04-03-2018

SPORTS
SUNdAy, MARCH 4, 2018
9
Bancroft fifty helps Australia extend lead.
Windies
revenge not on
Simmons mind
despite axe
HARARE: Phil Simmons
insists that leading
Afghanistan to the 2019
World Cup and not exacting
revenge over his West Indies
compatriots is his only
priority when the 10-team
qualifying tournament gets
underway on Sunday,
reports BSS.
Simmons, who played 26
Tests and 143 ODIs for the
West Indies from 1987 to
1999, was sacked as coach of
the Caribbean side in 2016,
just five months after
leading them to the World
Twenty20 title in India.
His sacking had been
preceded by a suspension
the previous year for
publically criticising the
West Indies selection policy.
Simmons, 54, took over
the reins of Afghanistan in
December and his mission
to get the newly-minted Test
team to a second successive
World Cup in England and
Wales next year.
Afghanistan take on
Scotland in their opening
match at Bulawayo on
Sunday with Simmons
playing down his team's
status as one of the
favourites to reach the finals.
"I am not putting the
'favourites' tag on me. We
have just come here to play
cricket, we need to play
proper cricket and win this
tournament," said Simmons
who has plenty of 'inside
knowledge' of his opponents
in the three-week qualifying
event. As well as West
Indies, the former allrounder
has coached hosts
Zimbabwe and enjoyed a
successful eight-year spell in
charge of Ireland with whom
he reached two World Cups.
Afghanistan are in Group
B with Zimbabwe, Scotland,
Nepal and Hong Kong.
The West Indies, world
champions in 1975 and 1979
but forced to qualify this time
around, are in Group A with
the Netherlands, Papua New
Guinea, Ireland and the
United Arab Emirates. Three
teams from each pool go
through to the Super Sixeswhere
Afghanistan and the
West Indies could meet-with
the top two sides at the end
of the process booking their
spots at the 2019 World Cup.
Pre-season test: Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel hopeful of challenging Mercedes.
Photo: Internet.
Rise of Twenty20 leaves cricket
facing testing questions
LONDON: "In this ultra-modern age counter
attractions have multiplied many times since
my youthful days," wrote a former England
batsman as he questioned whether teenagers
had the time to "devote to cricket", reports BSS.
That the ex-international was Herbert
Sutcliffe and he was writing in a pamphlet
following England's defeat in the 1950/51 Ashes
series, shows that worrying about the future of
cricket, and English cricket in particular, is
nothing new.
But whereas Sutcliffe was concerned by iceskating
and greyhound racing taking people
away from cricket, the worry now is about how
one type of cricket --- Twenty20 franchise
leagues-could spell the end of another in fiveday
Tests. The recent decisions of England
internationals Adil Rashid and Alex Hales to
sign 'white-ball' only county contracts (a red ball
is used in traditional first-class matches) this
season, thereby opting out of Test contention,
heightened these concerns. Rashid and Hales
have not played a Test since 2016 but the worry
for some is that, without a major alteration to
cricket's congested schedule and a change in
spectator habits-Tests outside of England and
Australia often draw paltry crowds-their
example may be followed by that of more highprofile
cricketers. Jonny Bairstow, a Yorkshire
and England team-mate of Rashid, is alive to
the danger although the wicket-keeper remains
committed to continuing his Test career.
"If we're not careful, there are going to be
more and more people (giving up red-ball
cricket)," Bairstow, currently on tour with
England in New Zealand, said. "You've got
lucrative tournaments... (to) go off for five
weeks and earn a heck of a lot of money... (with)
the strain and stress on the body of bowling
(only) fours overs compared to 24 in a day in
Test cricket." Bairstow's thoughts were echoed
by Test colleague James Anderson, with
England's all-time leading Test bowler adding:
"I just hope and pray there is enough love for
Test cricket out there, not just the players that
are playing at the moment but players coming
through still having the ambition and drive to
play Test cricket in the future."
Bairstow and Anderson grew up in an
environment where the most reliable way for
cricketers to maximise their income was to
become an established Test player as this would
lead to a larger wage packet and enhanced
opportunities for sponsorship deals.
VAR set for 2018 World
Cup approval
ZURICH: Football's law-making body on
Saturday was set to approve the use of video
assistant referee technology (VAR) at this
summer's World Cup, overriding purists
concerned about technology disrupting the
game, reports BSS.
The International Football Association
Board (IFAB) meeting in Zurich is widely
expected to rubber-stamp the move already
backed by FIFA's top brass, including
president Gianni Infantino.
VAR can only be used when there is doubt
surrounding any of four key game-changing
situations: after a goal, penalty decisions,
after a straight red card or in cases of
mistaken identity.
It has already been implemented in top
European leagues including the German
Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A-along with
tests in multiple other leagues-but opinion is
still divided.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said
this week that European football's governing
body would not introduce VAR in next
season's Champions League due to ongoing
"confusion" surrounding its use.
Others have voiced concern about video
assistance being used too often, slowing
down the game and possibly breaking a
team's momentum.
That is an issue confronting major North
American sports like baseball and American
football, where different forms of video
replay have been in use for several years and
where calls to shorten match length have
risen. But the desire to avoid ferociously
disputed calls-especially in high-profile
moments-appears to have tipped FIFA to
support using VAR at this summer's World
Cup in Russia.
One iconic example that VAR could
theoretically have prevented is Diego
Maradona's "Hand of God" goal that saw
Argentina beat England in the 1986 World
Cup.
For Infantino, who will be on hand
Saturday for the IFAB announcement,
international football cannot allow anyone
with a smart-phone having access to better
information than a World Cup referee.
"In 2018 we cannot anymore afford that
everyone in the stadium and everyone in
front of a TV screen can see within a few
minutes on his phone whether the referee
has made a big mistake or not, and the only
one who cannot see it is the referee", he said
last month.
"So if we can help the referee then we
should do it," he added.
Representatives of the 32 teams that have
qualified for the World Cup meeting in the
Black Sea resort of Sochi this week voiced
confidence that the expected VAR rollout
would be a positive for the tournament.
Photo: BBC.
Ali, Rashid spin England
to dramatic win over New
Zealand
WELLINGTON: Moeen Ali was as
surprised as anyone as he combined
with Adil Rashid to plunder New
Zealand's batting stocks in England's
dramatic four-run victory in the third
one-day international in Wellington on
Saturday, reports BSS.
Not even an unbeaten 112 by Kane
Williamson could save New Zealand
after their top order disappeared in Ali
and Rashid's devastating spell of five
wickets for 23 runs in 41 deliveries.
When time was up New Zealand were
230 for eight in reply to England's 234
after Chris Woakes bowled two dot
balls to Williamson to end the match.
"My plan was just to try and bowl
tight, it doesn't really change game to
game, and the wickets just came," said
man of the match Ali, who finished
with three for 36 while Rashid took two
for 34.
"They weren't great balls, but the
balls in between were building
pressure." The game boiled down to
New Zealand skipper Williamson
needing a six off the final ball, but a
wide yorker from Woakes meant he
was unable to deliver. New Zealand
appeared to have the game in their
hands at 80 for one in the 18th over,
before Ali and Rashid turned the
match. Williamson denied there were
concerns about the brittle New Zealand
batting performance. "Not really. It was
a game where we weren't at our
smartest. We didn't adjust well on a
tough surface and that's all it is," said
Williamson, adding it was a "very
frustrating" defeat.
"Starting off in our second innings we
were in a position of strength after
maybe 15 overs then we stumbled a bit
in the middle which really hurt us ...
and just a shame not to get across the
line. "And credit to the way the English
spinners bowled through the middle.
They were outstanding."
Ben Stokes took a stunning dive to his
left to catch Colin Munro (49) off
Rashid to ignite the slump as New
Zealand went from a comfortable 80
for one to 103 for six.
Williamson, who had struggled for
runs in recent innings and missed the
second ODI, which England won,
because of a hamstring strain, returned
to the arena with an imperious
performance for his 11th ODI century.
He faced 143 deliveries and was in the
middle for most of the New Zealand
innings after the early dismissal of
Martin Guptill for three.
Williamson shared a 68-run stand
with Munro, and once Ali and Rashid
had destroyed the rest of the recognised
Rafael Nadal out of Indian Wells Masters & Miami Open with hip injury.
Neymar’s golden foot
to go under the knife
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil: Brazil and
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar
was to undergo surgery for a broken right
foot Saturday, putting the planet's most
expensive footballer out of action until the
eve of the World Cup, reports BSS.
The operation, performed by national
team surgeon Rodrigo Lasmar, was
expected early morning in the Mater Dei
hospital in Belo Horizonte, where Neymar
checked in the previous night.
Jose Luiz Runco, a former chief medical
officer for the Brazilian team, told AFP
that the surgery to mend the broken fifth
metatarsal "is not difficult" and should
take between one hour and 90 minutes.
What concerns Brazil and PSG is how
long it will take Neymar to get back on the
field, scoring goals. Lasmar describes the
break as serious and says that recovery
will take from two and a half to three
months.
That leaves PSG without the strikerwhose
transfer from Barcelona cost the
club a record 222 million-euro ($264
million) last August-when they face Real
Madrid in a make-or-break Champions
League clash next Tuesday.
Neymar has scored 28 goals in 30
appearances in all competitions for PSG
since arriving, a prolific performance cut
short by the injury on February 25 during
PSG's 3-0 drubbing of Marseille.
Brazil's concern is that Neymar will be
coming back only a few weeks before the
June start of the World Cup in Russia.
After a remarkable turnaround in
fortunes since the shambolic exit in a 7-1
defeat against Germany in the 2014 cup,
Brazil is seen as a top contender this time.
A big part of that optimism, though,
depends on the talented Neymar.
Neymar returned from Paris to his villa
on the Brazilian coast Thursday and on
Friday night flew to Belo Horizonte.
In the heated atmosphere around the
operation, Brazil's Globoesporte website
claimed that Neymar was expected to
come by helicopter and had booked a
whole wing of the Mater Dei hospital. But
a local newspaper reported he would take
a more modest suite measuring around 80
by 40 feet (24 x 12 meters). Staff at the
hospital, a tall building with mirrored
windows, were put on paparazzi
lockdown, with a ban on using their
cellphones anywhere near the star.
However, an AFP photographer was given
access to a room similar to the one
Neymar was due to take-a small suite with
basic furniture and a second room for the
patient.
Neymar, 26, is hardly camera shy.
Ahead of his arrival at the hospital he put
up a picture on Instagram of himself in a
wheelchair with his actress girlfriend
Bruna Marquezine sitting on his lap and
kissing him.
The image-conscious PSG star also
posted a close-up of his hand, tattooed
with a small cross, holding Marquezine's
hand.
Neymar will feel the weight of a nation's
expectations as he races to recuperate in
time for the World Cup. He's already
seems sure to miss two warm-up
friendlies against Russia and Germany in
March.
However, he is in good hands. Lasmar's
father Neylor was also the Brazilian team
doctor in the 1980s and operated on
another big star of the Brazilian
footballing galaxy, Zico-getting him ready
in time for the World Cup in Mexico.
Neymar has scored 28 goals in 30
appearances in all competitions for PSG
since arriving, a prolific performance cut
short by the injury on February 25 during
PSG's 3-0 drubbing of Marseille.
Brazil's concern is that Neymar will be
coming back only a few weeks before the
June start of the World Cup in Russia.
After a remarkable turnaround in
fortunes since the shambolic exit in a 7-1
defeat against Germany in the 2014 cup,
Brazil is seen as a top contender this time.
A plus for Neymar is that the enforced
break from competitive football may do
him as much good as it threatens harm.
"When you think how exhausting the
European season is, he could even arrive
fresher than the others, both physically
and emotionally," said Cristiano Nunes,
the physiotherapist for Brazilian first
division club Internacional in Porto
Alegre.
"He'll return with a real desire to play
football and to show his potential."
New Zealand batting he engineered a
revival with Mitchell Santner. Santner
was given the benefit of the doubt on
two when Jason Roy took a catch at
ground level and there was no clear
evidence the ball had not touched the
grass.
From there he was more circumspect
to reach 41 before being run out when a
Woakes attempt to stop a Williamson
drive deflected off the bowler's
fingertips and on to the stumps, with
Santner caught out of his crease.
Woakes, defending 15 runs in the
final over, conceded two twos and a six
to Williamson and then fired in two dot
balls to prevent a New Zealand victory.
England, having been sent into bat
first, struggled to 234 built around a 71-
run stand for the fourth wicket by Eoin
Morgan and Stokes. Although the
wicket offered variable bounce it held
no serious demons, and the top nine
England batsmen all reached double
figures. Their problem was no one
could settle in long-term, and New
Zealand part-time medium pacer Colin
de Grandhomme was allowed to bowl
10 overs in which he took one for 24.
Ish Sodhi was more expensive with
his leg breaks but still claimed three
wickets for 53, while there were three
late run outs as England.
Photo: BBC.
U-14 School Handball
tournament begins
today
DHAKA: The Pran RFL U-14
School Handball tournament
( boys' and girls') begins
tomorrow (Sunday) at
Shaheed Captain M Mansur
Ali Handball Stadium in the
city, reports BSS.
Bangladesh Olympic
Association (BOA) deputy
secretary general and
Bangladesh Cricket Board
director Najib Ahmed is
expected to inaugurate the
meet as chief guest while
former BHF president Kazi
Abul Hakim and Pran
Confectionary's head of
marketing Shakhawat Ahmed
will be present as special guests.
A total of twenty four school
teams -- 12 of boys' and 12 of
girls'-are participating in the
meet, sponsored by Pran RFL
and organized by Bangladesh
Handball Federation (BHF).
Pran RFL will provide Taka,
1,50,000 out of the total
competition budget of Taka
1,70,000 to run the meet. In
this regard, a press conference
was held on Saturday at the
adjoining hall room of
Bangladesh Handball ground
to provide all the details of the
meet.
BHF general secretary
Asaduzzaman Kohinoor, Pran
RFL brand manager Yousuf
Arafat, tournament committee's
chairman Masum Samia Shila
and tournament committee's
secretary Ayesha Zaman Khuki
were present on the occasion.
Participating schools:
Boys' teams - South Points
School and College , Heed
International, Sunny Dale,
Dhanmondi Tutorial,
Scholastica Mirpur, Narinda
Govt. High School, Dhaka
Residential Model College,
Ideal School and College,
Shaheed Police Smrity
College, Saint Gregory
School, BAF Shaheen College
and Scholastica Uttara.