Australian MP questions award to Sachin Tendulkar

PRIME Minister Julia Gillard may have endeared Australia to many millions of Indian cricket fans by announcing Sachin Tendulkar will receive an Order of Australia but sections of this country's cricket community are not so enamoured.

Great batsman he may be, as the Prime Minister pointed out in New Delhi yesterday with exquisite timing, but sections of the Australian cricket community still remember the central role he played in the Andrew Symonds scandal.

Tendulkar lied to an International Cricket Council appeal following the suspension of Harbhajan Singh for racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test in 2008 to save face for his country and his team mate, who was a serial offender.
While no one was surprised by Harbhajan's appalling behaviour, Tendulkar lost enormous respect on and off the field for changing his story from the original hearing to the appeal.
None of the Australian players involved in the drawn out farce wanted to comment publicly yesterday but Adam Gilchrist in his book True Colours described the appeal as a "joke".

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"Tendulkar, who'd said at the first hearing that he hadn't been able to hear what Harbhajan had said - and he was a fair way away, up the other end, so I'm certain he was telling the truth - now supported Harbhajan's version that he hadn't called Symo a 'monkey' but instead a Hindi term of abuse that might sound like 'monkey' to Australian ears," Gilchrist wrote.
"The Indians got him off the hook when they, of all people, should have been treating the matter of racial vilification with the utmost seriousness."
Tendulkar showed no respect for the Australian cricket community when he was in Australia last summer either.
At no stage did he ever bother to make a public utterance to his many fans and followers in this country, while India regularly locked its fans out of training, in contrast to Australia.
There were even widely held fears that Tendulkar would not respond to Mark Taylor when the former Australian captain and then board member made a presentation to the former Indian skipper during the Sydney Test, his last in Australia.
Tendulkar eventually did respond following a presentation on the ground as the SCG celebrated its 100th Test.
The Prime Minister revealed the rare honour during a visit to New Delhi, where she met with children in a slum playing cricket.
"This is a very special honour, very rarely awarded to someone who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian national," Ms Gillard said.
"(It is) a very special recognition of such a great batsman.
"Cricket is of course a great bond between Australia and India. We are both cricket-mad nations."
Tendulkar has played more times against Australia than any other cricketer, with 106 matches across Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals, and five tours Down Under.
He becomes the first non-Australian cricketer to receive the Order of Australia since Brian Lara, who was given the award in 2009 "for service to Australia-Caribbean relations by promoting goodwill, friendship and sportsmanship through the sport of cricket".
Two other West Indies greats have also received the honour: Clive Lloyd in 1985 and Sir Garfield Sobers in 2003, but Sobers is an Australian citizen through marriage.
Australian cricketers who have been given Order of Australia honours include Sir Donald Bradman, Allan Border, Dennis Lillee, Max Walker, Bob Simpson, Keith Miller, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Bill Lawry, Ricky Ponting, Peter Burge, Ron Archer, Alan Davidson, Dean Jones and Belinda Clark

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London 2012 Olympics - Schedule, Results

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Messi can’t win World Cup single- handedly

CESAR Luis Menotti has stated that Lionel Messi must be supported by his international colleagues if Argentina is to win the World Cup again in 2014.
The No.10, who is widely considered the Albiceleste's best player, has been criticised in the past for not replicating his club form with Barcelona on the global stage.
However, Menotti, who led Argentina to victory in the 1978 World Cup, has called on his fellow countrymen to help the forward out in their forthcoming campaign for glory.
"Leo is not going to save the Argentine team at the World Cup," Menotti told Gazeta Esportiva.
"Messi alone guarantees nothing. You cannot win a World Cup with one player. Messi could be the difference and we are lucky to have him, but if we do not assemble a team, Messi is not going to save us in 2014.
"In the 1970 World Cup, the most brilliant player I saw was Pele for Brazil, but he was not alone. With him were Rivelino, Clodoaldo, Tostao, Jairzinho and Gerson."
The South American nation last won the World Cup in 1986.

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Sania-Bhupathi out of Wimbledon, Paes advances

London: Indian tennis stalwarts Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who were locked in a selection row for the London Olympics recently, saw their fortunes take different turns on Saturday with the former reaching the third round of the men's doubles event while the latter crashed out of mixed doubles competition of the Wimbledon here.

The French Open champion pair of Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, who later joined the selection row by lashing out at the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for using her as a "bait" to pacify Paes, suffered a crushing 3-6, 1-6 defeat to Australian P Hanley and A Kudryavtseva in a 50-minute mixed-doubles match at the All England Club here.

However, Paes - who confirmed his participation in the Olympics on Friday - and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek notched up a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Isreali combination of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in a gruelling two hour and 20 minutes battle.

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Qatar holds Iran to 0-0 in World Cup qualifier

Qatar survived an onslaught from Iran to secure a well-earned 0-0 draw in an Asian World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

Iran, a favorite to advance to the 2014 finals in Brazil, was by far the better side but its attack couldn't turn the bulk of possession and good chances into goals thanks in part to Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan. It has scored only once in its first two Group A matches.

In the first half, Iran captain Javad Nekonam hit the crossbar in the 30th minute while Qatar's naturalized Brazilian defender Marcone was denied by goalkeeper Mahdi Rahmati 10 minutes before the break.

Iran's best chance in the second half came in stoppage time when a free kick from just outside the area by substitute Ashkan Dejagah just flew over the goal.

''It was difficult as I had expected. But it was a game that moved only in one direction: Towards the Qatar goal,'' Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said. ''But, despite all attempts, we couldn't score. Our inability to find the target cost us two points. We played the entire 90 minutes with full concentration, never allowing the rivals any space. Our goalkeeper was tested only once, in the first half.''

Qatar coach Paulo Autuori praised his players for bouncing back after a 4-1 defeat to South Korea last week.

''Congratulations to our players. The way we reacted after the defeat against South Korea proved the players' mental strength,'' he said. ''The presence of a 100,000-strong vociferous crowd made it even more difficult, but we showed we've the capability to withstand all those pressures.''

Qatar, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup, is level with Iran on four points in Group A, two points behind leader South Korea.

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Who Will Win Today's Euro 2012

Spain and Italy are good teams, and they're going to start 22 good players at the Euro 2012 final on Sunday. You may be surprised to learn that two teams who have made it to the final of a major competition undefeated are filled with very good players, but that's OK, because now you know. While watching these 22 good players, you might try to ascertain information about which ones are gooder than good, or at the very least, the most interesting. Here are four players you should keep an eye on throughout the match.

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Mumbai Indians register their biggest win in IPL

New Delhi: It was a clear message to the play-off opposition - Chennai Super Kings - from Mumbai Indians. A 10-wicket win with the highest opening-stand ever in the Indian Premier League, against Rajasthan Royals showed Mumbai Indians are ready to play the eliminator round. A statistical look at their resounding win in Jaipur on Sunday.
# Lasith Malinga has captured 22 wickets at 14.04 runs apiece in 13 matches - the most by a Mumbai bowler in the IPL 2012.

# The four leading wicket-takers in the IPL 2012 are Morne Morkel (25), Sunil Narine (22), Lasith Malinga (22) and Vinay Kumar (19).

# Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar were associated in a stand of 163 for the first wicket - Mumbai Indians' highest in the IPL.

# The above partnership is the second highest for Mumbai Indians in the IPL - the highest is 167 (unbroken) between Herschelle Gibbs and Rohit Sharma for the second wicket against Kolkata at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on May 12, 2012.

# The above partnership is actually is the highest opening stand in the IPL, eclipsing the 159 between Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay for Chennai Super Kings against Bangalore at Chennai on May 28, 2011.

# The said partnership is the fifth highest for any wicket in the IPL.

# The above stand is the highest by any pair for any wicket against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

# Mumbai Indians have won five and lost four out of nine contested against Rajasthan Royals - success % 54.54.

# Rajasthan Royals have lost two matches by ten wickets in the IPL - one each to Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bangalore on March 18, 2010 and Mumbai Indians at Jaipur on May 20, 2012.

# Rajasthan Royals have won seven and lost nine out of 16 contested in the IPL 2012.

# Delhi Daredevils (22 points), Kolkata Knight Riders (21), Mumbai Indians (20) and Chennai Super Kings (17) are the top four teams in the present competition.

# Mumbai Indians' excellent ten-wicket victory is their biggest in terms of wickets in the IPL.

# Mumbai Indians became the third team to record ten victories or more in the IPL 2012, joining Delhi (11) and Kolkata (10).

# Sachin Tendulkar's 12th half-century in the IPL is his second in the present tournament.

# Tendulkar's unbeaten 58 off 51 balls is his 15th fifty in Twenty20.  He has completed his 300 runs in the present competition, totalling 313 at an average of 31.30 in 12 games.

# Sachin Tendulkar became the third batsman to amass 2,000 runs or more in the IPL, aggregating 2036 at an average of 38.41 in 63 matches.

# Suresh Raina (2154), Sachin Tendulkar (2036) and Gautam Gambhir (2031) are the leading run-getters in the IPL overall.

# Dhawal Kulkarni (3/18) has recorded his best bowling figures in Twenty20.

# Shane Watson has averaged 42.50 in the IPL 5, totalling 255 runs in seven innings, including two fifties.  The said average is the highest by a Rajasthan batsman in the IPL 5.

# Ajinkya Rahane (560), Rahul Dravid (462) and Owais Shah (340) are the three leading run-getters for Rajasthan in the IPL 5.

# Chris Gayle (733), Shikhar Dhawan (569), Ajinkya Rahane (560) and Gautam Gambhir (556) are the leading run-scorers in the IPL 2012.

# Dwayne Smith (87 not out off 58 balls) has posted his highest score for Mumbai Indians in the IPL - his maiden fifty.

# Smith has got his tenth Man of the Match award in Twenty20.

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