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DT
Sport
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
Kane gets nod as Kiwi captain in all three forms n AFP, Wellington
QUICK BYTES SLC restores Jayasuriya as selection boss Sri Lanka last Wednesday brought back former skipper Sanath Jayasuriya to be the chief of a new panel of cricket selectors, following the country’s abortive defence of the Twenty20 World Cup. The four-member panel was brought in to replace a previous ad-hoc committee headed by former Test player Aravinda de Silva, which was set up just hours before the team was due to leave for India. –AFP
Younis Khan allowed to play in Pakistan Cup Pakistan’s star batsman Younis Khan has been permitted to play in a domestic tournament, cricket authorities said Wednesday, after he apologised for his behaviour following a row with umpires last week. PCB last Tuesday decided to ban the 38-year-old from playing in the Pakistan Cup and issued him a show cause notice, with chairman Shaharyar Khan saying “no one is bigger than the game”. –AFP
Ronaldo set to miss Real Sociedad game Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo faces a race against time to be fit for the Champions League semi-final second leg with Manchester City on May 4. Ronaldo was surprisingly omitted from the squad for Tuesday’s first leg in Manchester an hour before kick-off. Coach Zinedine Zidane explained after the goalless draw that Ronaldo felt a recurrence of a thigh strain a day earlier in training. –REUTERS
Totti gets Olympic support for contract bid Ageing Roma icon Francesco Totti has been given backing from Italy’s Olympic Committee as he seeks to earn a final year’s deal at the club amid interest from Major League Soccer. One-club man Totti is in his 23rd who have been hesitant to offer the legendary playmaker a final year’s contract. –AFP
Alibaba’s Ma laughs off AC Milan reports China’s richest man Jack Ma yesterday laughed off reports he is to buy Italian football giants AC Milan, posting a convoluted joke online mixing basketball and football. “Is AC Milan in Italy’s Milan?” the Alibaba founder posted on his verified Weibo account, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter. –AFP
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and former Indian cricketer Sreesanth yesterday filed his nomination papers from the Thiruvananthapuram assembly seat in Kerala. ‘I am happy to receive such a grand welcome in the party. I am confident ahead of the elections,’ said the former pacer after filing his nomination papers AP
Star batsman Kane Williamson got the nod as New Zealand’s captain in all three forms of the game yesterday, replacing the retired Brendon McCullum. Williamson has long been seen as McCullum’s heir apparent and has already skippered the Black Caps in several one-day and Twenty20 matches. “Kane has been a leader within the team for a long time now and already shown himself to be an extremely capable captain,” NZ Cricket chief executive David White said. “He’s respected by his peers and the wider cricket community for his professional approach both on and off the field, and has a superb cricket brain.” Williamson, who is currently in India playing in the IPL, said he wanted to build on the achievements of McCullum, who retired in February. “It’s certainly an honour... (I) believe this team can achieve a lot,” he said in a statement. l
Get used to pink-ball Tests, says Kiwi boss n AFP, Wellington
Players and traditionalists need to accept pink-ball Tests or the fiveday format will not survive, New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White warned yesterday. Australia and New Zealand played the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide last year, attracting huge crowds to rival those at limited-overs versions of the game.
But players from both sides complained about the pink ball, intended to be more visible under floodlights, and some conservatives felt it undermined a Test tradition dating back to 1877. White said there was strong enthusiasm for more day-night Tests at a meeting of the International Cricket Council board in Dubai last weekend. He said there was also a groundswell of support from fans
Pacquiao shocked at Islamic militant kidnap claim n AFP, Manila Philippine boxing legend Manny Pacquiao expressed shock yesterday at President Benigno Aquino’s claim that Islamic militants planned to kidnap him, and said the alleged plot should not have been made public. Aquino released a statement Wednesday saying Abu Sayyaf, a notorious kidnap-for-ransom gang that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheaded a Canadian hostage this week, had planned to abduct Pacquiao or his children. “I was alarmed when he announced... the Abu Sayyaf wanted to kidnap me. I’m surprised because all Filipinos are my friends. I
love them, especially the Muslims,” Pacquiao said at his residence in Manila. Pacquiao said he had responded to Aquino’s statement by taking security measures to protect himself as well as his wife and five children, who are in his hometown of General Santos. “We added security for my family and me,” he said. General Santos is in the conflict-wracked southern Philippine region of Mindanao, where an array of Islamic militant groups are based and a separatist insurgency has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1970s. The Abu Sayyaf’s main stronghold is about 400 kilometres (250 miles) away from General Santos.l
and television broadcasters, expressing confidence that players would eventually come around. “I think the players will be very supportive going forward, is essential for the survival of the format, to be honest,” he told Radio Sport. White said day-nighters would never dominate Test cricket but he could envisage a time when most series included a match played under lights.
“It provides an opportunity for the game to be more accessible to the fans and we’ve got to listen to them, they drive the revenue, they drive the game,” he said. “We’ve got to uphold the traditions of the game - I’m as traditional as anyone - but we’ve got to look to the future as well.” Players raised concerns after the Adelaide Test about the pink ball’s movement and durability. l
Women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova (R) yesterday plays a match with local athletes during a promotional event for this year's WTA Finals in Singapore. Serena Williams remains the 'queen' of women's tennis but don't be surprised if she's no longer number one by the end of the year, Navratilova said light-heartedly AFP