■CRICKET
Bravo burst in vain
Inspired bowling by Windies allrounder Dwayne Bravo wasn’t enough to force a result as the second Test between Australia and West Indies in Adelaide ended in a draw yesterday. The home side reached 212 for five chasing 330 to win after West Indies were dismissed for 317 in the morning session. Windies captain Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 165 with Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Johnson grabbing five for 103 and fellow opening bowler Doug Bollinger finishing with three for 50. Simon Katich and Shane Watson then put on 33 for the Australian first wicket before Katich was caught by Adrian Barath off the bowling of Bravo for 21. Ricky Ponting was the next man out after the lunch break, bowled by pace man Ravi Rampaul for 20 before Watson fell to a catch by Bravo off Darren Sammy two short of his half-century. Australia were 132 for three at tea but the visitors slim hopes of victory improved considerably when Bravo dismissed Michael Hussey and Marcus North in quick succession. Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke ensured there were no more scares for the home side, with Clarke finishing on 61 not out.
■SOCCER
Spaniards dominate list
Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have swept the list of five nominees for the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award. Barcelona are represented by Spanish midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi along with Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi, the strong favorite for the award to be handed out on Dec. 21. Real Madrid are present thanks to the inclusion of Brazilian Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. The quintet have emerged from an initial 23-strong shortlist with voting restricted to the coaches and captains of national selections.
■SQUASH
Shabana struggles
Reigning World Open champion Amr Shabana was taken to four games by unfancied Indian Saurav Ghosal before making the quarter-finals of the PSA Masters squash in Mumbai, India, on Monday. World No. 3 Shabana, who won his fourth Open title in Kuwait City last month, overcame the 32nd-ranked Ghosal 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10 in 48 minutes at the Bombay Gymkhana. “Sourav is a really strong player and gave me a good fight,” said Shabana, who is favored to win the US$152,500 event after top-seed Gregory Gaultier crashed out in the first round. Shabana’s quarter-final opponent will be compatriot Mohamed El Shorbagy, who won a dramatic five-game cliffhanger against world No. 6 James Willstrop of England. The 20th-ranked Shorbagy won 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 13-11 in a match that took two hours and 20 minutes to finish after Willstrop left the court with a bleeding forehead during the second game. Shorbagy, who lost the first game, was leading 8-5 in the second when his racquet accidently hit Willstrop in the forehead, interrupting the match for more than an hour.
■CRICKET
Pakistanis to miss edition
Pakistan’s cricketers will miss the next edition of the IPL because of a delay in securing visas for the lucrative Twenty20 event in India, IPL chief Lalit Modi said yesterday. “We have been informed by the Pakistan Cricket Board that they have not been able to obtain the visas as of now,” Modi told local media. “Pakistan’s players are out and will not be allowed to take part in the next IPL. We are informing the teams that they can now go for replacement of Pakistan players.” The deadline for obtaining visas for the March 12 to April 25 event was on Monday.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite