Page 805 - Sports
Cricket in Caribbean will suffer till somebody does the right things: Simmons
Former West Indies opener Phil Simmons Thursday said cricket in his native will continue to suffer till "somebody decides to do the right things", expressing sadness at a time when his country of employment, Afghanistan, is making rapid strides in the sport. On the West Indies team's struggles over the years and the crushing innings loss to Bangladesh in a Test recently, he said it was depressing. "I can imagine how depressing it must be for the Clive Lloyds, Viv Richards' and Sir Gary Sobers of this world. It is depressing for all of us. "Until somebody decides to do the right things where cricket is concerned, it is going to stay like that for a while," he said. The Afghanistan coach lauded India's victory in the first Test against Australia and expected the team to maintain the momentum at Perth. "Brilliant performance by India in Adelaide. They have put down a marker saying that we are here to win the series. I think Pujara was exceptional in that first innings and he kept India ..
Pakistan cricket captain calls on squad to play 'without fear' in S.Africa
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed on Thursday urged his fellow teammates to play "without fear" during their tour of South Africa -- a country where they have won only two Tests during their past five tours. The Pakistani side is en route to South Africa to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals, with the first Test starting in Centurion on December 26. Pakistan head into the series after losing 2-1 to New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates last week. In the wake of the tough loss, Sarfraz said he still had high hopes of earning a good result against the Proteas. "Conditions in South Africa are tough with bouncy and seaming pitches so anyone who plays without fear and with a big heart will succeed," Sarfraz told AFP. Pakistan's two wins out of 12 Tests in South Africa came in 1998 and 2007, having lost nine with just one draw. On their last tour in 2013, Pakistan were routed 3-0 and bowled out for their lowest Test score of 49 in the first Test .
Bindra hails arrival of string of young Indian shooters
Ace marksman and India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist, Abhinav Bindra, is upbeat about the string of young shooting talent coming up and termed it a positive sign for the sports discipline in the country. "In shooting we (India) are pretty developed. There were 27 medals in the World Championship in which we did fantastically well. We just need to keep our heads focused and continue that process," Bindra told reporters on Thursday. "We seem to be quite fortunate because we have string of young shooting athletes, coming through day in and day out, and I think thats a very positive sign for the long term development of shooting," the 36-year-old shooter said on the sidelines of the Times of India Global Sports Show here. The 10m air rifle gold medallist in the 2006 World Championship in Zagreb and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was obviously referring to talented 16-year-old pistol shooters like Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary who are making waves at the ...
Michael Vaughan says green top in Perth could backfire on Australia
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels preparing a green track for the second Test could backfire on Australia against a pace heavy India. "Certainly from seeing the Indian attack in England and at the Adelaide Oval, Bumrah (Jasprit), Shami (Mohammad) and Sharma (Ishant) will be going to bed tonight thinking thank you," Vaughan told Foxsports on the eve of the Test. "The actual three quicks of India out bowled the three quicks of Australia. They were outstanding. It's a big big risk that Australia are taking." The Indian pace trio Bumhrah, Sharma, Shami played a vital role in the first Test at Adelaide, claiming 14 of the 20 wickets amongst themselves. "They clearly need a pitch that they feel they can get at the Indian batsmen but I just look to the game at Adelaide Oval, it wasn't the pitch, it wasn't anything to do with the conditions. It was just that India produced more discipline for longer periods." Vaughan also said Mitchell Starc's performance dipped in the second ...
India eager for battle of quicks at Perth
The Indian men's cricket team trained at the WACA Stadium here on Thursday, a day ahead of their second Test against Australia.
Boca Juniors supporters celebrate despite Libertadores loss
Thousands of Boca Juniors fans gathered here for the club's annual Supporters Day despite sadness over the side's loss to cross-town rivals River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final.
It would be a good toss to lose, says Tim Paine
It will be a good toss to lose, said Australian captain Tim Paine on eve of the second Test against India, considering the grassy nature of the pitch and extreme hot weather. "Yeah it will be I reckon (good toss to lose). Actually, I spoke to the curator about it this morning. I really don't think the pitch will play that badly. For the ODI and T20 here, both those wickets looked really green for white-ball cricket but it played really well," said Paine ahead of the inaugural Test at the Optus Stadium. "With the heat it will probably break up and you will see cracks in the game. It is what it is and whatever you are doing tomorrow morning you need to start really well." While India made a couple key changes to their eleven owing to injuries, Australia have named an unchanged side for this second Test. Paine acknowledged that India could field an all-pace attack and added that Australia have done their home work. He expects India to come hard at the hosts and achieve something special .
Depleted Mumbai face uphill task against Baroda
A severely depleted Mumbai, languishing low down in the Groups A and B combined Ranji Trophy points table, face an uphill task against West Zone rivals Baroda when the two clash in the four-day Elite Group A game at the Wankhede Stadium here from Friday. The 41-time champions are without several top players, including those who are doing national duty in Australia, and are fielding a totally inexperienced team in their second home game. Mumbai are lying a lowly 16th out of 18 teams with just five points from the first four games in the combined Groups (A and B) table. The hosts thus need nothing less than an outright win over Baroda, and that too with a bonus point to boot, to keep alive their hopes of entering the quarter finals by finishing in the top five of the combined (Groups A and B) table. Baroda, on the other hand, are sitting pretty in fifth place with 13 points from five games. The have also been boosted by the availability of all rounder Hardik Pandya who has
Valencia impress in win over Man United
Valencia ended their 2018-2019 Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory against a listless Manchester United.
CSKA Moscow stun Real Madrid in Champions League
CSKA Moscow earned a 3-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid, who had already clinched first place in Group G and put several members of their second unit on the field at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Sri Lanka gets Lewis in coaching revamp for World Cup
Jonathan Lewis was Thursday named Sri Lanka's new batting coach, with the former England player to be tasked with preparing the national team for next year's World Cup. His appointment by Sri Lanka Cricket comes just days after Australia's Steve Rixon was brought on as fielding coach. Lewis, 43, was head coach of the Durham County Cricket Club before accepting the post. He played 13 ODIs for England and one Test, the latter against Sri Lanka in 2006 in which he scored 27 runs. Lewis will join Rixon, 64, later this month for Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand, where the visitors will play two Tests, three ODIs and one Twenty20 match. They are also scheduled for two Tests in Australia from January 24. Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said both Lewis and Rixon will coach the national team until the end of the World Cup, which wraps up in July 2019. Sri Lanka have struggled for form recently, losing the home ODI and Test series to England, and have been plagued by crisis ...
Al Ain stuns Wellington, reaches Club World Cup quarters
Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates made a thrilling comeback after beating Team Wellington of New Zealand 4-3 on penalties in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup play-off, advancing to a quarter-final clash with Esperance Sportive of Tunisia.
On a green top, India look to continue momentum against Aussies (Preview)
After registering a thrilling 31-run victory in the first cricket Test, India will look to continue the momentum when they take on Australia in the second match on a green top here on Friday.
Sane leads Man City to win over Hoffenheim
Manchester City squandered numerous scoring chances in their final Champions League group stage match but managed to notch a 2-1 win over Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim thanks to a brace by Leroy Sane.
I would rate it as a very tough World Cup: Tirkey
Terming the ongoing FIH World Cup "very tough", legendary full-back and former India hockey skipper Dilip Tirkey has praised the home sides performance in the showpiece event.
Paranaense win Copa Sudamericana after beating Junior on penalties
Brazil's Atletico Paranaense won their first Copa Sudamericana title after beating Colombia's Junior 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out.
Champions League: Stunned by Young Boys, Juventus still win Group H
BSC Young Boys defeated Juventus 2-1, but the Italian juggernaut still won Champions League Group H thanks to second-place Manchester United's loss to Valencia.
We get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches: Kohli
The green pitches have ceased to be "alien" for the Indian team, declared captain Virat Kohli, who is hoping that Australia will not take off the grass from the pitch for the second Test, beginning Friday. India took a 1-0 lead in the four-match series with a 31-run win in Adelaide, and will bank on the five pace bowlers to go 2-0 up in the four-match series. "We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches. We understand that we have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition now. I hope no more grass is taken off it. We as a team are pretty happy with that," said a confident Kohli at the pre-match press conference. "We just have to challenge ourselves as a batting unit and play positively, backing the bowlers to do what they did at Adelaide as well. I think this pitch is going to offer significantly more than it did at Adelaide. That is something we are very excited about. India named their 13-man squad for this Test, with R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma ruled
Indian Open Pickleball Championship in Mumbai from Friday
The A R Natarajan Memorial Indian OpenPickleball championship 2018 will be held here from Friday. The championship, organised by the All India Pickleball Association (AIPA), will be held at the Goregaon Sports Club, a media release issued here said. According to the tournament director Manish Rao, there will be three events -men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. "The format will be league cum knock-out and each event has 32 teams except the women's doubles, which will have 16 teams. Twenty international players and 150 players from India will be competing in this event," Rao said. AIPA secretary Sunil Valavalkar said the tournament will be a great opportunity for the Indian players to rub shoulders with the internationally-renowned players.
WACA curator on green top: We are trying to produce bounciest wicket we can
WACA head curator Brett Sipthorpe on Thursday unveiled a green top for the maiden Test at the new Opus Stadium, saying 'he is trying to produce the bounciest wicket he can' for the second match between India and Australia. Keeping with tradition at the good old WACA, a raging quick wicket has been laid for this inaugural five-day game. It has a healthy layering of grass which could impact strategies for both sides. "We've just been told make it fast, make it bouncy if you can and run with it. We're just trying to produce the bounciest pitch we can," Sipthorpe said on the eve of the second Test. Sipthorpe is aiming to produce a similar surface to what was used for the Sheffield Shield clash between Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) and New South Wales last month. The domestic game was as a dry-run for this maiden Test. Out of 40 wickets to fall in that four-day game, only eight went to spinners with Nathan Lyon taking seven wickets for 120 runs in two innings and left-arm ...