The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 60

60 The Sydney Morning Herald SPORT Wednesday, April 5, 1995 ttitude: can they harness it? urtiy a 7 Rebels switch back to Packer Kensington Oval. He was the only West Indian who saw the humorous side of a three-day, 1 0-wicket loss, his team's worst in 30 years. Selectors notice, captains notice, people notice. In the closing session, after Ambrose was ignored by his captain Richie Richardson for the new ball in Australia's second innings, a placard went up in the all-seeing Kensington Stand. One side read: "Ambrose has no fitness problem but The roar which accompanied it was a roar of approval, not the sound of dissent.

The spectator turned the flip side. It read: "Ambrose take note. This is serious stuff!" Occasionally, Ambrose appeared to be developing the to his best It never sventuated. Australia were 6-230 when the last of their recognised batsmen fell in the Test. They finished with 346.

In the past, Australia would not have made 300. Ambrose would have blasted them away. Ambrose is 31. Since he came into the West Indian side in 1987-88, he has never known the sour taste of a losing series. In 51 Tests he has taken 226 wickets at just over 21 runs apiece.

He is a phenomenon. But the way he bowled in Barbados suggests the meteor's trail is spluttering. Back home in Antigua, they are awaiting Saturday's second Test with bated breath. So are the Australians. As the man vowed: "There will be retribution!" son, Ambrose under-armed the ball back along the ground from the boundary only for Winston Benjamin to begin polishing it as soon as it was relayed to him.

His captain has defended Ambrose when he probably felt like sacking him. Richardson said after the Test: "He's struggling a little bit, not back to his best yet He needs another match or so to get back. He wants to do well, but he's lacking in power a little bit If he bowls one more time, I think he'll get it right." All of the West Indies want Curtly to get it right He missed the tour of India to be right for the Australians. He resumed his international cricket on the short tour of New Zealand and in each game looked about to return i lf" Tiger takes up the mantle at Augusta fury and savage pace which characterised his International Player of the Year performances in Australia as the West Indies came from 1-0 down to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy, 2-1, in 1992-93. They soon waned.

In 20 overs of Australia's first innings he claimed the wickets of Mark Waugh and Greg Blewett for 41 runs. He is still deadly accurate, he still exerts enormous psychological influence, but how long selectors will accept the potential of his power for performance has to be seen. Ambrose is infamous for his killer instinct His arrogance masks intelligence, raising by a few tiers the widely held West Indian Test policy of never fraternising with the enemy, a policy strokes behind winner Davis Love, who earned the final Masters spot with a play-off victory over Mike Heinen. That result, Parry's best on the US Tour in 13 months, only increased his frustration at having to sit at home in Orlando while countrymen Greg Norman, Steve Elkington, Wayne Grady and Ian Baker-Finch attempt to become the first Australian to wear the green jacket. "Put it this way, I don't think 1 i 1 1 Mjj.ij.i i.i.i 1 1 JMWWWWWMW -1 ss, i a i '4Waf.

A vs Nil te 4 lit ifMhXz4 I i i If- Ambrose all Windies fans look to him (U Soccer KENDALL HILL NSW police will examine former Socceroo coach Frank Arok's evidence to a Senate committee yesterday that he had heard a taped conversation involving bribe demands to the father of a youth team member. Arok told the committee, meeting in Melbourne, that he heard a taped telephone call allegedly between another former Socceroo coach, Rale Rasic, and Peter Gajic, the father of player Milan Gajic. "It was a very disturbing tape because it was very obvious that Rasic asked for money on behalf of national youth coach Les Scheinflug to include the kid in the national team," he said. Arok's evidence is the first time the tape's contents which were examined in the Stewart report into allegations of corruption in Australian soccer earlier this year have been detailed by someone other than Peter Gajic. A spokeswoman for the NSW Fraud Enforcement Agency last night said police would certainly seek details of the allegations made by Arok.

It was too early to say if their investigations involving Rasic and Scheinflug would be reopened. NSW police announced last week that the two officials had been cleared of fraud allegations stemming from the alleged phone conversation. The Stewart report, released in January and the catalyst for the Senate committee hearings, recommended that the allegations about Rasic be referred to the police. It also recommended that allegations that Arok sought commissions for the sale of three players to England in 1991 be referred to police, and said serious consideration should be given to the dismissal of Scheinflug. Rasic, speaking from Sydney yesterday, said he knew nothing of the alleged tape.

"I appeared in front of the Fraud Squad and I was cleared completely. Frank Arok can say what he likes he perfected after their 5-1 battering by Australia in 1975-76. Ambrose sustained a groin strain during the limited-over series. Then, reportedly, he had a sore shoulder. During the Test, he seemed awkward in the field as if with a bad hip.

Richardson dispelled the notion that he was unfit If Ambrose was fully fit, his ambling around the boundary put his team's great fielding reputation to shame. Even his admirers, fellow Antiguans Winston and Kenneth Benjamin, not half as destructive with a cricket ball as Ambrose, appeared to rebuke him for his slackness in the field. The ball is soon battered by a low concrete wall at Kensington. Retaining the polish is almost impossible. Ignored by Richard I'll be watching it on television," he said.

"I would love to be there and I know I can play the course, but I'm just going to stay at home and get ready for next week's Heritage ClassicJ." Parry led the Masters by two strokes starting the final round three years ago. He faded to tie for 13th behind champion Fred Couples, but it was good experience. Just as Baker-Finch was not mentally equipped to handle the pressure of leading the 1984 Although Warringah have had a rousing start, thrashing Newcastle 57-8 in the opening round, Lidbury was unimpressed. While former Wallaby winger Acura Niuqila replaces the injured Scott Neilson, Test prop Ewen McKenzie remains in Randwick's reserve grade. Manly have made four changes for their match against Northern Suburbs at North Sydney Oval because No 8 Rob Gallacher, centres Meli Nakauta and Kevin Reber, and fullback Phil Reber wilf be representing the Seasiders at the Melrose Sevens tournament in Scotland this weekend.

Craig Harley, Mitch Creary, Ben Paull and Dan Vickers come in. Meanwhile, Manly officials are optimistic their Test No 8 Willie Ofahengaue will return from The Big Man is back. But as PH1LW1LK1NS reports, he seems to lack the fire that has burned batsmen the world over. BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Tuesday: Curtly Ambrose wore a gold butterfly around his neck in his fleeting appearances for the West Indies in the first Test. And unless he mends his ways, he will finish as a social butterfly.

Fast bowlers burn out, but they don't burn out chortling and chiacking as Ambrose did 3t should look into his own problems, not mine," he said. Arok also told the inquiry of his reservations about the national youth team's present stay at the Dutch training camp of Papendahl, suggesting that top agents from the European competition would scour the team for cheap talent. Asked by Liberal Senator Michael Baume whether he thought the purpose of the team visit to Papendahl was partly to "parade the whole team" in front of agents, Arok said: "It's got to be something." Outside the hearing Arok said: "I am not suggesting that they are on the market. But any time a junior or youth competition is in Europe, the interested agents are over there. It's nothing new and nothing special with our case.

The only thing is that our products are very cheap so they will grab them." But Scheimlug said from Papendahl yesterday that he had banned his players from any contact with while they prepared for the world youth championships in Qatar next week. "We had a team meeting today at which the players were addressed by manager Wally Dan, national coach Eddie Thomson and myself, speaking quite bluntly about agents," Scheinflug said. "It was made very clear to the players that they are not allowed to talk to any agent and if an agent comes to the camp, he will be kicked out." The Stewart inquiry was told that more than $1 million had been lost to Australian clubs and players through agent involvement in the transfers of Australians to European clubs. The Senate committee also heard that the Australian Soccer Federation was treating its stakeholders "like mushrooms" when it came to ASF's financial affairs. Victorian Soccer Federation chairman Henry Siwka said he had no confidence in the ASF's auditors and recommended the committee subpoena the federation's financial records for independent assessment.

The Age if 2 David Hill happy to go on oath as a witness. Holmes has no future at the federation, saying the management review envisaged a continuing role for the current chief executive. "It is my belief that Ian is interested in continuing in a senior management position," Hill said. Former Socceroo striker David Mitchell has joined Malaysian League side Selangor in a $400,000 transfer from English first-division club Millwall. Socceroo striker Graham Arnold scored a goal for his Dutch club NAC Breda in a 2-1 away win against Sparta Rotterdam last weekend.

Arnold is on loan at Breda from Charleroi of the Belgian first division. i -it From Page 1 and Perth, with 20 Broncos and all but Western Red captain Brad Mackay joining the rebel league. Prominent among the rebel defections back to the ARL are Illawarra's Country Origin centre Brett Rodwell and fullback David Riolo. Sydney Bulldogs' State of Origin winger Brett Dallas has signed with the ARL and Kangaroo forward Jason Smith, who has signed with Star League, will have talks with ARL officials today. News Ltd officials were last night meeting with fringe first graders, indicating the rebel league has exhausted its opportunities of signing top players.

The Packer financial package, which rewards junior players, prompted Mr Arthurson to say: "We will deprive News Ltd of a supply line." The Packer package involves a payment of $500,000 to each club, $150,000 of which must be spent rewarding a club's 15 best juniors with $10,000 each. The remaining funds will be. used to top up the contracts of players not signed to ARL con-' tracts. More than $15 million has been allocated to elite signings. The Packer raid prompted the comment from Mr Cowley who spent yesterday feting Canberra Raiders at Murdoch's Red Hill residence.

"We're referring to the ARL as the NineOctopus Vision league," he said. 6 We're referring to the Australian Rugby League as the NineOctopus Vision league. Senator Lees called on the Minister for Communications, Mr Lee, to refer the News Ltd plan to the Australian Broadcasting Authority for investigation. Under the cross-media rules, News, which owns major metropolitan daily newspapers in every capital city of Australia except Perth, is prohibited from controlling a television station. News Ltd holds a 15 per cent stake in the Seven Network, the maximum permitted under the Broadcasting Services Act, but Telecom, its partner in its pay TV venture, Foxtel, also holds 10 per cent.

If they acted as associates to control the Seven network then News would be in breach of the cross-media rules. In formal statements on its Star League plans, News Ltd has said only that its major Star League games would be screened on free-to-air television. It did not specifically mention the Seven Network. However, because of News Ltd and Telecom's presence on the Seven share register, it is widely expected that Seven will be offered the rights if Mr Murdoch is successful in establishing his rival competition. A spokeswoman for the Australian Broadcasting Authority said the authority monitors all developments in the industry and was watching developments over the rugby league.

But it said: "It would be wrong to say there was any formal investigation." Mr Lee has said he will not interfere in the battle for control of the league, describing it as a commercial matter. His main concern was to ensure that rugby league remained available to the public on free-to-air television, which both the Packer camp and news were offering. However if Seven does end up with the free-to-air rights, the minister could find himself in a new dispute over the adequacy of the Government's cross-media rules. The Democrats' Senator Lees also said she was concerned that it would be difficult for the Seven network to do justice to the three football codes it plans to screen -Australian rules rugby League and rugby union. lineup to play Penrith at Nepean Rugby Park.

Edge is one of four changes to the team which defeated Manly 28-24. Second-rower Mark Lathwell (AC joint), breakaway Hugh Williams (concussion), and winger Joe Niuqila (ankle) will be sidelined for most of this month, while prop Evan Banfield has been replaced by Bill Young. The Fijian Fireman Eparama Tuvunivono has been included in the Gordon team to play Newcastle at Chatswood Oval, replacing the injured No 8 Justin Timothy. Reuter reports: Italy have included former Australian international back-row forward Julian Gardner in a 32-man preliminary squad for the World Cup. PAGE 59: Weekend teams.

Golf LARRY D0RMAN AUGUSTA, Tuesday: The kid was on the tee at the 15th hole at Augusta National yesterday, sizing up Nick Faldo's action and leaning on his driver. For Tiger Woods, 19 years old and playing in his first practice round in preparation for his first Masters, it was show-time. Throughout his extraordinary golfing life, Woods has always lived for such moments. He has been the perpetual phenomenon, from the time he was six months old and watching rapturously as his father hit golf balls into a net, to the moment last August when he became the youngest player, and the first black man, to win the US Amateur Championship. Now, two days short of the culmination of a dream, Woods was about to tee off on the hole where history is written in the wind.

Forty years ago this week, Gene Sarazen put the Masters on the sporting map with his double eagle at this 500m, par-five hole. Throughout time, men have added to and subtracted from the legend of this special place by their exploits here. Just last year, Jose Maria Olazabal eagled it and went on to win. Two years ago, Chip Beck declined to go for it and lost. Now it was Tiger's time, and the huge practice-round galleries lining the fairways galleries that had more black faces in them than anyone could ever remember seeing at Augusta were about to see something special.

With Faldo's ball lying in the middle of the fairway some 250m out, and with British Amateur champion Lee James's shot sitting a few metres behind Faldo, Woods tore into his tee shot. It flew off the club face with his trademark high trajectory and just kept going, high enough to take aerial photos of Faldo's and James's drives as it flew by, over the crest of the hill and down the slope, stopping just 20m or so short of the crosswalk. He had driven it somewhere in the 330m range, a good 70m to 75m past the two-time Masters champion with whom he was practising. From there, he hit a nine-iron a nine-iron! that took one hop and spun back, just over a metre from the hole. (Jack Nicklaus began his charge to a fifth green jacket here in 1986 by hitting a four-iron on his second shot.) Woods walked past the packed grandstand up to the green, grinning and waving to the applauding spectators, telling them that, yes, it British Open into the final round, but learned enough from the experience to lift the trophy seven years later, Parry knows that sooner or later he is likely again to be in contention to win a major.

However, it won't be at Augusta this year; nor is he exempt into June's US. Open, although at least he has a chance to pre-qualify for the latter, unlike the Masters. Parry claims better putting was the major reason for his injury to play in their third-round match against Penrith at Manly Oval. Ofahengaue tore his medial ligament during NSW's 23-21 win over Western Province in the Super Ten match on March 25 and was expected to be sidelined for about a month. But he could now return earlier.

Southern Districts will appeal to the NSW Rugby Union committee tonight to gain permission to play Zimbabwe Test player Honeywell Nguruve against Canberra at Forshaw Rugby Park on Saturday. He has been classified as an import, but the Rebels are seeking special dispensation, arguing that anyone who has played football in Australia for more than two years should be deemed a local. was a nine-iron, really. Behind him his caddie, the Augusta National regular Tommy Rennett, walked up to the green, holding up nine fingers to the crowd. Woods popped the putt in for eagle, and he was given another appreciative round of applause.

Everywhere he went, Tiger Woods was welcomed. There had been a rumour that additional security was needed for his group, but it wasn't necessary. Hostility was on holiday. Woods, the son of a black father and Asian mother, did not choose to be designated as golfs great black hope. It chose him.

The colour barrier was cracked here at this private province of privilege by Lee Elder in 1975. Since Calvin Peete and Jim Thorpe have played here. Thorpe's appearance in the 1988 tournament was the most recent by a black player. The club did not have a black member until it admitted Ron Townsend in the wake of the Shoal Creek controversy in 1990. It has since added one more, Bill Simms, who owns a minority interest in the Carolina Panthers gridiron.

Now it falls to Tiger Woods, freshman golfer at Stanford, to pick up the mantle. His shoulders are more than broad enough for it. His head is more than clear enough for it. After his round Woods declined to speak to the media. "That's the rules this week," he said, "to make it easier on me." Faldo, who was routinely outdriven by Woods, said: "He hits it long.

His shoulders are impressively quick through the ball. That's where he's getting his power from. He's young and has great elasticity." Someone asked Faldo just how good the overall package is. Measuring his words as carefully as he selects a club, the Englishman opted for the wait-and-see assessment. "He's just a very talented kid.

Leave it at that. He's better than me, sure, when I was that old." Someday, Woods might even be a more important golfer than Faldo. Yesterday his importance was emphasised in another way. As he was sitting with Faldo, discussing the round, a poignant scene unfolded. Once, the only way a black man got into the clubhouse at Augusta was to carry a tray.

Yesterday, a white man carrying a tray approached Woods. "Your burger will be ready soon, Mr Woods," the waiter said, refilling his ice tea glass. Woods nodded casually like a man who belongs, in more ways than one. The New York Times thrust improved performance at New Orleans, after missing the cut in his previous two starts. Parry had only 31 putts in the first round, followed by 27, 24 and 27 over the next three days.

As frustrated as he is at not playing in the Masters, he at least earned on Sunday in his quest to finish the year among the top 30 on the US Tour's money list, which would earn him automatic exemptions into next year's US Open and Masters. Nguruve has been bracketed in the Rebels' lineup with Geoff Considine. Canberra have included two Tongan forwards second-rower Falamani Mafi and back-rower Ipolito Fenukitau at the expense of former Wallaby John Ross and Brendan Jones. Mafi and Fenukitau missed the Kookaburras' first match, against Randwick, because of Super Ten duties. Eastwood and Parramatta.will play for the Geoff Johnson Memorial Shield when they meet at T.

G. Millner Field. The teams have agreed to play for the Shield as an act of respect for a coach and selector who had strong links with both teams. Australian under-19 second-rower Andrew Edge has been picked in-, the West Harbour Masters spy former Masters champion Seve Ballesteros (right) keeps an eye on defending champion Jose Maria OlazabaFs tee shot at Augusta during a practice round. Photo by reuter New Orleans blunted Parry's Masters Hill wants Senate to deliver early Rats make an international swap AUGUSTA, Tuesday: When the 59th US Masters starts here on Thursday, one golf fan will make a point of not tuning into the telecast.

Craig Parry, disappointed not to be part of the 87-man field, will ignore the year's first major championship. The Australian's last chance of qualifying to play here ended when he failed to win the New Orleans Classic on Sunday. He finished a creditable fourth, two Green RUGBY GREG GR0WDEN Warringah have lost a Scotsman but found a South African in their hunt for the attacking resources required to win their first Sydney premiership. The Green Rats, who were beaten by Randwick in last year's first-grade grand final, had been planning on Scottish international Gregor Townsend being a focal point of their 1995 backhne. He was scheduled to travel to Sydney after the World Cup, However, Townsend injured his knee during a Scottish club match late last month and has already been ruled out of the World Cup.

And there is a strong possibility Michael Cockerill New Australian Soccer Federation chairman David Hill will travel to Adelaide on Friday to ask the Senate to expedite its inquiry. "I am happy to go on oath as a witness if that's what they want, but the real reason is to get a handle on how long they intend to be," he said. "I said when I was elected that getting a resolution to the inquiry is my No 1 priority, and I am emphasising that to the senators. The truth is we can't really get going until this is behind us." Hill, elected in a landslide vote last weekend, has spent the past two days at ASF headquarters in Rockdale discussing details of an administrative overhaul recommended in a recently completed management review. The review, by outside consultants, recommends that the ASF operations be streamlined and that new positions be created for a chief executive and a high-performance manager.

The former is an upgraded role to that currently occupied by Ian Holmes, while the latter will replace the honorary team manager's role usually offered to officials. The Stewart Report was damning in its criticism of the lack of authority exerted by team managers on overseas trips with the various national teams. Meanwhile, Hill has denied that that he will not play again this season. However, Warringah have at least discovered an able replacement in Orange Free State representative fullback-winger Michael Ehrentraut. He is scheduled to play lower grades when Warringah meet defending premiers Randwick at Coogee Oval on Saturday and has already told the Green Rats he plans to settle in Sydney.

Now Warringah coach Steve Lidbury wants to bolster his forward strength, including finding several reputable second-rowers. His problem has been amplified by former captain Rob Blyth breaking his wrist. I'm desperate for second-rowers, but unfortunately in Sydney they are a dying breed," Lidbury said last night..