by By Sa'adi Thawfeeq
India may ask ICC match referee, former Australian batsman
Peter Burge to intervene if they feel that too much liberty
is being given to Sri Lanka's `One-man cheer squad' Percy
Abeysekera during the forthcoming Test and One-day series
in Sri Lanka.
"I would like to clarify that my only objection to Percy is
that he cannot abuse the privileges given to him in recogni-
tion of his patriotism. For instance he is made to feel
free to walk in with the new batsman, flag in hand, right
upto the pitch. If on the tour we feel that such freedom is
contrary to the smooth conduct of the game, we will protest
through the appropriate channels," Azharuddin was quoted
as saying by `The Hindu' newspaper.
HECKLING
Percy seemed to cast a spell on the present Indian captain
when he first came to Sri Lanka as a 22-year-old with Kapil
Dev's team. His fullthroated heckling from the boundary
affected Azharuddin's batting and he failed to get past 43
in any of the three Tests.
"I am a far more matured person now. I doubt I will let
such silly things upset me. I am more worried about the
young players in my team. I don't want them to suffer what
I went through. That is exactly why I expressed some reser-
vations about the behaviour of the one-man cheer squad. He
is perfectly welcome to shout, but please no more than
that," Azharuddin is quoted as saying.
India are due for a seven-match tour of Sri Lanka on July 9.
The itinerary includes three Tests and as many One-day
Internationals.
INDlA FAVOURITES
India should in theory start favourites to beat Sri Lanka
according to computer rankings published by `The Cricketer
International' magazine on current form of countries in
Test and One-day Internationals.
India are placed fourth in the Test match ratings with an
18-point lead over Sri Lanka who are eighth with 34. In
the one-day international table, the difference between the
two countries is not so great with only seven percentage
points separating the two. India are placed fifth and Sri
Lanka eighth.
However, Sri Lanka can draw some comfort from the fact that
India's overseas record is poor - not having won a single
Test abroad out of 25 played away from home since beating
England at Headingley in 1986.
The rankings which do not include the present Adhes series,
rated Australia favourites to beat England both in the
Tests and one-day internationals. Australia won the one-day
series 3-O and are currently leading 2-O in the 6-Test
series.
Test match ratings:
1. West Indies (77 percentage points)
2. Pakistan (66)
3. Australia (56)
4. India (52)
5. South Africa (43)
6. England (37)
7. New Zealand (34)
8. Sri Lanka (34)
9. Zimbabwe (18)
One-day International ratings:
1. West Indies (62)
2. Pakstan (61)
3. Australia (53)
4. England (51)
5. India (50)
6. South Africa (47)
7. New Zealand (47)
8. Sri Lanka (43)
9. Zimbabwe.
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I am reproducing this report from a Sri Lankan newspaper "The
Daily News" from another forum. Thanks to all people behind
this for electronically circulating this kind of stuff here.
Vicky:
UMass, July 13, 1993