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guyanatimesGY.com
tuesday, december 16, 2014
5 Windies out of IPL contracts
Darren Sammy
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est Indies Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy is among five Caribbean players released by their Indian Premier League franchises, ahead of the new season which bowls off next April. The former Test skipper has been joined by pacers Ravi Rampaul, Jason
Holder, Krishmar Santokie and Kevon Cooper, as players who will be seeking a new franchise for the upcoming IPL season. Since his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year, Sammy has plied his trade extensively in the T20 leagues around the globe, playing for Sunrisers
Hyderabad in India, Glamorgan in England and more recently, Titans in South Africa. A big-hitting lower order batsman who bowls deceptive medium pace, Sammy is already a seasoned campaigner in the game’s shortest form, having already played 143 T20s. However, he spent just two seasons with the Sunrisers franchise. He and Holder, who has 52 T20s to his name, are among ten players let go by Sunrisers. Meanwhile, left-arm Santokie is among eight players released by giants Mumbai Indians with Rampaul among seven let go by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Cooper, meanwhile, will be on hunt for a new club after spending the last three seasons with Rajasthan Royals. He was this year reported in the IPL for having a suspect bowling action.
Lara strokes classy 51* as Legends lose
Players, coaches and directors named in match fixing probe
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anchester United midfielder Ander Herrera is one of 41 players, coaches and directors named in a match-fixing investigation in Spain. Prosecutors allege almost one million Euros was used to pay Levante players to lose their match against Zaragoza at the end of the 2010-11 season. Swansea City winger Jefferson Montero is also among those named by prosecutor Alejandro Luzon. The BBC has asked Herrera’s agent for a response.
A Swansea spokesman said: “We have had no contact... regarding this matter.” Prosecutor Luzon filed the case at a court in Valencia on Monday. The court document alleges Herrera was one of 10 people who withdrew tens of thousands of Euros funded by Zaragoza in order to pay bribes. The 25-year-old left Zaragoza to join his hometown club Athletic Bilbao in August 2011, before signing for United in June 2014. Montero, who joined Swansea from Mexican club
Monarcas Morelia in July, was in the Levante side beaten 2-1 by Zaragoza on 21 May 2011. It is alleged Levante’s players were paid to lose the match, which Zaragoza needed to win to avoid relegation. Montero’s alleged involvement is not described in the prosecution case. Also named in the document are the current Atletico Madrid captain Gabi and Zaragoza’s former coach, Javier Aguirre - now manager of the Japanese national side. (BBC Sport)
2 Kenyan runners slapped with 2-year ban
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wo Kenyan runners, Viola Chelangat Kimetto and Joyce Jemutai Kiplimo, have failed drug tests and been banned for two years, Athletics Kenya has said. Both women tested positive for norandrosterone, a metabolite of nandrolone. Kimetto failed her test at the Macau marathon in December 2013; Kiplimo failed a test taken after the Yangzhou half-marathon in April. Neither runner has commented on the test results. Athletics Kenya said it was also investigating five other athletes. It said they had been told to report to its office by Thursday over “particular issues revolving around doping cases” raised by the organisation’s anti-doping unit. Kimetto and Kiplimo are the latest in about 40 Kenyan athletes to fail doping tests in the past two years.
Joyce Jemutai Kiplimo
Shortcut to wealth? Olympic champion David Rudisha said last week his country was not doing enough to tackle doping among runners. His warning came almost two years after Moses Kiptanui, one of the most successful runners in Kenya’s history, alleged doping was rife among athletes there. The three-times 3,000m steeplechase world champi-
on and coach alleged many athletes have been using performance-enhancing drugs as a shortcut to wealth. Two months ago, Rita Jeptoo, winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons for the past two years, became one of the highest profile Kenyans to fail a test. She was suspended from competition pending testing of a B sample due to take place later this week. (BBC Sport)
Champions League…
Brian Lara
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erth, Australia A bumper crowd has packed Perth’s Aquinas College to watch some of the greats of past and players of the present as the Perth Scorchers beat the Australian Legends by 50 runs in the WA Festival of Cricket Twenty20. The match pitted the KFC T20 Big Bash League reigning champions Scorchers against an all-star Legends XI led by Adam Gilchrist, but it was the youth of Ashton Turner that stole the show in a match that featured West Indies champion Brian Lara and Australian legends Dean Jones, Andrew Symonds, Andy Bichel and Michael Kasporwicz. Turner blasted 75 from 38 balls in a knock that included four fours and six sixes, taking Symonds and Bichel out of the ground on several occasions.
The 21-year-old capped off the day with the prize wicket of state and BBL coach Langer, though not with his best delivery, securing the wicket with a floating full toss that the batsman top-edged to fall for nine. A spectacular one-handed grab from evergreen veteran Brad Hogg removed Gilchrist for one, much to the dismay of the enthusiastic crowd, but the keeper’s wicket brought Lara to the crease. The West Indian struggled for timing early, relying on the pace of the bowlers to guide and glide his way into his innings before upping the ante in the final stages to bring up his fifty and remain unbeaten on 51 as the autograph-hunting crowd members invaded the field. The trial match was the first hit out for the
new Scorchers recruits Michael Carberry (28 off 17), Michael Klinger (18 off 16), Andrew Tye (1-17) and James Muirhead (0-35), the latter the first player traded in the competition’s four year history, swapping with left-arm spinner Michael Beer to the Melbourne Stars. One-day wizard Jones couldn’t get his mojo going, out for 16 off 25 balls. Sporting a GoPro on the top of his helmet, Symonds typically muscled three boundaries, but was bowled by the impressive left-arm pace of Jason Behrendorff. The Scorchers won last season’s BBL title, but they will start their Championship defence missing star players Mitch Marsh (Test duties), Shaun Marsh (Test duties) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (hamstring). (Cricket Australia article)
Man City to clash with Barcelona in last 16
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anchester City have been drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 for a second consecutive year. Chelsea will play Paris St-Germain, while Arsenal face Monaco in ties to be played in February and March. Champions Real Madrid will face Schalke, with last season’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid taking on Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern Munich play Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus face Borussia Dortmund, while Basel are up against Porto. Manchester City recorded a fine win over Roma in the final round of group games to progress. But finishing second to Bayern Munich meant there was always a chance of meeting a top side like four-
time European champions Barcelona. In last season’s first knockout round, the Catalans beat City 4-1 on aggregate, winning 2-0 at the Etihad and then 2-1 at the Nou Camp. Chelsea, who finished ahead of Schalke in their group, are up against Paris St-Germain for the second consecutive year. The Blues beat the French champions in dramatic circumstances in last year’s quarter-finals. There is added interest in that game as Chelsea sold defender David Luiz to PSG for a reported £40m in the summer. Arsenal, who finished below Borussia Dortmund in their group, come up against Monaco, who were managed by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger from 1987 to 1994. Monaco scored only four
goals in their group but still finished top. Arsenal club secretary David Miles said: “We’ve picked some of the biggest teams in Europe over the last few years, but we are not taking anything for granted. Monaco have earned the right to be at this stage.” Reacting to Manchester City’s draw, director of football and former Barcelona player Txiki Begiristain told Sky Sports News: “Every tie in that draw is the same. It’s fantastic, so we’re looking forward to it. “We have plenty of confidence with the way we qualified, beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away.” Chelsea secretary David Barnard was happy at being drawn against PSG, adding: “It’s a good draw logistically, too, for our supporters.”
(BBC Sport)