SYDNEY: Wincing Ben Stokes produced a counter-punching half-century to help England recover from a collapse of early wickets against Australia in the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney on Friday. The star all-rounder, in pain from a side strain picked up while bowling on Thursday, seized the initiative to post his highest score of the series … Read more
MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal stepped up his return from Covid and injury with a patchy win over qualifier Ricardas Berankis at the Melbourne Summer Set tournament on Thursday. The 20-time Grand Slam champion launched his Australian Open preparations with a 6-2, 7-5 win in the second round, his first singles match on the ATP Tour since August. The … Read more
SYDNEY: Usman Khawaja scored a memorable century on his return to Test cricket to strengthen Australia’s position in the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney after a double wicket breakthrough by Stuart Broad on Thursday. The Pakistan-born Khawaja, playing his first Test since the 2019 Ashes series in England in place of Covid-isolated Travis Head, was at his … Read more
MELBOURNE: Melbourne Stars’ skipper Glenn Maxwell contracted with COVID-19 as the Big Bash League (BBL)’s COVID-19 crisis exacerbated and the captain became the team’s 13th victim for the virus. Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed the all-infection rounder’s with the widely disseminated virus in a press release. According to CA, Melbourne Renegades became the sixth BBL franchise … Read more
SYDNEY: England paceman Stuart Broad again proved David Warner’s nemesis as rain dogged the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. Broad provided the only relief for beleaguered England as rain restricted the two opening sessions to just 21.4 overs. After a third rain delay, an early tea was taken … Read more
SYDNEY: Melbourne Test hero Scott Boland held his place as Australia made only one change to their winning side for the fourth Ashes Test against England in Sydney which begins on Wednesday. Batsman Usman Khawaja was confirmed in the team announced Tuesday as a replacement for Covid victim Travis Head. Khawaja last played for Australia in the … Read more
MELBOURNE: US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Saturday pulled out of an Australian Open warm-up tournament next week as she continues to recover from coronavirus. The 19-year-old Briton was due to line up alongside defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka and former world number one Simona Halep at the Melbourne Summer Set WTA event from Tuesday. But … Read more
SYDNEY: England’s beleaguered Ashes tour went from bad to worse Thursday with under-pressure coach Chris Silverwood to miss the fourth Test in Sydney after a family member tested positive for the coronavirus. Silverwood and his family have to isolate in Melbourne for 10 days while the rest of the team head to Sydney for the … Read more
MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios has urged Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to play at the Australian Open, saying Wednesday it would be a “disaster” if the ‘Big Three’ were missing. Swiss ace Roger Federer has already pulled out as he recovers from a knee injury and Nadal’s plans are unclear after contracting Covid-19. Djokovic is on … Read more
SYDNEY: Novak Djokovic has pulled out of this week’s ATP Cup in Sydney, organisers said on Wednesday, heightening doubts over whether he will defend his Australian Open title. There has been intense speculation as to whether he will travel to Australia, having refused to confirm if he has been inoculated against the coronavirus. “World No.1 … Read more
MELBOURNE: David Warner has hinted he is keen for one last Ashes tour in 2023 to make amends for his failed campaign in England two years ago, drawing inspiration from veteran seamer Jimmy Anderson. The explosive Australian opener would be approaching 37 should he retain his place that long and in all likelihood would have … Read more
MELBOURNE: England lost the Ashes in humiliating style on Tuesday but for Joe Root, it has been an incredible 2021 with the bat, the skipper ending the calendar year with the third-most Test runs in history. His dismissal on day three of the third Test in Melbourne for 28 left him with 1,708 runs for … Read more
PARIS: Ski ace Mikaela Shiffrin and tennis star Andrey Rublev tested positive for Covid-19 just weeks from the Winter Olympics and Australian Open respectively as a global sport once again felt the chill wind of the coronavirus. Two-time Olympic gold medallist Shiffrin will miss this week’s World Cup races in Lienz — but with a … Read more
MELBOURNE: England were nervously awaiting results of PCR tests after four Covid cases in the camp but veteran Jimmy Anderson said Monday they are keen to finish the Ashes series in Australia. Four members of the England party — two support staff and two family members — tested positive for coronavirus just hours before the … Read more
MELBOURNE: Joe Root has backed himself to “bang out a hundred” as England face a must-win Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and says he expects a response from his team after successive Ashes defeats. The England captain has never reached three figures in Australia but he went close in the nine wicket-defeat in the first … Read more
MELBOURNE: Australian Open chief Craig Tiley said Wednesday he was confident that Rafael Nadal will play in Melbourne despite testing positive for Covid-19, as fresh doubts emerged over Novak Djokovic. Spanish star Nadal said on Monday that he tested positive after returning home from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi and was experiencing “some unpleasant moments”. … Read more
PARIS: The coronavirus is once again disrupting global sport, forcing the cancellation of English Premier League matches and the scrapping of a one-day cricket series. AFP Sport looks at the state of play around the world as authorities scramble to cope with the surging pandemic. Football Five of the 10 Premier League matches scheduled for … Read more
Legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar shared a video on his social media where he can be seen taking a painkiller injection in his knees after his operation was delayed by 2 months. Akhtar was one of the fastest bowlers during his career. However, his career was cut short amid several injuries. He was fondly known … Read more
MELBOURNE: Ashleigh Barty will return to action for the first time in four months at Adelaide in January while Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal kickstart their Australian Open build-up in Melbourne, officials said Friday. Barty hasn’t played since a shock third-round loss at the US Open in September, but the Australian still finished 2021 as world number one … Read more
MELBOURNE: Men’s world number one Novak Djokovic was named among the entries for the Australian Open on Wednesday, following intense speculation about his vaccination status, but women’s great Serena Williams was missing. The Serbian had cast doubt on whether he would defend his Melbourne title next month, refusing to reveal whether he was inoculated against coronavirus, a … Read more
SYDNEY: After months of speculation that Novak Djokovic may miss the Australian Open over tough Covid vaccination requirements, the world number one was on Tuesday named to play in a Sydney tournament weeks before. The 20-time Grand Slam champion had cast doubt on whether he would defend his title at Melbourne Park next month, refusing … Read more
PERTH: Perth was axed Monday as host of the potentially pivotal fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England because of tough Covid rules which require players to spend 14 days in quarantine. A decision on the new venue for the Test, scheduled to start on January 14, is yet to be made with Hobart, Melbourne and … Read more
SYDNEY: Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic won’t want to risk missing out on winning a record 21st Grand Slam title, tournament chief Craig Tiley predicted Thursday as a bumper series of lead-up events was announced. All players heading to Australia for the opening major of the year in January must be vaccinated against Covid, … Read more
TURIN: Novak Djokovic refused to reveal whether he would defend his Australian Open title after the tournament’s chief confirmed on Saturday that only vaccinated players would be able to take part in the first Grand Slam of the season. The decision, revealed by Craig Tiley, piled more pressure on world number one Djokovic who has … Read more
SYDNEY: Next year’s Twenty20 World Cup will be held across seven venues in Australia, officials confirmed Tuesday, with Sri Lanka and the West Indies forced to play for a place in the Super 12. The tournament, which was supposed to be held Down Under in 2020 but was pushed back two years due to coronavirus, … Read more
SYDNEY: Nick Kyrgios on Tuesday called for the Australian Open to be cancelled, while unexpectedly showing sympathy to tennis world number one Novak Djokovic, who has refused to reveal his vaccination status. The mercurial Australian said he believed January’s opening Grand Slam of the year should not go ahead out of respect for the struggles Melbourne, which … Read more
DUBAI: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Saturday said the team has “exciting talents” as they bid for a maiden Twenty20 World Cup title after losing Devon Conway to a freak injury. Tim Seifert is set to take over the wicketkeeping duties in Sunday’s final against Australia in Dubai. Conway, who broke his hand after … Read more
Australia Test captain Tim Paine said Friday that the Ashes will go ahead with or without Joe Root after the England skipper refused to commit until there was more clarity around coronavirus quarantine rules. Cricket Australia is negotiating with Canberra and their English counterparts over what type of biosecurity bubble players may have to endure … Read more
