■CRICKET
Cook beats S African record
Stephen Cook scored a South African first-class record 390 runs in a four-day national championship match that ended on Sunday. The 26-year-old Highveld Lions opener batted for 838 minutes over three days, faced 648 balls and struck 53 fours and one six against Eastern Cape Warriors in East London before being trapped leg before by Johan Botha. A son of former South Africa Test batsman Jimmy, Cook reached 100 off 226 balls, 200 off 411 and 300 off 569 as the Lions ended the final day on 690-9 off 224 overs in their first innings of a drawn match. Cook surpassed Barry Richards, who made 356 for South Australia against Western Australia in the 1970-71 season, while the previous domestic best of 337 not out was struck by Daryll Cullinan 16 seasons ago.
■ATHLETICS
Wang Jing caught doping
Up-and-coming Chinese sprinter Wang Jing, winner of the women’s 100m at the China National Games, has been stripped of her title after failing a doping test, organizers said yesterday. “The violation of doping regulations by Wang Jing again shows that there are still a small number of athletes using banned substances as they seek personal rewards,” the National Games organizing committee said on its Web site. The 21-year-old Wang’s positive test would serve as an incentive to clean up illegal drugs use in sports nationwide, the committee said.
■BASEBALL
Cliff Lee to open Game 1
Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee will start Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees. Lee has been dominant in the post-season, going 2-0 with an 0.74 ERA in three starts. Manager Charlie Manuel made the announcement on Sunday. Lee will take the mound on Wednesday night at New York. The Yankees beat the Angels 5-2 on Sunday night to win the AL championship series in six games. Manuel hasn’t set the rest of his rotation. Pedro Martinez and Cole Hamels are the candidates to pitch Game 2. By pitching the opener, Lee could get three starts if needed. Manuel said he would consider using his ace on three days’ rest. Lee was the American League Cy Young Award winner last year with Cleveland. He joined the Phillies in a trade and went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts.
■BASKETBALL
Wildemond dies at half-time
American basketball player Kevin Wildemond died during the half-time interval of Sunday’s meeting between his club Ovarense and Academica in the central Portuguese town of Leiria, his team announced. “At the interval, the player was sitting down in the dressing room ... He was listening to the coach when he fell down,” club official Jose Eduardo told the Lusa news agency. “He was suffering from convulsions and was immediately attended to by a doctor, who carried out cardiac massage, but he died.” Wildemond was taken to the Santo Andre hospital in Leiria, but staff there were unable to revive him. The match was abandoned and an autopsy was to be carried out on Wildemond’s body yesterday.
■SWIMMING
Deibler breaks record
Germany’s Steffen Deibler on Sunday set a new world record in the men’s 50m shortcourse butterfly, timing 22.06 seconds in a meeting at Aachen in western Germany, media reports said. Deibler smashed last year’s mark of 22.18 set by Frenchman Amaury Leveaux.
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