An upset loss to Bangladesh and a worrying injury for fast bowler Mark Gillespie has jolted New Zealand ahead of the cricket World Cup.
Three weeks after sweeping Australia 3-0 in a series at home, New Zealand lost by two wickets to lowly-ranked Bangladesh on Tuesday in a World Cup warm-up match.
Gillespie was unavailable after an acute viral infection spread from his head to his right shoulder, causing spinal and shoulder nerve pain and rendering him unable to bowl.
PHOTO: AFP
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said Gillespie had the virus before leaving home, but conceded that a 40-hour trip to the Caribbean had not helped the paceman's condition.
"There's not a lot we can say, I guess it's a result that just shakes you up," Fleming said. "We just didn't play well, I don't want to give any excuses. It gives us some headaches and I suppose you can say it's a wake-up call before the tournament starts."
Gillespie will be reassessed by team medical staff on Friday and was in doubt for New Zealand's second and last warmup match against Sri Lanka at Bridgetown.
New Zealand opens its World Cup campaign against England in St Lucia on March 16 and needs to beat 1996 champion Sri Lanka to regain some confidence ahead of the tournament proper.
Mashrafee Murtaza did most of the damage for Bangladesh, taking four wickets and then finishing off an unbeaten 30 from 14 balls with consecutive sixes to clinch the win.
Bangladesh reached 230 for eight with an over to spare in reply to New Zealand's 226.
Australia v Zimbabwe
Reigning champions Australia made heavy going of seeing off Zimbabwe in their opening World Cup warm-up match at Arnos Vale on Tuesday.
All-rounders Michael Clarke (82), who scored at better than a run-a-ball, and Shane Watson (81) led the way in a total of 290 for seven that the keen Africans never looked like surpassing in a match Australia ultimately won by 106 runs.
But Zimbabwe, without several first choice players through a combination of political boycotts and pay disputes, kept Australia in the field for the full 50 overs before finishing on 184 for seven.
Nevertheless, Australia captain Ricky Ponting was happy to have spent time in the field ahead of Friday's second and final warm-up match against old rivals England, who dismissed Bermuda inside 23 overs during their 241 run walkover on Monday.
"Ours was a better workout than they [England] got. At this stage of the tournament most teams are looking to get some quality time in the middle and we got through 100 overs today," Ponting said.
And he insisted he hadn't been taken aback by Zimbabwe's spirited effort with the bat.
"In one-day cricket on wickets like that, which are really slow and low, it can be quite difficult to bowl teams out. I wasn't surprised today and it was probably more beneficial to us that we didn't," he said.
Pakistan v Canada
Mohammad Hafeez gave an impressive all-round performance to guide Pakistan to an emphatic 77-run victory over Canada in a World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday.
Middle-order batsman Hafeez top-scored with a solid 61 to help Pakistan post a challenging 273-8 and then grabbed three wickets with his tidy off-spin to restrict Canada to 196.
"Our batsmen and bowlers had good workouts in this game. We did a little bit of experiments by sending Younis Khan up front which allowed some other players to feature in the game," said Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.
"It was [skipper] Inzamam-ul-Haq's decision to try out Younis as an opener. It is an option, but don't read too much into it. Our main target is the opening World Cup match against the West Indies on March 13," he said.
Canada began the chase on an impressive note when Geoff Barnett (28) and Abdool Samad (27) put on 60 for the opening wicket, but could not keep the momentum against Pakistan's pace-spin combination.
Hafeez was brilliantly supported by seamer Rao Iftikhar who ended an early Canadian flourish with three wickets. Seamer Azhar Mahmood was the other notable wicket-taker with 2-24.
Qaiser Ali scored 37 and Ashif Mulla 31, but Canada never looked like threatening their opponents' total in a game reduced to 48-overs-a-side due to the collapse of a sightscreen.
India v Netherlands
India gave further proof of the chasm between Test and non-Test-playing nations, when they crushed the Netherlands by 182-runs in their World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.
Half-centuries from skipper Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, India's two most celebrated batsmen, lifted the 1983 champions to a formidable 300 for nine from their allocation of 50 overs, despite a five-wicket haul for Ryan ten Doeschate.
The Netherlands failed to mount a serious challenge to the imposing target and were dismissed for 118 in 37.5 overs as the Indians completed the cakewalk.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely