■ CRICKET
‘All white’ slogan sparks row
Embarrassed cricket bosses in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin have apologized for promoting a Test against the West Indies with the slogan, “It’s all white here.” The West Indies are to play a Test against New Zealand in Dunedin next month and the regional Otago Cricket Association came up with the slogan in reference to the color of the players’ uniforms. “We just wanted a catchy phrase to help sell the game. It was all based around the association of the color with cricket,” the association’s chief executive Ross Dykes was quoted as saying by the Otago Daily Times newspaper yesterday. Dykes said he had contacted the West Indies team manager and the West Indies Cricket Board to explain the slogan, adding he would be “mortified” if anyone interpreted it as a racial slur.
■ FORMULA ONE
Ecclestones set to divorce
The wife of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone filed for divorce on Thursday. Slavica Ecclestone, who has been married to Ecclestone for 24 years, will be represented by divorce lawyer Liz Vernon, who previously helped the wife of soccer player Ray Parlour win a third of the former England and Arsenal player’s earnings in a highly publicized case four years ago. The 77-year-old Ecclestone, who is 27 years older than his wife, is worth an estimated £2 billion (US$3 billion). He is the chief executive officer of Formula One Administration, which owns the commercial rights to F1. The couple have two daughters — Petra, 19, and Tamara, 24.
■ CRICKET
India recall Tendulkar
One-day cricket’s leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar was on Thursday included in the India squad for the next two matches against England, the cricket board said. Tendulkar, 35, was rested for the first three games at his own request following the four-Test series against world champions Australia which India won 2-0 to annexe the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Tendulkar, who has a world record 16,361 runs and 42 centuries to his name in 417 one-day internationals, last played limited-overs cricket for India in the tri-series in Australia in March. Tendulkar and all-rounder Irfan Pathan are the two changes in the 15-man squad which took a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series against England in Kanpur, India, on Thursday. The duo replace seamer Rudra Pratap Singh and uncapped opener Murali Vijay for the next two day-night matches in Bangalore tomorrow and Cuttack on Wednesday. The squad for the last two games in Guwahati and New Delhi will be named after the Cuttack match.
■ SUMO
Hakuho, Ama stay tied
Mongolians Ama and Hakuho both won yesterday to stay tied for the lead heading into the final two days of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka, Japan. Grand champion Hakuho overpowered Bulgarian Kotooshu in the day’s final bout at Fukuoka Kokusai Center to improve to 11-2 in the 15-day tournament. Ozeki Kotooshu fell to 6-7 and is struggling just for a winning record. Earlier, sekiwake Ama shoved out seventh-ranked maegashira Miyabiyama (9-4) to keep pace with Hakuho. Ama is bidding for his first Emperor’s Cup and also has a chance for promotion to sumo’s second-highest rank of ozeki riding on the outcome of this meeting. Hakuho is bidding for his ninth title and will face ozeki Chiyotaikai today, while Ama is to take on ozeki Kotomitsuki.
■ BASEBALL
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