■CRICKET
Gayle batters Aussie bowlers
West Indies captain Chris Gayle smashed 102 off only 72 balls as the visitors ended the second day of the first Test against Australia in Perth on 214 for two. Earlier the Aussies had declared on 520 for seven. Michael Hussey only added one to his overnight score before being caught by Denesh Ramdin off Ravi Rampaul for 82. Marcus North made 68 and Brad Haddin 88 before the home side’s declaration. Gayle and Travis Dowlin then put on 136 for the Windies first wicket before Gayle was caught by Shane Watson off Doug Bollinger. Dowlin went on to make 55 before he was dismissed by Mitchell Johnson.
■SOCCER
Players say they face death
The 12 Eritrean national team players who defected during a tournament in Kenya last week claim they cannot return home because they will be killed, a Kenyan government official said on Wednesday. The players say they swore an oath to the Eritrean government before leaving the country that they would not defect, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. The official said the 12 have applied for an asylum seeker’s pass, the first stage in a vetting process to determine if they deserve refugee status. The 12 failed to board a plane from Nairobi with the rest of Eritrea’s squad on Saturday.
■SOCCER
‘Head-butt’ boss leaves QPR
Jim Magilton has left QPR “by mutual consent”, the English Championship club announced on Wednesday, a week after the manager was suspended for allegedly head-butting one of his players. Magilton had denied the allegation that he had assaulted Akos Buzsaky in the wake of a 3-1 defeat at Watford, and vowed to clear his name. But on Wednesday Magilton became the second Championship manager to lose his job in the space of a few hours. Reading had earlier announced the departure of Brendan Rodgers.
■SEA GAMES
Malaysia win soccer title
Malaysia won the Southeast Asian Games soccer title yesterday, beating Vietnam 1-0. Meanwhile, Thailand regained their place at the top of the medals table on the final full day of action in Laos. Thailand reached 84 golds, three clear of Vietnam and nearly double Indonesia’s tally of 43. Malaysia. On the final day of track and field Vietnam’s tally was boosted by wins in the men’s and women’s 1,500m for Nguyen Dinh Cuong and Truong Thanh Hang respectively. The Thais had a good day on the track, winning both the 4x100m sprint relays, taking heptathlon gold through Amornrat Winatho and claiming the women’s 400m thanks to Treewadee Yongphan. Thailand and the Philippines dominated the boxing and in badminton, Indonesia won three golds.
■CRICKET
Tailenders frustrate England
South Africa’s lower order frustrated England as the hosts reached 400 on the second day of the first Test in Centurion yesterday. South Africa were 401 for eight at tea. Paul Collingwood equaled the England record of four catches in an innings by a fielder as South Africa made 139 runs in 57 overs. Jacques Kallis added only eight to his overnight score of 112 before he edged James Anderson to second slip where Collingwood held the catch. JP Duminy made 56 before he presented Collingwood with a fourth catch when he edged Graeme Swann. Mark Boucher was caught off Swann for 49 but tailender Paul Harris prodded and occasionally hit his way to 33 not out by the interval.
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
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and