Print

Mail

wiki links

Sport Briefs

■CRICKET

ICC postpones competition

The International Cricket Council postponed the Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan yesterday after teams expressed security concerns. The ICC board met in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before announcing the decision. South Africa withdrew from the eight-team tournament on Friday, unwilling to travel to Pakistan for the Sept. 12-Sept. 28 tournament. Players and national boards from England, Australia and New Zealand had also expressed concerns. Media reports said the Champions Trophy will now be played next year, with the ICC still hoping to hold it in Pakistan.



■SOCCER

Robson says Becks must go

Sir Bobby Robson says England coach Fabio Capello must make a stand and drop David Beckham from his starting line-up ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign. With England due to face Andorra on Sept. 6 ahead of a tough meeting with Croatia former England boss Robson says Capello must be more decisive. “Fabio is meant to lead but the only place we’ve gone so far is round in circles,” Robson said in his Mail on Sunday column. Sir Bobby believes there is now little room for Beckham if England, who last week struggled to draw with the Czech Republic in a Wembley friendly, are to unearth a coherent system. “It means picking vibrant wide players rather than starting with David Beckham when he can’t get forward as he used to. It means banging Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard’s heads together and getting them to play as a unit. Because they can,” Robson said.



■SOCCER

Palermo make shock exit

Serie A team Palermo were knocked out in the Italian Cup third round on Saturday, beaten 2-1 at home by third division Ravenna. Promoted top-flight clubs Chievo and Lecce were also eliminated. Chievo lost 2-1 at home to third division Padova while Lecce slipped to a 1-0 home defeat by Serie B Salernitana. Goran Pandev’s double helped Lazio hammer Benevento 5-1 and Serie A rivals Atalanta, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Reggina, Siena and Torino also reached the two-legged fourth round. Serie A’s top eight from last season, including Cup holders AS Roma, enter the competition at the last-16 stage in November.



■SOCCER

Lyon win to share lead

Defending champion Lyon beat Grenoble 2-0 on Saturday and continued sharing the lead with Marseille in the French league. Marseille, spurred by a fatal crash involving club fans, edged Le Havre 1-0 with a 20m free kick from Boudewijn Zenden in the 56th minute. Marseille and Lyon have seven points after three rounds. Lyon’s Jean Makoun headed a corner kick from Kim Kallstrom in the sixth minute, and France forward Karim Benzema diverted in a free kick from Juninho in the 36th. “It was important for us to top the standings,” Benzema told Canal Plus TV. Benzema was the top striker in the league last season with 20 goals and has already notched three goals this month. “The target this season is to score more than 20 goals,” Benzema said. Two Marseille fans died in a bus crash on the way to the match at Le Havre. “We were all sad today and the only way to react was to win,” Zenden told the club’s Web site. “It was nice to have scored and won, especially for our fans.” The match started with a minute of silence. Elsewhere, it was: Le Mans 1, Saint-Etienne 0; Monaco 1, Caen 1; Nancy 0, Toulouse 0; Sochaux 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1; and Valenciennes 3, Lorient 1.


This story has been viewed 693 times.