India’s on Thursday defeated West Indies comprehensively by eight-wickets in Sydney but the result was not good enough to ensure them a place in Sunday’s final of the ICC Women’s World Cup.

The Indians were out of contention for the summit clash after Australia posted an eight-wicket win over England in another Super Six match on Thursday.

Despite the loss, England made it to the final against New Zealand who beat Pakistan by 223 runs in another Super Six match on Thursday.

India, however, got a chance to make amends for the disappointment as the win over West Indies has ensured them a place in the third-place playoff match against Australia on Saturday with both the teams automatically qualifying for the next World Cup.

Chasing a meager target of 84, the Indians romped home with 193 balls to spare with opener Sulakshana Naik (39 off 48 balls) and in-form Mithali Raj (34 off 41) doing the bulk of the scoring.

Earlier, West Indian skipper Merissa Aguilleira’s decision to bat first backfired as right-arm spinner Priyanka Roy (4/14) recored her career-best figures to run through the West Indian batting order after Amita Sharma (2/14) and Rumeli Dhar (1/16) did the early damage.

India’s hopes of reaching the final of the ICC Women’s World Cup faded today as New Zealand beat them by five wickets in a Super Six stage match in Sydney.

Anjum Chopra (52) and Reema Malhotra (59) hit half centuries in India’s 207 all out in 49.4 overs. after captain Jhulan Goswami won the toss and decided to bat first.

Opener Kate Pulford led New Zealand’s chase with an 89-ball 71 as the Kiwis romped to 210 for five wickets with 14 balls to spare.
India can still reach the final, but only if they beat West Indies in their last match on March 19, New Zealand go down to Pakistan and Australia lose to England.

England are sitting pretty for a berth of the March 22 final with an all-win record while New Zealand have also brightened their chance of naking it to the sunnit clash.

Indian fielders — with the exception of Amita Sharma — proved butterfingers and failed to back up the bowlers by adding pressure at a time when wickets had fallen in quick succession. After dropping Pulford early in the innings, Mithali Raj made a mess of another catch — in the 40th over off Aimee Mason — and let it go for a six. Haidee Tiffen and Pulford also survived run-out attempts as the Indian fielders threw wide of the stumps.

Coming in to bat first, India were dealt an early blow in the fourth over itself when Anagha Deshpande (8) edged a Kate Pulford delivery to wicketkeeper Rachel Priest.

Priyanka Roy departed soon after (3), trapped LBW by Aimee Mason, to leave India, who beat Australia in their opening Super Six encounter, reeling at 26 for two.

In-form Mithali Raj (21) walked in to resurrect the innings with Anjum but the duo’s slow pace of scoring meant that the Indians managed just a little over 60 runs in the first 20 overs.

Mithali’s dismissal, caught by Priest off the bowling of medium pacer Sophie Divine, triggered another mini-collapse as Anjum, Rumeli Dhar (5) and skipper Jhulan Goswami (4) fell in quick succession, leaving India tottering at 126 for six in the 33rd over.

The Australian official who hinted his country may have to withdraw from the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games in case of security demands are not met has clearly jumped the gun.

There were no direct quotes of Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) CEO Perry Crosswhite in the ‘Courier Mail’ story threatening his country’s likely pull out of the Delhi Games though he gave enough hints.

What he said about the right of an Australian athlete to decline participation due to security fears and the idea of private security being provided to the athletes were perfectly fine. He himself said the Delhi organizers were doing their best on the security aspect.

But why should he raise the security bogey 18 months before the Games? He is setting a dangerous precedent in an uncertain world. There is no issue if Australia is concerned of the events happening (the terror attacks in Mumbai and on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore) but is it the right time to blurt out like that 18 months before the Commonwealth Games.

2010 Games is a big project for the Indian Government and Indian Olympic Association. India would feel seriously aggrieved because it would be doing all its might to have an incident-free Games which is seen as a test case for hosting bigger events like the Olympics.

A pull out by Australia, despite India promising foolproof security, will have repercussions which could spill beyond the sporting arena.

Moreover, the chain of events starting from the Mumbai terror attacks to the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team were not India’s doing. Such statements would only be received with glee by the terrorists.

No big city in the world is completely safe these days, name New York, London or Madrid. Sydney was on the list of targets in the aftermath of September 2001 attack in the United States, if reports were to be believed. There is no guarantee in future that Australia may not be the target of terrorists before a big sporting event.

Moreover, Crosswhite might have the authority to speak about a likely Australian pull out but it is none of his business to speak about scrapping the 2010 CWG a month before the Games if the security fears are not addressed. He is not the authority to speak on that as he is just a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Marketing Committee.

Indian Sports Minister MS Gill has predictably reacted strongly, saying officials anywhere must refrain from raising “hypothetical” issues.

“I wish Commonwealth Games officials would not raise hypothetical concerns and fears, a full year and half before the Games,” Gill said in a statement.

“India has the capability, and the system, to deliver on this. I would suggest to responsible people, everywhere, not to cry hypothetical wolf, every now and then,” he said.

Crosswhite might be having the hangover of the Munich Olympics in 1972 — in which he represented Australia — when terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.

His idea of sending private security with the athletes could be something the CGF and the Indian organisers or the governments could sort out as extraordinary measures in a volatile world made a hell to live in by the terrorists.

If, God forbid, any incident happens in Delhi one month or say three months before 2010 October, the Games will be in serious jeopardy. But trying to anticipate such a scenario and tell the world that this could happen is absurd.

There were no direct quotes of Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) CEO Perry Crosswhite in the ‘Courier Mail’ story threatening his country’s likely pull out of the Delhi Games though he gave enough hints.

What he said about the right of an Australian athlete to decline participation due to security fears and the idea of private security being provided to the athletes were perfectly fine. He himself said the Delhi organizers were doing their best on the security aspect.

But why should he raise the security bogey 18 months before the Games? He is setting a dangerous precedent in an uncertain world. There is no issue if Australia is concerned of the events happening (the terror attacks in Mumbai and on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore) but is it the right time to blurt out like that 18 months before the Commonwealth Games.

2010 Games is a big project for the Indian Government and Indian Olympic Association. India would feel seriously aggrieved because it would be doing all its might to have an incident-free Games which is seen as a test case for hosting bigger events like the Olympics.

A pull out by Australia, despite India promising foolproof security, will have repercussions which could spill beyond the sporting arena.

Moreover, the chain of events starting from the Mumbai terror attacks to the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team were not India’s doing. Such statements would only be received with glee by the terrorists.

No big city in the world is completely safe these days, name New York, London or Madrid. Sydney was on the list of targets in the aftermath of September 2001 attack in the United States, if reports were to be believed. There is no guarantee in future that Australia may not be the target of terrorists before a big sporting event.

Moreover, Crosswhite might have the authority to speak about a likely Australian pull out but it is none of his business to speak about scrapping the 2010 CWG a month before the Games if the security fears are not addressed. He is not the authority to speak on that as he is just a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Marketing Committee.

Indian Sports Minister MS Gill has predictably reacted strongly, saying officials anywhere must refrain from raising “hypothetical” issues.

“I wish Commonwealth Games officials would not raise hypothetical concerns and fears, a full year and half before the Games,” Gill said in a statement.

“India has the capability, and the system, to deliver on this. I would suggest to responsible people, everywhere, not to cry hypothetical wolf, every now and then,” he said.

Crosswhite might be having the hangover of the Munich Olympics in 1972 — in which he represented Australia — when terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.

His idea of sending private security with the athletes could be something the CGF and the Indian organisers or the governments could sort out as extraordinary measures in a volatile world made a hell to live in by the terrorists.

If, God forbid, any incident happens in Delhi one month or say three months before 2010 October, the Games will be in serious jeopardy. But trying to anticipate such a scenario and tell the world that this could happen is absurd.

Indian Premier League ran into rough weather on Friday with the Home Ministry withholding security clearance of the high-profile tournament despite the organisers submitting a revised schedule that took into account increased security fears after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

The Home Ministry told IPL officials that it may not be feasible to hold the games as per the existing schedule. It has asked the organisers to re-work the dates yet again.

The organisers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of various state governments and draw a revised schedule and submit it to the Home Ministry.

After weeks of suspense on the fate of the cash-rich Twenty20 event, the latest directive from the Home Ministry has put a question mark on the tournament although IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi said that it was willing to submit a new schedule.

The new development has come as a jolt for the organisers who had claimed last Tuesday that most of the states had agreed to provide security for the matches.

This is the second time that the IPL organisers have been asked to submit a revised schedule.

The IPL is keen to go ahead with the tournament as it was not possible to postpone the dates in view of the cramped international cricket calendar. In case it is postponed, it can only be held at the same time next year.

Following a video conference between senior officials of the seven states holding IPL matches and Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, the Home Ministry came out with a statement saying that it may not be feasible to hold matches as per the revised schedule submitted by the IPL on March 7.

“IPL organisers have been advised to accommodate the concerns of various state governments and draw up a revised schedule and submit the same to the MHA,” the statement said.

According to the statement, two states — Andhra Pradesh and Delhi — have expressed their inability to provide security during the election period.

Karnataka, on the other hand, has expressed its inability to provide security on two match days even though it was okay with four other match days of the league starting on April 10.

There, however, was no problem with matches in Chennai as the games there are scheduled after the election.

“It is not possible to exempt any state from its promise to release state police personnel for election duties because these have been taken into account in arriving at the overall availability of security personnel,” the MHA statement read.

Concerned over the availability of central paramilitary forces in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and simultaneous assembly polls in three states, the Home Ministry had earlier sent a revised IPL schedule to the states concerned on March 7 avoiding the polling dates.

The Ministry sent a reminder to these states on March 10 seeking their early response.

The five-phased Lok Sabha poll begins on April 16 and ends on May 13. The counting will take place on May 19 whereas the IPL tournament concludes on May 24.

Modi and IPL CEO Sundar Raman are expected to hold discussions with Home Ministry officials on Saturday.

Soon after the Home Ministry issued a statement asking the IPL organisers to re-work the dates as it was not feasible to hold matches under the existing schedule, Modi and Raman air-dashed from Mumbai to New Delhi in a bid to find a way out of the imbroglio.

The Home Ministry directive came after eight states, where matches in the second edition of the highly successful tournament were to be held, said that they may not be able to provide security in view of the general elections beginning April 16.

Modi and Raman may meet the Home Minister P Chidambaram and other top officials to get a feedback on the security issues related to the Twenty20 cricket extravaganza beginning April 10.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss in the Group B match at the Bankstown Oval, India slumped to 78 for seven before an unbroken 59-run stand for the seventh wicket between Mithali (75) and captain Jhulan Goswami (24) guided the side to 137 for seven in 50 overs, a total that looked far from imposing.

Amita Sharma (3/19), Rumeli Dhar (2/10) and Gouher Sultana (2/16) shone with the ball to skittle out the Sri Lankans for 102 in 44.2 overs.

India had a disastrous start to their innings and by the sixth over, they had lost their two top-order batters to slump to 11 for two.
Mithali, who had scored 59 in India’s nine-wicket loss to England, hit just one four in her unbeaten 120-ball knock. India had earlier beaten Pakistan by 10 wickets in their first match.

The Baggy Greens have struck back with a vengeance. All those talks of end of an era of Australian domination in world cricket will have to be revised though the Aussies are for sure no longer the all-conquering team of the past.
An inexperienced Australia under Ricky Ponting showed that they are still a team to beat though the capitulation of the South Africans in the first two Tests – in Johannesburg and Durban - was an amazing spectacle.

The Proteas seemed to have finally come out of the chokers tag when they won the Test series in Australia 2-1 in January. But when they were to give the final punch and grab the ICC Test Championships top spot they choked full time, that too in front of their home crowd.

The South Africans were in full strength while Ricky Ponting’s men were the most inexperienced Australian side in 20 years. Philip Hughes, Ben Hilfenhaus and Marcus North had not played a Test, Andrew McDonald had played one match and Peter Siddle four before coming to South Africa. 18-Test old Mitchell Johnson had to spearhead the bowling department in the absence of Brett Lee.
Besides the unavailability of Lee due to injury, there were no Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds from the Australian team which had lost to South Africa 1-2 at home.

With one Test to go in the three-match series, Australia (126 rating points) are assured of USD 175,000 in prize money for topping the ICC Test Championships table on April 1 cut-off date. South Africa have now 121 rating points and India 118. The result was, however, good for India which have a chance to grab the number two position and get richer by USD 75,000 if second-placed South Africa lose the third and final Test against Australia in Cape Town.

If Australia wrapped up the series 3-0 they will have 130 rating points and the Proteas will slip to third below India. But if the final Test ends in a draw with Australia winning the series 2-0, India and South Africa would be tied at the second spot with 118 ratings points, meaning the prize money would be shared equally between the two sides.

India will have also the chance to narrow down the gap as they start their three-match Test series against New Zealand on March 18. Ponting understandably feels he is in a unique phase of his career as the Australian captain.

“It’s certainly a unique phase in my career as a captain. To have a number of debutant, and a number of inexperienced guys, it’s something I haven’t been accustomed to,” he said. “When these challenges came up and this transitional phase first started, I looked at it as being one of the most exciting little phases of my career.”

You love him or hate him but you can’t ignore him: that is former England football captain David Beckham. He is not one of the most gifted of the footballers except his utility in dead ball situations (those swerving right footed free kicks). But he has that X-factor (with some help from the media), the charisma and the advertising brand value.

He evokes extreme polarization in opinion: from being just an ordinary footballer to an inspirational leader, from playboy to a model professional, from a fashion icon to a maverick. But like it or not, he has a fan following in every continent across Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas and Oceania.

Call it a gimmick or outpouring from the heart, when Beckham was unveiled by LA Galaxy in January 2007, he presented himself as a modern-day missionary who would take “soccer” to the American masses. He had even said at that time that he wanted to end his career in America.

“Some people laughed at me, but this move is not about the money,” he had insisted after signing a five-year deal with LA Galaxy estimated to be worth USD 10 million (128 pound sterling) per season.

“The main thing is to improve the standard and be part of history really. I think soccer can be a lot bigger in the US,” was his statesman-like assertions.

The deal was understood to comprise his basic salary reported to be USD 5.5 million (making him the most expensive MLS player), existing sponsorship contracts, merchandising shirt sales and a share of the club profits.

After two years, in January 2009, he shifted base in AC Milan on loan and was to return to LA on March 9. But now, after a successful stint at AC Milan he has extended his loan at San Siro till mid-July by partly funding a dual contract between AC Milan and LA Galaxy that allows him to play on in Italy until the end of the Serie-A season.

He will now return to Los Angeles in mid-July to play out the remainder of the Major League Soccer season, which finishes in November. After finishing the MLS season, Beckham is then expected to return to Milan from January 2010 to play in Serie-A ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.

He seems certain for a permanent transfer or another loan next season till his contract expires in 2011 or he may even exercise the break free clause allowing him to leave LA Galaxy after three seasons.

Beckham says his desire to play for a top club in order to cement his place in the England squad for the 2010 World Cup finals was the reason he took the decision to effectively fund the unique loan deal himself.

“The obvious (reason for staying at Milan) is giving me the chance to play in the 2010 World Cup. I have to do everything I can do to be involved in that. Everyone knows how passionate I am about playing for my country and, if it gives me a better chance of being involved in that squad, I’ll do anything possible to make that happen. It’s never about money, it’s always been about the football,” said the 33-year-old midfielder.

But the question is: why he did choose at the first instance to go to United States after parting ways with Real Madrid in 2007? He should have tried for a big club in Europe.

As many as 15 clubs were reported to have shown an interest in the midfielder, including Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premiership, Milanese rivals AC and Inter in Serie A — but it is to America that Beckham headed for.

Apparently to show he is committed as ever to develop “soccer” across the Atlantic, he made it known his desire to buy an MLS franchise — which would cost him in the region of 30 million pound sterling. “I have an option to own a franchise as soon as I finish playing and I will start that immediately. It is something I’m really excited about.”

This much vilified as well as idolized footballer has already made impact in America, some reports would suggest. Surveys suggest that attendance increased in MLS matches involving Galaxy and Beckham.

Helping to get football into the national consciousness has been Beckham’s greatest achievement, says Professor Andrei Markovits of the University of Michigan and author of the book ‘Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism’ which explores why football has never become the phenomenon in America that it has in the rest of the world.

Beckham Impact in MLS:

1. ESPN viewing figures 23% higher for games Beckham plays in
2. League-record crowd of 66,237 watches Beckham play for LA against New York in August 2007
3. Galaxy capitalised on the interest in Beckham by increasing ticket prices from USD 21.50 to USD 32, which helped their revenue for the 2007 season increase to USD 7,436,529. That accounted for an impressive 21% of the entire league’s revenue in 2007.
4. Galaxy become only the second in history of US team sports to have a shirt sponsor in 2007.
5. LA Galaxy jersey is Adidas’s worldwide best seller in 2007
6. Beckham played a total of 30 matches for Galaxy, contributing five goals and 12 assists though Galaxy finished 11th in 2007 and 12th in 2008 (out of 13 teams)
7. He played just five times in 2007 because of a persistent ankle injury and Galaxy finished 11th in the 13-team league.
8. The midfielder managed 25 appearances in 2008, scoring five goals and supplying 10 assists, but could not prevent Galaxy finishing 12th.

Beckham Factfile:

1. Full name: David Robert Joseph Beckham
2. Date of birth: May 2, 1975
3. Place of birth: Leytonstone, London
4. Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
5. Number of England caps till date: 108 (currently tied with Bobby Moore as England’s most-capped outfield player; goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the record for most caps) with 17 goals.
6. Twice runners-up for FIFA World Player of the Year
7. World’s highest-paid footballer in 2004
8. England captain for 58 matches from November 15, 2000 to 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.
9. Signed with Manchester United in 1992 aged 17; won the Premier League title six times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), the FA Cup twice (1996, 1999), UEFA Champions League and World Club Championship in 1999.
10. Left Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2003 for 25 million pound sterling, where he remained for four seasons, clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club (2003).
11. In January 2007, Beckham signed a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy as the highest paid player in MLS history.
12. In January 2009: Joins AC Milan on loan until March 8
13. Mar 8, 2009: Beckham to stay on AC Milan on loan till July 15, 2009.