Jacques Kallis SA
4 Mhd Yousuf Pak
5 Mike Hussey Aus
6 Kevin Pietersen Eng
7 Matthew Hayden Aus
8 Yunus Khan Pak
9 M.Jayawardena SL
10 S.Chanderpaul WI
Bowlers
1. M.Muralidaran SL
2. Makhaya Ntini SA
3. Dale Steyn SA
4. Stuart Clark Aus
5. Anil Kumble Ind
6. Brett Lee Aus
7. M’thew Hoggard Eng
8. Shane Bond NZ
9. Shaun Pollock SA
10. Shoaib Akhtar Pak
All-rounders
1. Jacques Kallis SA
2. Andrew Flintoff Eng
3. Shaun Pollock SA
4. Daniel Vettori NZ
5. Chaminda Vaas SL
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