Page 1511 - Sports
Pietersen's formula to reinvigorate Test cricket
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Tuesday suggested various methods like day-night Tests, equal pay, marketing and innovation and cheaper tickets to reinvigorate Test cricket.
Argentina's Pitana to referee World Cup opener
Argentina's Nestor Pitana will referee the opening World Cup match on Thursday when hosts Russia play Saudi Arabia, FIFA has announced. The 42-year-old, who officiated during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, will be in charge for the Group A match at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. The Argentine will be assisted by compatriots Juan Pablo Belatti and Hernan Maidana, with Sandro Ricci from Brazil designated as the fourth official. With the controversial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system making its World Cup debut, Italy's Massimiliano Irrati is the designated VAR official in Moscow. VAR has been tested this season in both Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A but has been blighted by errors and confusing decisions. "We are ready to give our best and show consistency but without the good attitude of players it will be very difficult for us," said FIFA's director of referees Massimo Busacca.
Pakistan to come up with new quality based central contracts
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to design its new central contracts keeping in mind next year's World Cup and will lay emphasis on quality rather than quantity. Reliable sources in the PCB told PTI today that the Board is planning to reduce the number of players in the new central contracts from 35 to 25. Last year 35 players got central contracts in different categories but this year discussions have been held on giving fewer players contracts but raising their monthly salaries and other perks in the contracts, a PCB official said. The official said that the PCB was contemplating increasing monthly retainers and also fees for Test matches. He said that head coach Mickey Arthur will join chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and two Board officials, Haroon Rasheed and Mudassar Nazar in finalising the list of players to be given the new contracts. These people will also recommend to the Board how many players should get contracts and how much raise should be given to them, the official
Happy in Sevilla, focused on World Cup, says France's N'Zonzi
France midfielder Steven N'Zonzi on Tuesday said he was doing well at La Liga club Sevilla and was solely focused on competing with his national team in the FIFA World Cup.
Spain coach Lopetegui to take charge of Real Madrid after World Cup
Real Madrid on Tuesday announced that current Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui will take charge of the record European club football champions for the next three seasons.
Ghana court suspends football federation
A Ghana court today ordered the suspension of the country's embattled football federation, paving the way for its dissolution following explosive corruption allegations. The High Court of Ghana granted the request of Ghana's attorney general Gloria Akuffo to suspend the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and its officials. "GFA has undermined its existence and therefore in the interest of protecting the national interests, we say the attorney general owes the duty to take urgent measures to stop this," Akuffo said in the country's capital of Accra. "The GFA has now become an instrument for self-aggrandisement by people who run it to make themselves rich." In an explosive documentary aired last week, a Ghanaian investigative journalist used a hidden camera to allegedly capture federation officials and referees soliciting bribes worth millions of dollars. After the release of the film, Ghana government announced it wanted to "take immediate action" to dissolve the GFA. On Friday, the ...
Lopetegui to coach Real Madrid after World Cup
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui will replace Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid coach after the 2018 World Cup, the Spanish giants said today. "Real Madrid announce that Julen Lopetegui will be the coach of the first team during the next three seasons. Julen Lopetegui will join the club after Spain's participation in the World Cup, after two years leading the national team," Real said in a statement. The announcement comes shortly after Lopetegui extended his contract as Spain coach until 2020 in a pre-World Cup boost for one of the tournament favourites. He was appointed to the role in the wake of Spain's poor showing at Euro 2016 in France when they were eliminated in the last 16. Lopetegui succeeded Vicente del Bosque, who had overseen Spain's triumphs at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, but had also been in charge for the disappointing group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Zidane quit Real on May 31, saying he had decided to leave at the top and that it was time for a change .
Gambhir slams Bedi, Chauhan as Saini gets India call-up
A day after Navdeep Saini was included in the Indian Test squad, Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday slammed former cricketers and Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) members Bishan Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan, who had earlier objected to the pacers selection in the Delhi Ranji team.
Pietersen backs for D/N format to save Test cricket.
India is still not comfortable with the idea of playing day-night Tests, but former England captain Kevin Pietersen today made a strong statement when he said that pink ball matches is the only way forward to save the game's traditional format. The first-ever foreign cricketer to address the prestigious MAK Pataudi Lecture, Pietersen couldn't have possibly chosen a more appropriate platform to make a case for day-night cricket, especially at a time when T20 is threatening to usurp all other formats. "If we wish cricketers to commit to five-day cricket we have to pay them. So how do we pay them? Simply by throwing the same commercial nouse and innovation at the Test game. Five days of action. They provide so many opportunities. "Day night games have demonstrated the enormous leaps that are possible. The IPL doen't play its biggest fixtures when many of its staunchest, wealthiest fans are at work. Neither should Test cricket," Pietersen said in his address. Pietersen stated that ...
England agree to handshake as Australia go on charm offensive
Australia captain Tim Paine says his players will shake hands with their England rivals before tomorrow's clash at The Oval as the tourists aim to heal the wounds of their recent ball-tampering scandal. Paine is on a charm offensive following the revelations of Australian cheating on their tour of South Africa in March. Ahead of Australia's one-day international meeting with England -- their first competitive match since the scandal-ridden tour -- Paine asked Eoin Morgan if the teams could have a pre-match handshake on the field. England one-day captain Morgan has agreed to the request, but only for the opening game of the five-match series. "They don't have to do it but it's something we want to bring in at the start of a series, not before every game," Paine said today. Australia skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were banned for a year over the ball-tampering incident in the third Test against South Africa, paving the way for Paine to take over the captaincy. Cameron ..
Defending champions Germany arrive in Russia for World Cup
Germany landed in Moscow today to attempt to successfully defend their World Cup title and hoping to leave the political controversy surrounding Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan behind them. The Germans took off from Frankfurt in pouring rain hoping captain Manuel Neuer will stay fit after eight months on the sidelines with a foot fracture. Their buildup was dogged by the controversy surrounding Ozil and Gundogan after the players, who have Turkish roots, were booed in pre-World Cup friendlies for meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Premier League stars met Erdogan in London last month with Gundogan handing him a signed Manchester City shirt with the message "to my president". German fans took a dim view of the perceived divided loyalty, by booing the pair in a friendly defeat to Austria. Gundogan has said the meeting was not politically motivated, while Ozil has refused to talk about it during the World Cup. "This is his statement, I assume he will stick to it," said ...
Cronje, Rhinos -- Pietersen touches on emotions in Pataudi lecture
His life was shattered by a match-fixing scandal and his death remains a subject of conspiracy theories but former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was remembered fondly by Kevin Pietersen when he delivered the annual MAK Pataudi lecture here today. "Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Malcolm Marshall, Steve Waugh, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev. Even the late, great but flawed Hansie Cronje," Pietersen said in his stirring address, which focussed on highlighting the relevance of Test cricket. Cronje was indicted in the 2000 match-fixing scandal when he admitted to accepting bribes along with a few other players to fix matches. He died a couple of years later in a plane crash and till today, there are conspiracy theories to suggest that he might have been murdered by the betting syndicate in South Africa to hush up any possible revelations by him. Pietersen, the first overseas player to be invited for the lecture in the honour of late former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, said ..
Over half of Brazilians say they have no interest in World Cup
Some 53 percent of Brazilians say they have no interest in the World Cup, which starts this week in Russia, an extremely high level of disinterest in a country known for being passionate about football, a Datafolha survey published Tuesday shows.
Boxer Saweety clinches gold as India bag seven medals
Indias Saweety Bora (75 kg) emerged as the sole gold medal winner from India while in the mens department Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Virender Kumar (91kg) suffered heartbreaks in their respective finals at the Umakhanov Memorial Tournament here.
Asian Cup teams will be a lot tougher: Chhetri
Not willing to read too much into their Intercontinental Cup win, India captain Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday said the 2019 AFC Asian Cup would be 'at a different level' with teams like UAE, Bahrain and Thailand.
Golf: Usha JTP's third camp concludes
The third camp of the Usha Junior Training Programme (JTP) for Golf concluded at Delhi Golf Club here on Wednesday.
Germany considered favourites to win FIFA World Cup
Nearly one fourth (23 per cent) of Indians think that Germany will win the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, according to a study made by Ipsos.
Referees put through their paces ahead of FIFA World Cup
Match officials may be unlikely to get to kick the ball around much at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but they will nevertheless be responsible for making high-pressure and potentially game-changing calls during one of the world's foremost sporting competitions.
World Cup: Messi greatest but Argentina not on Chhetri's list of contenders
Though rating Lionel Messi as the "greatest player to have ever played the sport," Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday did not pick Argentina as one of the favourites to lift the World Cup in Russia this time.
Hosts Russia have point to prove in World Cup opener
Host nation Russia are under enormous pressure to perform as they head into Thursday's World Cup curtainraiser against Saudi Arabia in a contest between the two lowest-ranked nations in the tournament. Stanislav Cherchesov's side will walk out onto the pitch at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium, the historic crucible of Russian sport, ranked a lowly 70th in the world, three spots below Group A rivals Saudi Arabia, and without a victory in eight months. A 1-1 draw in Moscow with Turkey last week made former national team goalkeeper Cherchesov the first Russian or Soviet manager to go winless in seven consecutive games, four of those ending in defeat. Russia has spent more than $13 billion on preparations for the big event, and President Vladimir Putin called on the team to pull themselves together as they look to progress from a section also featuring Uruguay and Egypt. "As far as the team are concerned, I must acknowledge the fact that, unfortunately, our team have not achieved big