In times of terror, seek joy in sports

Sport has often provided me the escape route. Squeaking shoes on the wooden floor of a badminton court, the sound of a shuttlecock whizzing past the ear, reassured me that in the hours spent in its confines, everything else was secondary.

The mundaneness of a summer afternoon was made tolerable by a repeat telecast of an India-Pakistan cricket match on TV.

Racing downhill, bare-feet, on dew-kissed grass, gave me the biggest high.

But the last four days have been different. Filippo Inzaghi’s record-breaking goal in European competitions mattered little. I didn’t care that Chelsea still hadn’t made the last sixteen of the Champions League. In fact, blasphemous as it may sound, I even thought Bill Shankly a passionate fool for believing that football is more important than life and death.

My city was burning, people grieving for the loved ones they lost. How could I, then, seek solace in sport?

It’s in moments like these that you realise, sport may not be that big a deal after all. It may be important for the soul of a man but not as important as life itself.

By late Friday night, as some normalcy returned, and my mother stopped questioning every loud noise she heard while talking on the phone with me, I turned to sport again. Not to escape, but maybe to revive the faith.

I watched the DVD of that NatWest final at Lord’s, where Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif helped India rise from the dead. Then, I played the DVD of the World Cup final between France and Italy, rewinding the Zinedine Zidane head-butt some 10 times and each time gasping, “How could he?”

I saw Ronaldinho at his magical best, then immediately felt a sense of guilt at the happiness his genius brought me.

On Saturday, Mumbaikars woke up to feel safer than they felt in the last four days. I am glad that the ordeal is over. But, I guess, now we will all need reassurance.

I think I will find mine in sport. This weekend there is some football — matches that can turn out to be classics. Arsenal play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, hoping to stay in the race for the title. But I think more enthralling could be the game at the City of Manchester Stadium. It’s Manchester City against their old foes Manchester United.
Brazilian Robinho is at the centre of it all. In his first in-depth interview since moving to England, Robinho has revealed that over the last week he has been stopped by hundreds of people in the streets, who tell him, ‘You must beat United. This is our game. This is our day. You have to score the winning goal’.

For the City fans, this is the time for revenge against their more famed rivals. For the first time in years, they feel they can match the Devils kick-for-kick. A win on Sunday, could wipe out the hurt that taunts of ‘wrong Manchester’ have caused.

When Robinho joined City after a £32.5m signing from Real Madrid in September on a salary of £160,000 a week, we called him a mercenary.

Rob’s taken the criticism, played his best football, scored eight goals in 11 league games and brought immense happiness to thousands of City supporters. If he wins them the game on Sunday, they’ll have no greater hero.

In our tough times, let’s all seek our Robinhos.

Cricket needs India despite blasts: Michael Kasprowicz

The mayhem in Mumbai notwithstanding, world cricket simply cannot afford to stay away from India, according to former Australia pacer Michael Kasprowicz.

The Mumbai terror attacks has already seen the India vs England ODI series being abruptly truncated while the inaugural Champions League has also been postponed.

Kasprowicz, however, believes that irrespective of what happened in Mumbai, world cricket simply cannot do away with India.

"It's impossible to describe how big cricket in India is to an Australian," said Kasprowicz, who plays in the Indian Cricket League which also was postponed following the attacks.

"They love the game and international cricket cannot afford to leave them out of the game," he told Australian Associated Press (AAP), a news agency here.

He, however, felt that now the visiting teams would put more importance on pre-tour recce, which is already a norm with most.

"It's become a very important thing in world cricket and I know as far as players and player associations are concerned it's almost naturally part of any tour these days.

"The thing is at the end of the day it's just a game and it shouldn't be anything more than that," he said.

Recalling a similar incident in his career, Kasprowicz said, "In England in 2005 we were heading to London the next day after the bombings happened and we sat down and spoke about it and a lot of us said 'that's it, time to go home'."

"It wasn't until security was increased and we were assured of our safety before the decision was made to keep the tour going," he recalled.

On his ICL career, the Australian said he was not in any hurry to take a decision.

"My next ICL season doesn't start until March and that's a long way off so I don't know what the situation will be then," he said.

"Being honest with a family you certainly have to think about these things but at this stage I don't want to be rushing into any decisions," he said.

Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals stand by terror-hit Mumbai

Spin legend Shane Warne and the Rajasthan Royals team today expressed shock at the Mumbai terror attacks and said they stand by the city in its hour of crisis.

"We are disappointed to not be playing (in Champions League) but right now our thoughts are with the people affected by this tragedy," Warne, captain-coach of Rajasthan Royals, said in a statement.

Warne was on his way to Mumbai for the now-postponed Champions Twenty20 League but once he heard about the attacks, he stayed put in Singapore before deciding to return home.

Royals chairman Manoj Badale also expressed shock at the attacks and said, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic incidents that took place in Mumbai on Wednesday. We think of Mumbai as a second home for the Royals, and we all feel terrible right now for the wonderful people of Mumbai who make it such a vibrant city."

‘I got courage as Team India was praying for me’

BCCI auditor, who was trapped at the Taj hotel, recounts his horror story

It was just another night, he thought, when he checked into the Taj Palace in Colaba. He switched on the TV and watched Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar toy with the English attack. He called a friend in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office to say how Viru was making mincemeat of the England bowlers but before he could complete the sentence he had realised that he could himself fall to the fire of the terrorists.

When his friends, who were giving finishing touches to the Champions League work, broke the news of the terror attack, he was speechless. He did not know what to do but he knew what not to do. “I didn’t want to create panic among family members. I didn’t want to tell them of my predicament,” PB Srinivasan, an auditor of the BCCI, recalled.

He dialled the reception, which advised him to stay inside. He tried to follow the developments on TV but soon the network was blacked out in the hotel.

Using his phone he kept in touch with his friends in the BCCI, among whom was Sundar Raman, the CEO of the Champions League. Then, he got a call from the Indian team’s assistant manager Russell Radhakrishnan. “The entire Team is praying for you,” Russell told Srinivasan from the Team India hotel in Bhubaneswar.

“It gave me a lot of courage and encouragement. I decided to wait till the army or commandos come to rescue my rescue,” he said. Soon, he realised that the fifth floor of the building was in flames and he was on the third floor. He lost hope and tried to escape through the emergency fire exit. But his friends in the BCCI office suggested that he open the window and switch on the lights. He did exactly that and waved for help from his room.

The fire brigade immediately came to his rescue. They evacuated him with the help of a crane. He was then given a lift to the Cricket Centre by a Good Samaritan at around 3 am. From there they went to a Union Minister’s house whose daughter has also been part of the Champions League work. In the morning he spoke to the Board bosses Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan before leaving to Chennai thinking was it just another night.

Cricket in South Asia at stake : Sohail Tanvir

Pakistani cricketers Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir fear the Mumbai terror attack may end up making the entire South Asian region a pariah in international cricket.

Both players returned home early on Saturday morning from Mumbai via Bahrain insisting they were relieved to be back home after spending some terrifying moments in Mumbai.

"If things continue like this I don't see many teams being willing to come and play in our region. There is an acute need to face this problem jointly by the affected countries," Tanvir said at the airport.

"What happened is very sad and needs to be condemned. But the incident also shows that Pakistan is not the only country in this region facing problems from terrorism," he added.

Tanvir said Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka were all affected by terrorism and they needed to have a common strategy to deal with it or else cricket activities would be badly affected in the region.

"Until now teams were avoiding Pakistan and Sri Lanka because of security situation, but now it is sad that India could also face same problems. This would be really bad for cricketers as India is the main hub of cricket in the world," he said.

Akmal echoed the view insisting that countries in the region must have a common plan to battle terrorism so that cricket activities can continue.

"Life has to go on. But we also need to have a joint strategy to convince teams it is safe to play in Pakistan, Sri Lanka or India," he said.

The two Pakistani players were in Mumbai for the Champions League tournament when the terror attacks took place and both described the events as the worst of their life.

"We were confined to our rooms and kept on receiving calls and messages from our worried relatives and friends. It was very scary knowing what was going on and we just wanted to return home as soon as possible," Kamran said.

The wicketkeeper felt that although the tragedy in Mumbai cast a shadow over India's scheduled tour to Pakistan but the series needed to be held on schedule.

India is scheduled to visit Pakistan from January 4 to play a full Test series but with diplomatic relations already souring between the two countries after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan Cricket Board officials admit the situation is not very good and chances of the series now taking place are slim.

Innocence lost but cricket will resume: Steve Waugh

India has been robbed of its innocence by the ghastly terror strike in Mumbai but cricket in the country will resume after a short break as it is a way of life and a symbol of hope for the people there, feels former Australian skipper Steve Waugh.

"My gut feeling is that cricket will see an interruption in the short term but business will resume as normal shortly afterwards," Waugh, who has a long association with a charity for children of leprosy patients in India, said.

"The game of cricket in India is a way of life and a symbol of hope and, as such, it has the ability to restore faith and instill confidence," he wrote in a column for 'The Daily Telegraph'.

Waugh said abandoning of an ODI series by England and postponement of the Twenty20 Champions League were short-term reactions towards the tragedy that left over 150 people dead and everything will limp back to normalcy after a while albeit
with heightened security and skepticism.

"Perversely, after such a major incident India will probably be a much safer place to be than previously, for security will reach unprecedented levels at airports, five- star hotels and places where people congregate. But such is human nature that confidence will be hard to restore in the short term," he explained.

"Time is a great healer but, much like 9/11, life on the subcontinent will never be the same. The need for security will be paramount and this will affect all facets of life," he added.

The former Aussie skipper felt the terror attack was just one of the crisis facing the game's administrators, who are already battling to save cricket in strife-torn Pakistan and politically volatile Zimbabwe.

Cricket commandos save 150 lives

Security men of a South Africa-based agency, who were in India for the Champions League, were staying at the Taj Palace hotel on that fateful night

Not everyone can hire them. Their service cost a bomb. Only celebrities, businessmen and rich organisations like the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India can afford them.

On Wednesday, however, they gave their best service without taking a penny, in the midst of bombs. About 150 people, trapped in the Taj Palace hotel on that fateful night, owe their lives to seven men of Nicholls Steyn and Associates, a South Africa-based private security agency.

Bob Nicholls and his gang of supremely-fit associates — in India for the security arrangements of the now-cancelled Champions League — were having dinner at the tranquil Souk, a restaurant with serene surrounding on the top floor of the Taj Palace on Wednesday night when they suddenly realised that something was amiss. Before they could move, they heard gun shots and grenade sounds. Duty came calling unannounced, they told themselves.

They tried to take control of the situation. While identifying themselves to about 100 people, who were dining in the restaurant even as the incessant sounds of bombs and guns shots were heard, Bob and his men made a quick survey of the area.

They escorted people — of varying nationality and colour, men, women and children — to the adjacent conference hall. They were joined by about 50 more people. One among them was a shell-shocked 90-year-old woman. “It was not difficult to convince them,” Bob said. “They took care of themselves.”

That was not exactly true. Even in the chaos, they ensured that these 150 people were relaxed. The South Africans barricaded themselves with the tables and chairs in the conference room.

Bob & Co, trained to protect VVIPs, tried to contact the hotel security staff but it wasn’t easy. They knew that it would take a while to establish contact with the outside world. Meanwhile, ‘their duty was to make sure people stayed quiet’.

“The hotel staff was very helpful. They provided the best service to the guests,” said Bob, whose only weapon at that stage was a kitchen knife. After more than six hours, a hotel’s security man reached the top floor. They then chalked out a plan to walk down the emergency exit.

Bob advised the people to remove the shoes and switch off the cell phones. They guided all of them down the emergency staircase. It took about 20 minutes. “It was a good walk,” Bob recalled. What about the 90-year-old woman? “Oh, she as very cooperative,” Bob retorted. She was carried on a chair down the steps by his colleague.

So why did they have to rush to aid people? “We thought we had to do it. When I suggested to my colleagues, everyone agreed. There was unanimity. If such a situation comes, we will do it again,” he said.

Bob was not sure what would have happened if they were to encounter the terrorists. “I don’t know. They were carrying AK-47s. It would, obviously, have been difficult for us. But we would have made their task more even more difficult. The terrorists would have had to beat us to attack those people,” Bob said.

Bob disclosed that they would be leaving for South Africa on Saturday morning but with a hope to be back soon. “Cricket needs India. We hope to be back here soon for the Champions League,” he signed off.

Well done guys!

England to return home from India

England will return home following the terror attacks in Mumbai but their Test series against India will go ahead.

The first Test is set to start on 11 December in Ahmedabad and the second, scheduled for Mumbai from 19 December, will take place at an alternate venue.

Hugh Morris, England and Wales Cricket Board performance director, said: "We want to get back to a home environment.

"It will be good for all the players. They were only in one of the hotels attacked a few weeks ago."

The England squad are currently in Bhubaneswar, which is 850 miles from Mumbai, but they stayed at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai a fortnight ago and were due to return there on 16 December.

"It's been an awful tragedy that this has happened in Mumbai and the players have felt very close to it because they have been in the hotel and in the rooms and the restaurant only a couple of weeks ago," said Morris.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were keen for the tourists to remain in the country and complete the remainder of their seven-week tour despite the terrorist incidents, which killed at least 110 people and have injured another 300.

They wanted England to fulfil their three-day warm-up match in Baroda, which begins on 5 December, followed by the two-Test series starting in Ahmedabad, although the final Test scheduled for Mumbai will be moved.

With delicate discussions still on-going about the release of England players for the Indian Premier League and the reciprocal arrangement with India's leading stars and their availability for the English Premier League in 2010, it would have been understandable if they had stayed to placate the BCCI.

But after a day of intensive discussions between England, the BCCI, the players and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) back in London, they decided to fly home with a view to returning for the Test series providing security assurances are in place.

Morris revealed that the "majority" of players felt they would benefit from going home.

"The thoughts of the players and everybody at the ECB are very much with the victims of the tragedy," he said.

"To spend a few days at home in familiar surroundings with their family will do the players a lot of good."

As for the Test matches, Morris said the team would look forward to returning, as long as their safety and security could be guaranteed.

"This will be a different build-up to the one we usually have for a Test series, but we are in exceptional times and exceptional circumstances," he added.

"Clearly where England go to play cricket we have security advice, we act on that security advice and if that says it is safe and secure for players and management to go that is what we will do.

"This is a tragic event and the players feel desperately sorry for all that are caught up in the events in Mumbai. They're very disturbed by it, as we all are."

England's decision to return home has gained support from India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"We are entertainers but we should not be entertaining at a time like this," he said.

"I was up all night watching the pictures on television apart from one hour and it was a big shock. Normally they have intelligence about these sort of things but this was a total surprise."

Lalit Modi, vice president of the Indian board, insists the Tests will go ahead, although the second will be moved to a new venue.

He insisted "the safety of the players is not an issue" and said ECB chairman Giles Clarke was "very happy" with the arrangements made for the Test series.

Modi said he hoped to make an announcement later on Thursday about a new venue for the second Test.

"We are working on this as we speak," he said. "We are looking at somewhere in the south of India, because of the weather conditions."

England had lost all five of the one-day matches played so far

As for the remaining two matches of the series - originally scheduled to be played on Saturday in Guwahati and next Tuesday in Delhi, but now postponed - Modi said he still hoped that series could be completed.
The inaugural Champions League, which was due to start on Wednesday and includes Middlesex, has also been postponed.

Modi, who is also head of the Indian Premier League and the Champions League, said work was under way to reschedule that tournament as well.

The England squad will fly to Bangalore on Friday to link up with the Performance Programme Squad, which was scheduled to play a match in Mumbai on 11 December, before heading to London.

Cricket on the Indian sub-continent has been blighted by security scares for the past 20 years.

New Zealand have abandoned two tours of Sri Lanka and one of Pakistan after bomb blasts. Australia and West Indies refused to play their Sri Lanka group matches at the 1996 World Cup following an explosion in Colombo.

This year the International Cricket Council postponed the Champions League one-day tournament scheduled in Pakistan for the first time after five countries, including England, said they would not take part because of security fears.

Meanwhile, the decision to switch the second Test from Mumbai to another venue has thrown the plans of around 500 England fans into disarray.

Paul Winslow, spokesman of the unofficial England supporters' group, the Barmy Army, said he had been besieged by calls from worried members asking for advice about travelling to India.

"We would expect around 500 England fans to be going to Mumbai," said Winslow.

"I have one friend who has paid for his hotel in Mumbai already and he might not be able to get his money back. He will obviously have to pay for flights to somewhere else if it is rescheduled wherever that may be, which is obviously not ideal."

He said he would be in touch with the ECB and Foreign and Commonwealth Office before advising Barmy Army members on what to do, and insisted fans would make the trip, provided they are assured of their safety.

"As soon as someone says we can all go to India to watch cricket then that's what we'll do," he said.

"These guys are passionate, they are going to India to watch cricket just before Christmas.

"That's no small undertaking and people don't want to miss out on that opportunity. But everybody wants to know that they are safe and if people can work that out then we'll go."

ICC to brief teams on Trophy security

International Cricket Council (ICC) representatives will travel to four participating nations to allay safety fears over travelling to Pakistan for next month's Champions Trophy, it said on Wednesday.

The delegations would travel to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England, who have reservations over playing in Pakistan for the one-day event starting on Sept. 12, and brief them on the arrangements, the ICC statement said.

Faced with a possible boycott, the sport's governing body formed a task force that visited Pakistan on Tuesday to assess arrangements in the country, which has witnessed a spate of suicide bombings over the past several months.

It removed Rawalpindi as a venue, retaining only Lahore and Karachi.

ICC chief Haroon Lorgat will head the group to England while the team to Australia and New Zealand will include Tim May, chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) and Pakistan's Australian coach Geoff Lawson.

"Our desire is to ensure that every stakeholder is content with arrangements and is comfortable with the ICC Champions Trophy taking place in Pakistan," ICC president David Morgan said.

The ICC would receive the feedback on Aug. 20 to further fine tune arrangements, it added.

"We are committed to a safe and secure event in Pakistan," Morgan said. "We believe these visits and the feedback we get from them will play a major role in us achieving those ends."

Australia and New Zealand players were advised by their players' associations last month not to travel to Pakistan, after the South African players' body criticised the ICC decision not to move the tournament from Pakistan.

Besides the hosts, West Indies, India and Sri Lanka are the other teams taking part in a tournament regarded second only in importance to the World Cup.

Organisers issued a revised schedule on Wednesday.

Sept 12 - Pakistan v West Indies - Lahore

Sept 13 - Australia v India - Karachi

Sept 14 - Sri Lanka v England - Lahore

Sept 14 - South Africa v New Zealand - Karachi

Sept 15 - Pakistan v Australia - Karachi

Sept 16 - South Africa v Sri Lanka - Lahore

Sept 17 - England v New Zealand - Lahore

Sept 18 - India v West Indies - Karachi

Sept 19 - New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Lahore

Sept 20 - India v Pakistan - Karachi

Sept 21 - Australia v West Indies - Lahore

Sept 21 - England v South Africa - Karachi

Sept 24 - semi-final - Karachi

Sept 25 - reserve day

Sept 26 - semi-final - Lahore

Sept 27 - reserve day

Sept 28 - final - Lahore

Sept 29 - reserve day


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