DURBAN, South Africa, 17 March 2003 — Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes India are looking dangerous at the World Cup and warned his team to look out for the “little feller” Sachin Tendulkar. Australia and India are favorites to make the final at The Wanderers here next Sunday. Australia take on Sri Lanka in the first semifinal tomorrow, while India play Kenya on Thursday. “The two left-armers, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, are doing a fantastic job and the little feller opening the innings isn’t doing too badly either,” Ponting said. “Sachin is the best batsman I’ve seen or played against. We’re going to have to come up with some good plans if we come up against him. He’s won games against us single-handed.” Tendulkar, one-day cricket’s most successful batsman with over 12,000 runs and 34 centuries, has scored more runs, 586, than any one else in this World Cup. But Ponting refused to take victory for granted in another matchup in the final, saying India had the batting and bowling to test the Australians.
I Won’t Be Captain for Long,
Says ‘Graying’ Ganguly
JOHANNESBURG — Saurav Ganguly said yesterday he may not last long as Indian captain despite his team’s successful run in the World Cup. “I’ve been captain for three years and I’ve grown old, lost hair and grayed,” he told the BBC. “I don’t think it’s a job you can do for long. Every job has a time frame, especially captain of India.” India survived a shaky start to win eight of their nine matches and qualify for the semifinals where they take on Kenya at Durban on Thursday. It’s widely expected that India will make the final and bid for their second World Cup title after Kapil Dev’s team won it in 1983. “I’ve been all around the world and my life’s dream is to be in a World Cup final,” he said. “Qualifying for the semifinals has brought me and the whole team one step closer and it’s a huge honor. Getting into the final would be a huge, huge thing. But I don’t want to dream because we have not yet achieved it and I don’t want to get disappointed.”
Shepherd and Koertzen to
Umpire First Semifinal
JOHANNESBURG — David Shepherd of England and Rudi Koertzen of South Africa will umpire the first World Cup semifinal between Australia and Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth tomorrow. New Zealand’s Billy Bowden will be the third umpire, with Clive Lloyd of West Indies the match referee. Thursday’s second semifinal, a day-nighter at Durban between India and Kenya, will be officiated by Steve Bucknor of West Indies and Daryl Harper of Australia. The third umpire will be Simon Taufel of Australia with S.African Mike Procter the match referee.
Olonga Goes Into Hiding to
Dodge Secret Police: Press
JOHANNESBURG — Zimbabwean fast bowler Henry Olonga, who announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, has gone into hiding to dodge Zimbabwe’s secret police, a British paper said yesterday. Seven plainclothes officers from Zimbabwe’s secret police, believed to be from the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO), arrived on Friday in East London, South Africa where Zimbabwe faced the Sri Lankans, The Sunday Telegraph reported. Olonga “had been told the officers intended to ‘escort him home’, where a likely charge of treason awaited,” the newspaper said. The punishment for treason in Zimbabwe is death.
