North Korea launches long-range rocket in defiance of critics

North Korea launched a rocket on Wednesday and the missile appears to have passed over Okinawa, Japan's government said.

SEOUL/TOKYO: Isolated and impoverished North Korea launched its second long-range rocket of 2012 on Wednesday and may have finally succeeded in putting a satellite into space, the stated aim of what critics say is a disguised ballistic missile test.

The rocket was launched just before 10am Korean time (0100 GMT) and overflew the Japanese island of Okinawa.

A rocket launch by North Korea in April was aborted after less than two minutes flight. Wednesday's launch came after the North carried out repairs on the rocket, which South Korean officials said had been removed from its gantry on Monday.

Both South Korea and Japan called meetings of their top security councils after the launch and Japan said it could not tolerate the action. Japanese television station NHK said the second stage of the rocket had crashed into seas off the Philippines as planned.

It was not immediately clear if the third stage carrying the satellite had made it into space.

"Whether the satellite launch (orbit) itself succeeds or not, it is a success for North Korea anyway," said Kim Young-soo, a North Korea expert at Sogang University in South Korea.

There was no immediate annoucement from North Korea on the launch. It made a formal announcement when the April launch had failed, but has previously claimed that it put a satellite into space in 2009, something no one has been able to verify.

"We will convene an emergency security meeting at 10:30. The launch was made around 9.50am," an official at South Korea's presidential office in Seoul said.

The North launched the rocket close to the December 17 anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il last year and as elections loom in South Korea and Japan.

Pyongyang says it is entitled to launch a satellite into space but critics say the rocket development is aimed at nurturing the kind of technology needed to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile.

North Korea is banned from conducting missile and nuclear-related tests under UN sanctions imposed after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.

The rocket's path was scheduled to pass between the Korean peninsula and China, with a second stage splashing down off the Philippines before launching the satellite into orbit.

Most political analysts believe the launch is designed to bolster the credentials of new leader Kim Jong-un as he cements his rule over the country of 22 million people.

A government official in Seoul said recently that the transition of power to Kim Jong-un did not appear to be going as smoothly as anticipated and there were signs that the regime was concerned over the possibility of rising dissent.

Kim is the third of his line to rule North Korea, whose national output is around one-fortieth of that of prosperous South Korea.

Plans for the launch had drawn criticism from South Korea, Russia, Japan and the United States as well as NATO and the United Nations.

The North's only major diplomatic ally, China, has expressed "deep concern" over the launch but is thought unlikely to back any further sanctions against its ally.

Give Sachin Tendulkar his emotional space: Kumble to critics

Tendulkar's prolonged lean patch led many people to question his place in the team but Kumble says it's not the time to point fingers at him but support him. 

NEW DELHI: Amidst the growing debate over Sachin Tendulkar's retirement, former India skipper Anil Kumble on Thursday hit out at critics questioning the veteran batsman's place in the team, saying he should be left alone and given the "emotional space" and respect he deserves.

Tendulkar's prolonged lean patch led many people to question his place in the Indian team but Kumble says it's not the time to point fingers at him but support him.

"There have been instances when he has been the sole reason for India's wins, but he has never been the sole reason for India's losses.

It's best to leave it to him to deal with what is in front of him now, because no one else has been in his position. No one else has played 192 Tests, made 34,000 runs, or scored 100 centuries.

Let's not jump the gun, let's give the man the respect he deserves," Kumble wrote in his column for a magazine.

"For 23 years, he has helped people dream, he has made them feel better emotionally. More's the reason why we need to give him his emotional space now," he wrote.

"...This is the time for him to be left alone. He is such a great player that he doesn't need anyone else's advice on how to score runs. He just needs people to back off and allow him to work out what he needs to return to run-scoring ways, which I am confident he will," he added.

Kumble said that it's not only Tendulkar, who is going through a bad phase but the whole Test team and implying that team is doing bad because of Tendulkar's poor form would be highly unfair.

"For the first time, people are questioning his place in the team. The expectations are that he should retire because his performances over the last year or so haven't matched the standards he has set over the previous 22 years.

Yes, we have not seen the best of Sachin in this phase, but it is not just him alone. If you look at the overall picture, the team has struggled in Test cricket, so are we suggesting that India are still a one-man army, still totally dependent on Sachin? I think not," he said.

Kumble, one of the best spinners to have played the game, said the Indian team's consistent poor show in Test cricket actually made Tendulkar's failure more prominent.

"The performances and the mindset of the Indian team are not helping Sachin any, either. India have won just three Tests in the last year, all at home, which probably has magnified his failures," he wrote.

The leg-spinner asked his critics to stay away from him. "This is the time when you need to give him space for him to think about what he needs to rectify rather than put all kinds of negative thoughts in his mind.

People are asking if it is time for him to go. That's a question people ask in India when you cross 30; the only difference is that in Sachin's case, it has come at 39."

Kumble also hailed Tendulkar's longevity and presented a few statistics to show how great his journey has been after making debut at the tender age of 16.

"Sachin was the 187th Indian to play Test cricket. The last debutant for India was R. Vinay Kumar, No. 274. If I am right, nearly 60% of the 87 players who made their Test debut for India after Sachin have already retired from the game.

"That, to me, is the perfect illustration of the desire, hunger and commitment that have driven Sachin to turn out match after match, and perform more often than he has failed."

Kumble was confident that eventually Tendulkar would comeback strong.

"At 39, it's more of a mental battle for a batsman while it is always a physical grind for a bowler.... mind needs to be fresh and it doesn't help when the mind is bogged down by negative thoughts implanted by extraneous forces.

"The only issue with age is that no matter how fit you are, the recovery gets tougher and takes longer. But knowing Sachin for this long, I can say that he is exceptionally mentally tough and still does every physical routine to prepare himself for every Test.

In all my years of playing and watching the game, I haven't seen anyone else adapt to conditions better or faster than Sachin."

Nothing 'strange' in Dhoni's demand for turning tracks: Swann

Graeme Swann, who has taken 17 wickets from three matches, also had a lot of praise for the Eden Gardens wicket at Kolkata, that India lost by seven wickets and termed it "exceptional".

NAGPUR: Criticised in many quarters for his demands for turning tracks in the ongoing Test series against England, beleaguered Mahendra Singh Dhoni got unexpected support from visiting team off-spinner Graeme Swann who said there is nothing "strange" about the Indian skipper's request.

"It is not strange for a home team to ask for a wicket to suit their team. We do that when we play in England because we want it to suit our bowlers. The fact that we have won the last two Tests is a testimony about how well we have played and not a lot to do about the pitch," Swann said on Tuesday, two days before the start of the fourth and final Test of the series in which the visitors are leading 2-1.

Swann, who has taken 17 wickets from three matches and has complemented left-arm spinner Monty Panesar (16 from 2), also had a lot of praise for the Eden Gardens wicket at Kolkata, venue of the previous Test that India lost by seven wickets and termed it "exceptional".

"I don't know if anyone could look at that wicket we just played on and actually call it a rank turner from day one. It was a very good Test wicket and did very little for the spinners or the pacers on the first two days, gradually broke as the game went on and was turning quite nicely by the end. Any obsession with the pitch has been banished by that because Kolkata produced an exceptional Test pitch," he said.

"I obviously don't know who is talking about the pitch, whether it is the press. We don't read the press in the changing room. We have missed out on a lot of that," he replied when asked whether the talk about rank turners actually played into England's hands.

He was non-committal about the pitch for the final game at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha from December 13.

"I don't know, I haven't seen the pitch yet. We went straight out to the nets. It doesn't matter what you believe because the pitch is going to be the pitch. I am sure the management and coach will look at it and they will assess it. We play on it whatever comes on Thursday. It is normally a good pitch here and I am expecting it to be that," Swann said.

"Whatever the pitch is, we have to try and win the game. So come Thursday morning it will be about winning the first session something which we have managed to do in the last two Test matches and that is why we have gone on to win the match," he noted.

Asked to compare India's situation (1-2 down in the series) to their own against South Africa recently, Swann predicted the hosts would come out with all their guns blazing to square off the rubber.

"I am sure India will come out actually fighting because they have to win the game. I am sure we will approach the game because attack is our best form of defence and that has been proven in the last game," he said.

"It is tough (for India) but sometimes it is a good position to be in. If there is only one possible result you can get then you can go all out fighting," he added.

Asked about the turnaround in the team's fortunes after the comprehensive nine-wicket defeat to the hosts in the series opener at Ahmedabad, Swann said every team member was told that Mumbai, venue of the next game, was the place to bounce back.

"After losing the game in Ahmedabad and also knowing our previous results in India which is not at all good it is very easy to get into the rut of losing games, travelling around, losing another one and you can't wait to go home at the end of it rather than focusing on winning the next game. It was made very clear that Mumbai was the chance to level the series and anyone who didn't see it that way wasn't sort of welcome in the dressing room."

Swann also pointed out that England had approached the tour differently this time around.

"It is probably bit different this time around, how we have approached the trip. We have really tried to embrace India and embrace the series. We believe we can win it and I am not sure that has always been the case. I have only been on one Test tour before, but certainly there is more belief in this group right from the outset," Swann declared.

Swann said that it was because of the number of runs put on board that he and his spin partner Panesar had been able to get among the thick of wickets.

"What I said at the start of the tour is that if you expect just the spinners to win the game for you, you are screwed and I stand by it completely because it is a team effort. Without the monumental performances of Cook, Pietersen and Trott in the last game we would not have been 2-1 up.

"The spinners have taken wickets but you also see the totals we have posted in those games. The crux of it is that if you get 500 in a Test match, you are not losing a match," he said.

"We have got quite a few players in good form at the moment and they are cashing on it with the bat. If you score big runs in Test cricket you put yourself in with the chance of winning and that is what we have been doing in the last two matches," he added.

However, Swann maintained that the job is not done yet and England will not take things for granted in the next match.

"Well we haven't beaten them in all conditions because we lost the first game in Ahmedabad. We are not taking them for granted. We don't pat ourselves on the back and say 'look how well we have played in the last two games' because that is a very dangerous place to get in.

"Thursday morning we will assess, we will play accordingly and hopefully win the game. We obviously want to go home for Christmas having won the series 3-1. If we win the game it will be a lovely way to round off the year," he signed off.

For Nick Compton, Nagpur game will be 'Home Test'

England's batting coach Graham Gooch is impressed with Nick Compton's showing so far.

NAGPUR: When Nick Compton visited Nagpur two years back to see his personal batting coach Neil D'Costa, he just wanted to improve.

He didn't think too far ahead then and with England had settled opening combination of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, he didn't harbour any big dream.

Two years later, this talented right-hander has stepped into big shoes of Strauss and so far he hasn't disappointed the England team management.

"I believe he has shown real determination and played an important role while Cook has been batting so well," D'Costa, a former head coach of Vidarbha Cricket Association's Residential Academy in Nagpur, told TOI from Sydney.

D'Costa - childhood coach of Australia skipper Michael Clarke and opener Philip Hughes - as spot on while praising his ward. The 29-year-old has contributed well to the team's cause and England are now verge on creating the history.

If his 123-run opening stand with Cook in the Ahmedabad Test was the statement that England are no pushovers in sub-continent, their 165-run partnership set up the platform in Kolkata. In between, he had a couple of good starts too. He has scored 171 runs at a decent average of 42.75. Most importantly, he never looked out of place in the testing sub-continent conditions.

Nick, a grandson of legendary Dennis Compton, has played for England Under-19 but somehow couldn't make it to the Elite league soon. The word 'Compton' put an undue pressure on him when somebody told him to see D'Costa in Australia.

"In 2008, Nick came to Sydney to work with me and play with western suburbs DCC where I was the head coach. When he arrived, he was playing for second sting team with Middlesex. While we did technical work, most of the work was about finding his self belief. His game was always inside him," D'Costa said.

D'Costa not only helped him improve his technique against pace and spin but also worked on mental aspects. The result was there for everyone to see.

Compton scored runs by tons for Somerset in English County and that paved his way to the national side after Strauss called it quits. The Australian has no doubt that Compton junior will achieve greater things in life.

"His self belief is getting better and his performance so far will have him believing more that he can really perform at this level. I believe he has what it takes to be a long term player at this level and always have," he said.

England's batting coach Graham Gooch too is impressed with Nick's showing so far.

"It's never easy to replace somebody like Strauss. It's still early days for him but he has earned his chance to play Test cricket. Nick has been very successful in the English domestic cricket. He has made the successful start and formed a good partnership with Alastair Cook. That's good for English cricket. We have seen them performing well in the last two Tests and hopefully they do it again in two days' time," Gooch said.

So, when he walks to bat with his captain in the final Test, it would be sort of home Test for this talented right-hander.

Sachin Tendulkar best player of his generation: Graham Gooch

Gooch feels Tendulkar will again find ways of scoring runs. 

NAGPUR: Graham Gooch and Sachin Tendulkar have a lot in common. Much like the Indian master, Gooch too has a nearly two decade international career.

Both are highest run-scorers of their respective countries; both kept scoring as they grew older.

However, it has been different last one and half years for Tendulkar. With runs not coming as expected, the fingers keep pointing towards the 39-year-old after every outing.

Having seen all these during his playing days, Gooch understands what Tendulkar is going through. The former England skipper, who is now England's batting coach, feels Tendulkar will again find ways of scoring runs.

"As you get older, your reflexes are not as good as when you are younger. But you can adapt the way you play to make sure to you can continue to have success. The art of scoring runs evolves as you grow. Sachin is 39 and it can be said he has passed his prime but I am sure he will find different adapting methods," Gooch said.

"He is the best player of his generation. Every player has ups and downs and I think Sachin has more ups than downs. He is having a lean time at the moment but he played well in the first innings of Kolkata Test. All the players in the England dressing room have utmost respect for him for the way he has conducted himself throughout his career. He has been a great ambassador and hero all round the world," Gooch said.

It has been an amazing turnaround for England, especially after the Ahmedabad loss. Gooch feels his side stayed positive after the loss and that helped a lot.

"I think when you go into match, you always expect to win. You never go into match expecting to lose. It's great to see boys coming good in the last two Tests but that's past now and they have a bigger challenge ahead," he said.

Unlike India, who went to England under prepared last year, England did their homework thoroughly before the important series.

"We prepared very well. We went to Dubai first and had a camp there. Then, we had two weeks in Mumbai. We also played three matches before the Ahmedabad Test. We brought our own spinners for Dubai camp and we practiced long and hard to improve that aspect (playing against spin) of the game. I think, in the last two Tests we have got some rewards," he said.