B4U India

`Bhajji let off”, real reason Symonds chose fishing over work

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:37:00 -0400

Cricket Australia’s inability to standby Australia’s cricketers during last year’s controversy surrounding a verbal scrap with Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, sowed the seed of discontent and turbulence in the mind of all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Symonds''s discontent was sown long before the Northern Territory fishing expedition.

To this day, Symonds has not forgiven Cricket Australia for what transpired in an Adelaide federal courtroom eight months ago. It was there that Symonds and three teammates were convinced by their board to downgrade a charge of racial abuse against Harbhajan Singh to one of mere verbal abuse - a ploy the Australian players were advised would help ensure a lengthy suspension after the Monkeygate scandal, but one which eventually resulted in Harbhajan escaping sanction altogether.

Harbahjan''s reprieve infuriated Symonds, who felt abandoned by administrators he felt were more interested in kowtowing to the influential Indian board than protecting their own.

Sources within the Australian team say Symonds has refused all of CA''s subsequent attempts to appease him, and the lingering resentment has fuelled his deteriorating attitude to work.

Those close to the 33-year-old do not believe he will retire, but there is grave concern over the mindset in which he will return.

Some fear that a bullish, unrepentant Symonds could erode harmony during this period of team transition, where the ever-dwindling list of senior players are being relied upon to set the standard for a new generation of Australian cricketers.

Others are worried that Symonds''s relationship with Michael Clarke - his friend and Australia''s captain elect - could prove irreparable should the Queenslander place the blame for his embarrassing expulsion solely at Clarke''s feet.

Ripples of discontent at Symonds''s wavering commitment have surfaced on occasion this year, but it was not until Darwin that the issue came to a head.

Australian players and officials were alarmed when Symonds arranged to have his fishing boat trucked from Queensland to Darwin before the three-match one-day series against Bangladesh. Hardly the sign of a man focused.

Symonds has made no secret of his distaste for his ever-burgeoning celebrity status: another factor that has gnawed at his passion for the game.

In a recent interview with the Herald, he spoke of a "traperazzi" scam during the 2007 World Cup, in which a man slapped him outside a nightclub while a hidden photographer waited to capture the ensuing outburst.

"Sport is not necessarily just sport any more," he said. "People like to know what sportsmen are doing when they''re not playing sport. People want to know what goes on behind the man, I suppose, which to me, I think, is probably slightly rude."

The majority of the Australian squad have sent Symonds messages of support since his forced return to Queensland, and those who have received replies have been heartened by his apparent determination to return to international cricket. (ANI)

Williams sisters risk suspension for Indiana Wells boycott

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:36:00 -0400

Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, have been unwilling to bend and so the chances are that, in 2010, the sisters will be suspended from the Indiana Wells Championship that they have won eight times between them.

Chief executive of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Larry Scott has been an able administrator over five years but has failed in his inability to broker a truce between the Williams sisters, and the largest event in their native California, the Indian Wells championship.

The sisters were due to play in the 2001 semi-final there but Venus withdrew with a knee injury ten minutes before the scheduled start. That announcement was jeered, as were Serena and her father, Richard, throughout the final two days later.

The Williams family said that they would never return; nor have they, The Times reported.

Scott has attempted to act as a go-between, but both sides have been unwilling to bend and so the chances are that, in 2010, the sisters will be suspended from the Miami tournament that they have won eight times between them.

“I''ve had several hours of conversation both with Venus, who is on our player council, and Serena and their family and managers about it, and they''ve told me at this point in time they''re still planning on not playing [in Indian Wells],” Scott said. (ANI)

Lee available for Test series against India

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:35:00 -0400

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has said that he is available and ready to play Test cricket in India next month despite recent break-up of his marriage.

Lee spent time with his teammates today for the first time since he split with his wife, Liz Kemp, last month.

Lee is sitting out the one-day series against Bangladesh after being given time off to deal with his marriage breakdown, but he declared himself ready for selection for the four Tests against India.

“Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it. Can’t wait,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Lee, as saying.

Lee said it had worked well spending time away from the game, and he was looking forward to achieving his long-held ambition of playing a Test match in India.

“That’s something that’s been burning inside of me for a long period of time now, so I’ll be looking forward to getting over there,” he said.

“The crowds are brilliant, the people are so friendly and lovely. It’s a tough place to play cricket but also one that is very enjoyable,” he added.

Lee took part in Australia’s light recovery session, comprising kicking footballs around, following the side''s win over Bangladesh in yesterday’s second one-day match.

Lee’s availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy defence is a major boost for Australia''s planning, given the likely absence of allrounder Andrew Symonds. (ANI)

Phelps to spend Olympic bonus on foundation for budding swimmers

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:42:00 -0400

Ace swimmer Michael Phelps has revealed that he will utilize the bonus of one million dollar he has earned for winning eight Olympic gold medals at the Beijing Olympics to start a foundation.

He has also revealed that the Michael Phelps Foundation will visit eight cities across the U.S. as part of its first assignment, during which he will discuss his Olympic experiences with children.

"Thanks to a lot of hard work, some good fortune, the inspiration I drew from so many supporters around the world, and incredible team mates, I was able to achieve that dream by winning eight gold medals in Beijing," the Mirror quoted him as saying in a statement.

"Now, my goals reach beyond the pool, to helping others realize their dreams, and continuing to grow the sport I love so much," he added.

Swimwear manufacturer Speedo pledged to give Phelps one million dollars for at least tying the record seven gold medals his compatriot Mark Spitz won at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

However, Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing, setting a new Olympic standard for a single Games. (ANI)

Doncaster girl masterminded Arab takeover of Manchester City

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:39:00 -0400

A 35-year-old modern languages graduate, and financier, Amanda Staveley, reportedly masterminded the daring takeover of Manchester City by an Arab consortium.

Thirteen years ago, Amanda reportedly rose at 4 a.m. every day to cook and strip the meat from dozens of chickens, and she had little idea that her pre-dawn catering activities would open the door to the glittering world of high finance and the billions of dollars at the disposal of the Arabian Gulf''s ruling sheikhs.

After persuading a bank manager to lend her 180,000 pounds to set up a restaurant in rural Cambridgeshire, Amanda opened her Stocks eatery close to the British horseracing hub of Newmarket. It became popular among leading members of area''s equestrian elite.

The patrons of the restaurant, where the proprietor would muck in while also dabbling in her alternative career of dealing in shares worth thousands of pounds, included senior staff from the Godolphin stables owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the most powerful racehorse owner on the planet.

It was the beginning of an association between Amanda, now 35 and a multimillionaire businesswoman, and the Middle East''s wealthiest figures that reached a spectacular culmination yesterday with the news that English club football had gained a proprietor to outshine the riches of even Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.

The new owner of Manchester City FC, who is the brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the biggest of the United Arab Emirates, and has access to an estimated fortune of 550 billion pounds to fund foreign acquisitions, and his advisers spent two weeks negotiating with the Yorkshire woman before tying up a deal.

It was evidence of the growing status of Amanda Staveley - whose life has waxed and waned from turning down a proposal from Prince Andrew to becoming a non-executive director of a company marketing a cream similar to Viagra - in the testosterone-fuelled world of the Premiership, that she acted as the lynchpin in a sale that has the potential to transform European football.

Although she was acting for City and its previous owner, the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, it is understood that Amanda ‘s credentials among Middle Eastern royalty were key to the sale being completed. (ANI)

Scolari fumes over Robinho non-signing

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:38:00 -0400

Chelsea coach Phil Scolari is fuming that Manchester City beat him to sign Brazilian striker Robinho.

Scolari says that after news of the signing leaked out, he felt “angry and let down.”

The Chelsea boss saw the Brazil striker as the missing piece in his Blues jigsaw, reports The Sun.

Scolari is bitterly frustrated that his Stamford Bridge outfit did not equal City’s deadline-day bid for the player. The club’s record of paying over-the-odds for less talented players than Robinho has left Scolari mystified at their actions.

Chelsea originally agreed to a fee of 28.4 million pounds for Robinho and both Scolari and the Blues’ chief executive officer Peter Kenyon made comments to the effect that the deal was done.

But subsequent rows with Real wrecked that agreement and when news of City’s bid emerged there were late calls between Chelsea’s hierarchy on what to do.

Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich and Kenyon had agreed they would not meet Real’s asking price of 32.5 million pounds.

And on Monday evening Robinho’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro, assured Chelsea that the player would not sign at Eastlands.

Real would therefore have to sell for a lower fee to Chelsea or keep hold of an unhappy star.

Yet that position changed dramatically as midnight approached and Robinho was told by Real he had to go to Manchester City.

Scolari reportedly made an 11th-hour call to convince Robinho to snub a City move.But, minutes later, the player went for a British record 32.5 million pounds. (ANI)

Gazza drinking himself to death

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:38:00 -0400

Former England football star Paul Gascoigne is reportedly drinking himself to death.

On Tuesday, he collapsed following a five-day bender.

Cops had to be called to his Algarve hotel at 6.30 a.m. as tourists found him struggling to speak and unable to focus.

One onlooker told The Sun: “He has ripped himself to shreds, psychologically. It was the most distressing thing I have ever seen. He was such a legend but then to find him babbling incoherently like this was awful.”

The ex-England star boozed with Corrie star Bradley Walsh while on holiday with pals including Jimmy ‘Five Bellies’ Gardner.

Tourists told how he downed 20 double whiskies in a day, fought with barmen over booze bills and argued with Jimmy over a 20,000 pound debt.

Gazza, who went into rehab in May after a suicide bid, arrived at Portuguese resort Vale do Lobo last week.

He began drinking last Thursday and was seen at bars until early yesterday.

He was then found alone and confused in the lobby of his five-star hotel, telling one tourist that Jimmy flew home after their row. (ANI)

Watson raring to fill the void in Oz squad left by Symonds

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:35:00 -0400

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson is reportedly raring to fill the void created by Andrew Symonds'' exit from the side on disciplinary grounds.

With Symonds certain to miss Australia''s tour of India next month - and with no guarantee the strife-torn all-rounder will ever return - the way has been cleared for Watson to reclaim the baggy green cap he last wore in 2005.

Watson''s career has been peppered with injuries and there are concerns whether his body will cope with four Tests in India.

Watson, however, insists he has never been in better shape after cutting down the workload of an over-the-top training regime that had him wound up too tight.

At 27, he expects he will have no problems getting through the toughest tour in world cricket.

"I am in physically the best shape I have ever been in my career," he said.

"The most important change is that I''m not over-training these days. I have realized that you don''t lose your talent in a day and I don''t keep training any more just for the sake of it,” Fox Sports quoted him , as saying further.

Watson burst back earlier this year when he was named player of the Indian Premier League with 472 runs and 17 wickets for Shane Warne''s victorious Jaipur franchise.

He returned to the Australian one-day team during the tour of the Caribbean earlier this year when Matthew Hayden was forced home with injury.

Regardless of Symonds'' situation, Watson would have been named in Australia''s squad to tour India.

However, suddenly he will be thrust from the role of back-up allrounder, unlikely to play a Test, into Symonds'' place.

Watson has never been given time to shine at Test level, although his partnership-breaking medium pace bowling has always been rated ahead of Symonds'' off-spin.

It is a big opportunity for Watson as there was little light at the end of the tunnel while Symonds was in the Test side.

The irony is that despite Symonds'' repeated disciplinary lapses he had been in great form over the past 12 months and would have been one of the first players picked in the Test side.

For Watson, who will return from a broken toe and a minor calf injury in today''s one-dayer against Bangladesh in Darwin, the Symonds situation represents an unexpected chance to re-establish himself at the top level. (ANI)