Warne gets share of Australia’s World Cup winnings

Warne — one of cricket bible Wisden’s five cricketers of the century — was sent home from South Africa before Australia’s first match of the tournament after testing positive for a banned diuretic.

The 33-year-old leg spinner was later banned from cricket for 12 months by the ACB’s anti-doping committee after he admitted taking a fluid-reducing pill given to him by his mother to help him slim down. Warne, man of the match in Australia’s 1999 final victory against Pakistan, had been expected to play a major role in the World Cup before retiring from one-dayers to concentrate on Test cricket.

He had lost around 13 kilogrammes (29 pounds) in the past year as part of a fitness regime. Warne said he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs and did not condone their use. But he will still receive between A$10,000 and A$15,000 from the team’s windfall for the less than two weeks he spent at the tournament, Warne’s brother and manager, Jason, said.

“The line was drawn on February 10 when Shane was suspended, so I can’t see why he shouldn’t be entitled to money he earned before that date. Surely the 12-month suspension is enough,” Jason Warne said. ACB spokesman Peter Young said the prizemoney would be split between 17 players.

The World Cup victory against India on Sunday was not only Australia’s second in a row and a record third in total — they won in 1987 and 1999 — but also extended the side’s winning streak to a record 17 one-day games.

Miandad asks team to perform or perish

Islamabad: Hoping for a long tenure for himself, Pakistan’s newly-appointed coach Javed Miandad today sent out a strong message to the new-look team asking it to perform or perish. Miandad said his own credentials should not be judged by the performance of the team.

‘No Sharjah Cup in Colombo’

Colombo: Sri Lanka has been ruled out as a possible venue for the troubled Sharjah Cup due to be held in the United Arab Emirates, cricket officials said here today. The Sharjah Cup involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa was to take place in Sharjah from April 1 to 8. But South Africa refused to travel to the United Arab Emirates because of the Iraq war.

Tournament organisers – Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) – had hoped that the event could be switched to an alternative venue, and officials had been quoted as saying Sri Lanka was a possibility. But cricket board officials today ruled out the possibility of the tournament being hosted in Sri Lanka.

“Our president (Hemaka Amarasuriya) told me that the organisers have ruled out Colombo as a venue for the tournament,” Charnika Munasinghe, spokesperson for the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) said. Sri Lanka had named its team for the tournament which features three new faces – the top-order batsman Michael Vandort, wicketkeeper-batsman Prasanna Jayawardena and leg-spinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi. Dropped are three seniors, batsmen Mahela Jayawardena, Russel Arnold and wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara – all of whom had a dreadful run in the World Cup. The Sri Lankan selectors also decided to rest ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Tikolo, Otieno set to play for English club

Nairobi: Kenyan opening batsman and wicketkeeper Kennedy Otieno and captain Steve Tikolo are set to sign contracts with foreign clubs after helping their country to the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup, officials said on Wednesday. Otieno will play for British American Tobacco in the Southampton League in Hampshire from next month. Tikolo has offers from two South African clubs — Langa of Cape Town and Soweto in Gauteng — but said negotiations are still ongoing.

Otieno, eldest of the three Obuya brothers who represented Kenya at the World Cup in South Africa, will be returning to the English club for which he played in 2000. “We have agreed on the terms and I will be playing for BAT for one season which starts in April and ends in September,” Otieno, 31, said. Otieno scored 60 runs as Kenya pulled off one of the shocks of the tournament by beating Sri Lanka by 53 runs. He also scored 79 against India in Group B defeat. Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) fixtures secretary Sharad Ghai confirmed the reports and said Otieno had KCA’s blessing to play for the English club. Otieno’s younger brother Collins Obuya, 21, also had an offer with a South African club but Ghai said the KCA wants him to join Gauteng Cricket Academy to sharpen his bowling skills. Kenya, knocked out of the semi-finals by India on Thursday, were the first non-Test nation to get beyond the first stage of a World Cup.

Kumble yet to decide on his future

Bangalore: After having watched the action from the sidelines for most part of India’s splendid World Cup campaign, ace leg-spinner Anil Kumble today said he is yet to decide on his future. Kumble, one of the senior members of the World Cup squad, said that he had not given any thought to his immediate future plans but ruled out the possibility of playing county cricket in England. “I have just returned and have not given any thought to my future plans”, Kumble said after reaching his hometown. With the team management preferring to opt for seven specialist batsmen in the team, Kumble featured in just three of the 11 matches played by India which lost to Australia in the final in Johannesburg. Kumble bowled 27 overs in the tournament and captured five wickets conceding 107 runs at an average of 21.40 per wicket with an economy rate of 3.96 runs per over.

The leg-spinner played no part in India’s progress since the final league game against Pakistan on March 1 at Centurion Park where he went wicketless, conceding 51 runs from his 10 overs.