■CRICKET
Shane Bond calls it a day
Injury-prone New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has retired from all forms of cricket less than five months after quitting Tests to prolong his career in limited-over formats. Bond, viewed as one of New Zealand’s best fast bowlers despite a career perennially hampered by injury, retired from Test cricket in December last year with 87 wickets at an average of 22. The decision came after he sustained an abdominal injury during his first Test back in two years against Pakistan in November last year that ruled him out for two months. The 34-year-old also leaves the game with an enviable limited overs record, having snared 147 wickets at an average of 20.88 in one-day internationals and 25 at 21.72 in Twenty20.
■CRICKET
Blackwell leads from front
Australia captain Alex Blackwell led from the front as her side advanced into the women’s World Twenty20 final with a seven-wicket win over India on Thursday. Blackwell’s 61 — her maiden half-century at this level — was the centerpiece of Australia’s successful pursuit of their target of 120. Her innings was all the more impressive as Blackwell, only leading the side because wicketkeeper-batsman Jodie Fields withdrew before the tournament with a hamstring injury, came in with the score 1-1. However, together with left-handed opener Shelley Nitschke (22), she shared a second-wicket stand of 74 that ended India’s hopes. By the time Blackwell was stumped by India wicketkeeper Sulakshana Naik off leg-spinner Priyanka Roy, Australia were 101 for three and in sight of victory and tomorrow’s final.
■SKIING
Vonn makes TV debut
For US skiing champion Lyndsey Vonn hurtling 137kph down an icy slope is nowhere near as nerve-racking as making her acting debut in her favorite television show Law and Order. Vonn, 25, who won a gold medal in the downhill and a bronze in the Super-G at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver earlier this year, was delighted to be invited to make a guest appearance on the NBC crime drama that she has watched since she was a child. Vonn has suffered a list of skiing injuries, but she said it was scarier to take on the role of an office assistant called Alicia who has a vital clue in a case involving a terrorist. Vonn appears in the show’s 20th season finale that is scheduled to air in the US on May 24.
■SOCCER
Terry’s dad pleads guilty
Chelsea captain and England defender John Terry’s father pleaded guilty on Thursday to supplying cocaine and is embarrassed by the upset caused to his son, a court heard. Edward Terry, 56, admitted at Basildon Magistrates’ Court, east of London, to supplying a class A drug. The court was told he supplied drugs to an undercover reporter from the News of the World, Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper, in a wine bar in nearby Chafford Hundred in November last year. Prosecutor Ricky Khagram said Terry was paid £160 (US$235) for the drugs. His lawyer Neil Saunders said Terry had been “targeted” by reporters because he was John Terry’s father and was “embarrassed” because of the upset caused to his son, who as Chelsea captain lifted the English Premier League trophy on Sunday. He was released on bail and will be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on June 1.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but