17-11-2021

WeDNeSDAY, NoveMber 17, 2021
9
Williamson will join the test specialist group in Jaipur.
Seven venues confirmed
for 2022 Twenty20
World Cup in Australia
SportS DeSk
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, reports BSS.
The tournament, which was
supposed to be held Down
Under in 2020 but was
pushed back two years due to
coronavirus, will take place
between October 16 and
November 13.
A total of 45 matches will be
contested across Adelaide,
Brisbane, Geelong, Hobart,
Melbourne, Perth and
Sydney, with the final under
lights at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground.
photo: Ap
Williamson to skip India T20Is,
Southee named captain
SportS DeSk
Kane Williamson, the New Zealand
captain, will miss the upcoming T20I series
against India in order to prepare for the
subsequent two-Test series, it was
announced on Tuesday (November 16),
reports AP.
New Zealand's three-match T20I series
against India begins on November 17 in
Jaipur and Williamson, who is with the
squad, will focus on the red-ball
preparations while Tim Southee will lead
the team in the Twenty20 games.
New Zealand, who finished runners-up in
the just-concluded Men's T20 WC 2021,
arrived in Jaipur on Monday. The second
T20I will be played in Ranchi on November
19 while the final game is on November 21
in Kolkata. The two Tests will be played in
Kanpur and Mumbai from November 25-
29 and December 3-7 respectively.
"With the opening game of the T20 series
on Wednesday evening, followed by games
on Friday and Sunday night - the decision
was made for Williamson to join the Test
specialist group already training in Jaipur
as they focus on red-ball preparation,"
stated a media release.
New Zealand Cricket also revealed that
Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn
Phillips and Mitchell Santner will be
available for selection for both series.
The release also added that Lockie
Ferguson, who missed the T20 WC due to a
right calf injury, has made good recovery
and is expected to be available for the T20I
series.
Top seed Sabalenka
crashes out as Sakkari
advances in Mexico
SportS DeSk
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka
crashed out of the WTA Finals
in Guadalajara on Monday,
losing a gruelling three-setter
against Greek fourth seed
Maria Sakkari, reports BSS.
Sakkari set up a semi-final
showdown with Estonia's
Anett Kontaveit after
outlasting Sabalenka 7-6
(7/1), 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in 2hr
47min.
Sabalenka was left ruing a
failure to capitalise on key
moments and an eyewatering
19 double faults that
undermined her service
game.
The 23-year-old Belarussian
squandered the chance to take
the lead in the first set, allowing
Sakkari to recover from 3-5
down to force a tiebreak.
Sakkari then raced through
the tiebreak to win 7/1,
leaving Sabalenka needing to
win the next two sets to stay
alive in the tournament.
The top seed managed to
dig deep to take the second set
on a tie break after once again
letting Sakkari back into the
game to come back from 5-3
down to 5-5.
England will educate themselves
over Qatar issues: Southgate
SportS DeSk
Gareth Southgate says England will "educate
themselves" before deciding whether to
protest Qatar's human rights record after
sealing their place at the World Cup, reports
BSS.
Southgate's side qualified for next year's
tournament with a 10-0 demolition of San
Marino in their last Group I match on
Monday. Qatar's human rights record has
been criticised by Amnesty International in
relation to the World Cup and the treatment
of migrant workers building infrastructure
including stadiums for the tournament.
The Netherlands, Norway and Germany
national teams have made protests ahead of
the tournament and Southgate's team are
mulling whether to follow suit.
England defender Conor Coady said this
week that Southgate's squad would discuss
how to express their concerns about human
rights in Qatar once they have qualified.
Speaking at a press conference after the
San Marino game, Southgate said he and his
squad would investigate the "complex"
issues surrounding Qatar.
"We have to go and work with people and
represent the country in a foreign land and
when you are doing that you have got to be
100 per cent sure of your facts," he said.
"That's not easy because it's hard to work
through what is current and what is historic.
We have a responsibility to represent our
country in the right way.
"There are clear cultural differences
between the two nations. It is hugely
complex but we will take the time to educate
ourselves and if we feel there are areas we
can highlight and help, we have always tried
to do that and we will do that."
England finished their qualifying
campaign with an unbeaten record and they
will arrive at the World Cup in November
2022 as one of the favourites to lift the
trophy. Without major silverware since the
1966 World Cup, England have trended
upwards in the Southgate era, reaching the
Euro 2020 final earlier this year and the
World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
Thrashing San Marino, FIFA's lowest
ranked team, won't count for much in Qatar,
but it was a stylish way to finish off a
memorable year for England.
England won more games (15), scored
more goals (52) and kept more clean sheets
(14) in 2021 than in any calendar year in
their history.
"We gave a performance that was
enjoyable for the supporters that travelled,
was clinical in the way we went about it, and
then showed some exciting young players
coming through," Southgate said.
"Of course we will have much tougher tests
but I've been involved in nights like this with
England that have been horrible, where the
Kyrgios calls for Australian
Open to be cancelled
SportS DeSk
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,
reports BSS.
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 hosts the
tournament, has endured
during the pandemic.
The city has spent more
than 260 days under
lockdown since coronavirus
emerged, and Kyrgios
suggested it was not worth
risking another setback.
"I don't think the Aus
Open should go ahead, just
for the people in Melbourne
-- you've got to send a
message," he said on his
podcast, 'No Boundaries'.
"How long did
(Melbourne) do in
lockdown? 275 days or
something?"
Victoria state Sports
Minister Martin Pakula
disagreed, saying he
"couldn't follow the logic" of
Kyrgios' comments.
"Melburnians, Victorians
and, frankly all Australians,
are absolutely gagging for
major events," he told
reporters. "Our economy
needs it, our state psyche
needs it."
The tournament went
ahead this year, but players
were forced to spend two
weeks in hotel quarantine,
crowds were restricted and a
five-day snap lockdown was
called mid-event.
Organisers are adamant it
will run as scheduled in
2022, with fully vaccinated
players expected to be able
to enter Australia without
being quarantined or
confined to bio-secure
bubbles.
Victoria Premier Daniel
Andrews has said
exemptions would be denied
to unvaccinated players,
casting doubt over whether
nine-time champion
Djokovic, who has refused to
reveal his vaccination status,
will defend his title.
Kyrgios has had a testy
relationship with the
Serbian, calling him "a tool"
at this year's Australian
Open over his demands to
ease hotel quarantine
restrictions for players.
But he appears to have
softened his stance, saying
Djokovic should be able to
compete regardless, while
referencing basketball star
Kyrie Irving who has missed
the start of the NBA season
after refusing to get a Covid
jab. "Kyrie, Novak ... these
guys have given so much,
sacrificed so much. They are
global athletes who millions
of people look up to," said
the Australian, who has
slipped to 90 in the world.
"I just think it is so
morally wrong to force
someone to be vaccinated.
"I'm double-vaccinated,
but I just don't think it's right
to force anyone (to be
vaccinated) and say 'you
can't come and play here
because you're not
vaccinated'," he added.
"There are other solutions
around it, (such as) to get
tested every day."
Despite calling for the
Australian Open to be
scrapped, Kyrgios said it was
his favourite Grand Slam,
but he has little love for the
French Open.
"The Australian is my
favourite Slam with the
home crowd, the pressure is
so different," he said.
"The French would be
terminated from the
calendar completely, it's the
worst slam."
Nick kyrgios on tuesday called for the Australian open to be cancelled,
while unexpectedly showing sympathy to tennis world number one Novak
Djokovic.
photo: Ap
Southgate's side qualified for next year's tournament with a 10-0 demolition of San Marino in their
last Group I match on Monday.
photo: Ap
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