HOBART: Fast bowler Mark Wood said Thursday he was enjoying his enforcer role for the under-siege England team heading into the final Ashes Test at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval. The day-night match begins Friday and is England’s last chance to salvage something from the five-Test series. They are 3-0 down with the Ashes gone after being … Read more
HOBART: England captain Joe Root Wednesday called on his team to harness the “fight and pride” they showed in salvaging a draw in Sydney and use it from day one at the fifth and final Test in Hobart. The tourists staved off Australia’s victory push on Sunday with Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad batting out two tense … Read more
HOBART: A patched-up England head to an Ashes finale against Australia under lights in Hobart on Friday buoyed by a fighting draw in Sydney, but consumed by injury worries and selection dilemmas. The tourists finally stopped the rot on a gruelling tour last week with their nail-biting last-wicket hold-out at the Sydney Cricket Ground to prevent a … Read more
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
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
HONG KONG: The New Year got off to a broadly upbeat start Monday in holiday-thinned trade as most markets rose, with some cheer provided by data suggesting regional economies improved last month. However, investors remain shackled by concerns about a range of issues including the fast-spreading Omicron variant, inflation, the removal of central bank stimulus and … Read more
SYDNEY: Joe Root said Monday that he has “questions to answer” and will assess his future as England captain after the losing Ashes tour, as Ben Stokes insisted he has no ambition to take over. Root will become his country’s longest-serving Test skipper at the fourth Test in Sydney on Wednesday, surpassing predecessor Alastair Cook’s 59 matches in … Read more
SYDNEY: Veteran Roberto Bautista Agut upset world number eight Casper Ruud on Monday to give Spain their second straight win at the ATP Cup, a record matched by Hubert Hurkacz’s Poland. The 33-year-old Bautista Agut is the lead singles player for his country in the absence of 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and has stepped up … Read more
SYDNEY: Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley on Monday became the latest person to contract Covid-19 during the Ashes series against England. Hockley, who is fully vaccinated, developed mild symptoms and immediately got tested and isolated, with a positive PCR result confirmed. “I am isolating at home with my family, who have returned negative results,” he said. Hockley … 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
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
WASHINGTON, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – The United States and Australia announced their first locally transmitted cases of the Omicron variant as authorities worldwide rushed on Friday to stem the spread of the heavily mutated Covid-19 strain. The World Health Organization has warned it could take weeks to determine whether Omicron is more transmissible and whether it causes … Read more
SYDNEY: Pat Cummins shaped up as the frontrunner Saturday to take over from disgraced former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine, with the likes of Mark Taylor, Dennis Lillie, and Steve Waugh all singing his praises. The 28-year-old, who has served as vice-captain in both Test and white-ball formats since 2019, is widely seen as being … 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: Australia on Friday postponed its first-ever cricket Test against Afghanistan, after the country’s ruling Taliban regime effectively banned women from playing the sport. Australia’s cricketing authorities said that after consultation with “relevant stakeholders” they decided the men’s Test, to be played in Hobart this month, would not go ahead as planned. After the Taliban ousted Afghanistan’s elected … Read more
SYDNEY: Australian fast bowler James Pattinson announced his shock retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, just weeks before arch-rivals England arrive to battle for the Ashes. The 31-year-old right-arm quick, who has notched 81 career Test wickets, has struggled with injury in the lead-up to the highly anticipated series. “I really wanted to give the Ashes a … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia are banking on Glenn Maxwell being at his destructive best at the Twenty20 World Cup to carry a team beset by injuries, poor form, minimal game time and dressing-room discontent. Rarely, if ever, have Australia had such a disjointed build-up to a major tournament. But Maxwell’s blistering exploits in the Indian Premier League … Read more
SYDNEY: Sydney is scrapping mandatory quarantine for overseas travellers from next month, officials said Friday, signalling a faster-than-expected end to tough coronavirus restrictions. Australia’s borders have been closed for the last 19 months to prevent the spread of Covid-19, stranding tens of thousands of Australians overseas and leading critics to dub the country a “hermit … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia’s largest city will emerge from a 106-day lockdown on Monday, as Sydney authorities confirmed coronavirus vaccination targets had been met. Stay-at-home orders will be lifted for the Harbour City’s five-million-plus people now that 70 percent of state residents over 16 have been double jabbed. “The light at the end of the tunnel is … Read more
Birthdays are frequently marked with pomp and ceremony, particularly for children. When the staff of Southwest Airlines learned that two of its customers were turning six on the day of their trip, they decided to surprise them. The attendant is heard delivering an announcement for Sydney and Clare in a video that has gone popular … 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
Sydney: Australia’s economy expanded more than expected in the second quarter, data showed on Wednesday, easing concerns that the country could suffer a double-dip recession as it battles a fresh wave of Covid infections thanks to a pick-up in domestic demand. However, there are fears it will suffer a contraction in the current period with … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW), epicentre of the country’s current Covid outbreak, announced Friday to extend the lockdown on Greater Sydney until the end of September and to impose curfew on some areas of concern. For residents and businesses in the local government areas of concern, the curfew will be … Read more
Australia reported a slight increase in the COVID-19 cases on Tuesday in its most populous state, New South Wales (NSW). The rise was due to the Delta variant of the virus. To contain flare-ups of the extremely infectious Delta form, officials tightened restrictions and pushed for vaccinations. Since the first case of the Delta variant … Read more
Australian actress Rose Byrne and her partner American actor Bobby Cannavale making the most of their freshly newfound freedom in style. On Monday as they left the hotel after completing the time of isolation in Sydney. The Bridesmaids actress took off the temperature as she showed off her incredible physique during her appearance with Bobby … Read more
