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Nathan Foy foils Indian plans

By K. Keerthivasan

WELLDONE FRIEND: Nathan Foy of England (right) who remained unbeaten with 152 runs being congratulated by India's hero Sushil Gourd who also hit a century in the World Cup cricket championship for the blind in Chennai on Thursday. — Photo: Vino John

CHENNAI DEC. 5. Nathan Foy is totally blind. In technical terms, he belongs to the B1 category. Generally, it is very rare that such people come up with a breathtaking performances. The 22-year-old orphan, who has the habit of cracking impromptu jokes, did one better and cracked an unbeaten century (152 not out, 131b, 13x4, 1x6) to guide England to an eight-wicket victory over strong contender India in the Petro World Cup for the blind at the SPIC-YMCA ground here on Thursday.

It should have been a morale-boosting win for the England team, especially following its humiliating defeat to the Proteas the other day. The knock by Foy took the Indians who were secure in the belief that 319 would be more than enough for a win, by surprise. Foy and Heindrich Swanepoel (68, 74b, 3x4) took the match away from India with a calculated assault.

Swanepoel, 32, is one of the seniormost player in the English squad and has played almost all the matches since 1998. The stocky player and his younger partner Foy put on an unbroken opening stand of 206 runs in 25 overs, which took away whatever chances the Indians nursed in the beginning.

When Swanepeol was clean bowled by Shekar Nayak, and later captain Adam Benjamin was run out by a fine throw from the deep by Nayak, England were two wickets down for 232. But Timothy Guttridge (36 not out) ensured that there was no further collapse. For a BI player, every run of his is doubled.

Sushil Gourd's fine effort in vain

Coming in to the championship with a lot of expectations and after much practice, India did not disappoint while batting. Losing two quick wickets with the score at 82 for three, India was fishing in troubled waters, but a 129-run partnership between Sushil Gourd (110 not out, 107b, 5x4) and Shekar Nayak (54, 63b, 5x4) guided India out of the woods.

Twenty three-year-old Sushil, an Albino patient (where the colour of the skin becomes white due to lack of pigment) and 16-year old Nayak (the star of the National championship final in February this year) enjoyed their stay in the middle and punished the English attack. However, an unfortunate misunderstanding between the two resulted in Nayak getting stranded at Sushil's crease.

Sushil, who is regarded as the Sachin Tendulkar of his team (and a fast bowler), batted with full authority and ran quickly between the wickets. He says he wants to do his LLB course after his graduation. "It is important I concentrate on my law next year. I will not play any cricket match for the next three years," said Sushil, currently doing his B.A. Pass course at the SSN College, New Delhi. He made his debut in the first World Cup in 1998.

Foy, who was later adjudged the man of the match, thanked his physiotherapist Owen Robinson for making him fit after the hamstrung injury he suffered against South Africa. "We fielded like demons today," Foy added.

Indian skipper Ramkaran Sharma attributed the defeat to the numerous overthrows, but did not fail to mention the excellent batting of Foy. "When two B1 players (English openers) are playing, it is difficult to contain runs, where every run of theirs is doubled. We failed to contain them."

At the CPT-IP ground, last year's runner-up Pakistan opened its campaign with a 19-run victory over Sri Lanka. Sulman Elahi, who top-scored with 52 (36b, 1x4), was named the man of the match. Sri Lanka is yet to notch up a win from two matches.

The scores:

India 319 for five in 40 overs (Ramkaran Sharma 26, Rajendra Varma 42, Sushil Gourd 110 not out, Shekar Nayak 54) lost to England 320 for two in 36.2 overs (Heindrich Swanepoel 68, Nathan Foy 152, Timothy Guttridge 36 not out).

Pakistan 224 in 34 overs (Sulman Elahi 52, Amir Ishfaq 34, Muhammad Nawab 38) bt Sri Lanka 205 in 37.5 overs (RPS Rajapakshe 44, W.U.K. Jayawardene 27, C.K. Suriyaarachchi 32).

Friday matches: Australia v England; Sri Lanka v South Africa.

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