LONDON: Ben Stokes is poised to make his eagerly awaited return to international cricket in the Ashes — and for England, it is not a moment too soon. The charismatic all-rounder has not played a competitive match since July when he took an indefinite break to focus on his mental health and to rest an … Read more
BRISBANE: Spinner Nathan Lyon believes his team can sweep the Ashes series, saying England will have doubts about their own chances given their poor record in Australia. The tourists have lost nine of their last 10 Tests in Australia going back more than a decade and haven’t won in Brisbane — where the opening Test … Read more
Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia will announce a parliamentary inquiry into the behavior of the world’s major technology companies and the need for new legislation on Wednesday. Australia has taken the lead in limiting the power of companies like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), enacting legislation that has been hailed as a … Read more
DUBAI: The new Covid-19 variant, omicron, has prompted global economic concerns, as fears of its spread begin to affect stock markets and oil prices, Arab News reported. Saudi Arabia’s main market, the Tadawul All Share Index, opened 5.3 per cent lower on Sunday, trading near 10,700 points. The Dubai Financial Market was down 8.49 per cent in … Read more
PARIS: Novak Djokovic and Nikola Cacic lost a dramatic deciding tie-break in their doubles rubber as Serbia suffered a shock defeat by Germany in the Davis Cup Finals, while Daniil Medvedev helped the Russian Tennis Federation to an opening win. World number one Djokovic had drawn Serbia level in their second group-stage tie by beating Jan-Lennard Struff after Filip … Read more
Former Pakistan left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir on Thursday said that it be great if bilateral series between arch-rivals, Pakistan and India, will take in the near future. He also backed the chairman of the Dubai Cricket Council Abdul Rehman Falaknaz’s offer to host the series in the UAE. The two countries last faced each other … Read more
PARIS: Brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer helped Sweden sweep aside Canada, France fought back to down the Czech Republic and Croatia crushed Australia as the revamped Davis Cup opened on Thursday. Holders Spain suffered a blow to their title defence before hitting a ball in anger with Carlos Alcaraz in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19. The … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia’s Tim Paine will quit all forms of cricket for the “foreseeable future”, Cricket Tasmania said Friday, after a sexting scandal led him to resign as Test captain. His decision put an abrupt end to the debate in Australia over whether he should take part in the Ashes, with the first Test against England opening in Brisbane on … Read more
SYDNEY: Pat Cummins is widely regarded as an all-round nice guy with an excellent cricketing brain, doggedly overcoming early-career injuries to reach the pinnacle of the game. A decade after making his international debut, he is not only the world’s premier bowler but Australia’s 47th Test skipper, elevated to one of the nation’s highest-profile roles … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia named paceman Pat Cummins as their Test cricket captain and Steve Smith as vice-captain Friday after a sexting scandal led Tim Paine to resign last week, just ahead of the Ashes. “Pat is an outstanding player and leader — he has earned enormous respect from his teammates and from all corners of the game for … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani pacer Wahab Riaz believes Pakistan would need to rely on specialized cricketers instead of all-rounders in the next Twenty20 Cricket World Cup to be played in Australia. “In Australia, Pakistan will need specialized batsmen and specialized bowlers. When it comes to all-rounders, you have to be good enough like Jacques Kallis who used … 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
BRISBANE: Australia’s bowlers want Tim Paine behind the stumps for the first Ashes Test against England because he is “the best keeper in the world”, spin king Nathan Lyon said Thursday. Paine quit as Test captain in disgrace last week over a historical text message scandal but is keen to keep playing. Read more: Tim … Read more
ICC announced the road map for its upcoming mega-events from 2024-31 and Pakistan was given the host rights for the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled in 2025. Read More: Pakistan to host ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Days after the announcement, the Indian government showed concern about their participation in the ICC event. Last week, Anurag Thakur, … Read more
BRISBANE: Tim Paine has the full support of the Australian team and deserves to keep his place for the first Ashes Test against England, opener Marcus Harris said Wednesday. Paine suddenly quit as Test captain last week over a series of lewd text messages with a female colleague in 2017 that were about to be … Read more
SYDNEY: Cricket Tasmania launched a scathing attack on the sport’s Australian governing body Tuesday over its “appalling” treatment of former Test skipper Tim Paine, saying anger in the community was “palpable”. Paine, who was born and bred in Tasmania, tearfully quit as captain on Friday ahead of the Ashes against England over a series of … Read more
PARIS: Spain’s Garbine Muguruza jumped two places to number three in the WTA rankings released Monday after her victory in the season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara last week. Beaten finalist Anett Kontaveit of Estonia gained one spot to go seventh. The 28-year-old Muguruza was previously ranked third back in July 2018, while her compatriot Paula … Read more
SYDNEY: Chief selector George Bailey said Tuesday he will step aside from voting on whether Tim Paine should remain in the Australian Test cricket side if there is a split decision, given their personal and business relationship. Paine abruptly quit as skipper on Friday ahead of the Ashes series against England over a series of lewd text … Read more
SYDNEY: Big Bash League club Sydney Thunder plan to stick with Alex Hales despite a photo of the English batsman with his face painted black and claims he called his pet dog ‘Kevin’ as part of a racially derogatory joke. The picture emerged last week in the wake of former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq’s revelations … Read more
Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across Europe and Australia Saturday as anger mounted over fresh Covid restrictions imposed against a resurgent pandemic. And Dutch police faced a second night of rioting — this time in The Hague — after the previous night’s violence in the port city of Rotterdam. Clashes erupted … Read more
MELBOURNE: Tim Paine Sunday said Australian coach Justin Langer wanted him to remain as Test skipper, as he spoke of his “distress” and “embarrassment” over a sexting scandal that cost him his job. The 36-year-old abruptly quit on Friday ahead of the Ashes series against England over a series of lewd text messages with a … 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: Tim Paine, who quit Friday as Test skipper, was hailed as Australian cricket’s saviour when he took over the captaincy in 2018 after a ball-tampering scandal left the team’s reputation in tatters. A journeyman wicketkeeper-batsman, Paine was 33 at the time and considering retirement before being unexpectedly appointed to the most scrutinised role in Australian … Read more
SYDNEY: Tim Paine abruptly quit as Australian Test cricket captain Friday over an explicit “private text exchange” with a female colleague — a bombshell announcement just weeks before the Ashes series begins against arch-rivals England. “Today, I’m announcing my decision to stand down as the captain of the Australian men’s Test team,” said an emotional Paine, failing … Read more
Josh Adams and Aaron Wainwright have been named in the Wales side that takes on Australia on Saturday in a boost for coach Wayne Pivac, who has had to juggle an injury-hit squad. Dan Biggar links up with Tomos Williams at half-back. Adams is selected on the wing after pulling out with a calf injury … Read more
MELBOURNE: Australia’s Boxing Day Test against arch-rivals England and next year’s Australian Open tennis will be played before a full house, Melbourne authorities said Thursday as they removed more pandemic restrictions. Victoria Premier Dan Andrews said that the state was about to hit 90 per cent vaccination, allowing long-standing restrictions to be swept aside, including … Read more
SYDNEY: Veteran Usman Khawaja and middle-order batsman Travis Head were included in Australia’s squad for the opening two Ashes Tests against England Wednesday, but Matthew Wade was axed. Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson also made the 15-man line-up as back-up for the fast-bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood after the shock retirement of … 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
