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Girly hair: Nathan Bracken
BRACKEN SUES CA FOR INJURY CRICKET Former Test and one-day bowler Nathan Bracken is suing Cricket Australia for £678,000 in lost earnings, alleging it failed to deal with a knee injury that affected his career. Bracken alleges two doctors and a physiotherapist employed by CA failed to properly diagnose a knee injury he sustained against England in 2007. He says they should have recognised from MRI scans that he needed to have arthroscopic surgery. He alleges their failure to refer him for further examination by a specialist orthopaedic surgeon and to restrict him from training and playing ruined his career.
SBW NZ CHAMP BOXING Sonny Bill Williams won the New Zealand Boxing Association’s heavyweight title but has found the achievement subject to criticism for his below-par opponent and the nature of his three-minute ‘duel’. Rugby World Cup winner Williams, 26, scored a first-round win against Clarence Tillman III, a last minute stand-in when first-choice Richard Tutaki was arrested. The overweight Tillman, who displayed little skill in the ring, didn’t live up to the event billing as promised by his altercations with Williams at the weigh-in, which was criticised as a media attention-grabbing exercise to boost pay-per-view sales. Boxing commentator Sir Bob Jones said: “Tillman’s record is appalling. Five of his fights were against blokes who had never fought before and even then he lost one of them.” ›› Opinion: page 54 52
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In synch: Australia’s synchronised swimmers train ahead of London 2012. Synchro, as it is known, is one of the two Olympic sports open only to women (rhythmic gymnastics being the other). Olympic buffs should acquaint themselves with Australia’s Olga Buraev – just so you have a reference point to impress your mates with come summer
HOOKER OUT FOR SEASON ATHLETICS Olympic pole vault champ Steve Hooker is taking the tough route to London 2012 and may have a only a three-week window to qualify to defend his title. Hooker admits his decision to pull out of the rest of Australia’s domestic athletics season is a risk, but said he needs to step away from competition to clear his mind and rediscover his confidence. By skipping the Australian season, including the selection trials next month, Hooker has until the final selectors’ meeting on June 11 to clear an A qualifying height of 5.72m. He is expected to train in Perth until late May before heading north for the start of the European season.
BIG WEEK FOR ... The New Zealand Black Caps, spearheaded by the in-form Brendon McCullum, welcome South Africa for a six-week tour, including three T20 matches, which begin on Friday. The Kiwis will want to get the mental advantage early on, and prove recent form against Aus and Zimbabwe was no fluke. As always with T20, expect some big-hitting. It may not impress the purists, but it sure is a whole lot of fun for the casual fan.