Ex-New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and bowler Jeetan Patel apologized yesterday for going on a drinking session which left Patel unable to take the field against England.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said the pair’s behavior during the incident, which took place after the first day of a New Zealand XI warm-up match against England in Queenstown last week, was “completely unacceptable.”
“NZC understands that Jeetan Patel was refused entry to a bar in Queenstown,” it said in a statement. “He subsequently fell and hit his head. Patel returned to the team hotel, felt unwell and took himself to A and E [the accident and emergency ward].”
Patel, who is not part of the Black Caps Test side currently playing England in Dunedin, missed the second day’s play of the warm-up match, with team officials telling media he was unwell.
Vettori was not playing in the match and was in Queenstown to work with medical staff as he tries to recover from an Achilles injury.
“My behavior was completely unprofessional in going out and I should have spent time with Jeetan in another way,” he said. “I would like to apologize to the NZ Cricket medical team who I was there to work with and to anyone else who is disappointed in my behavior.”
Patel also said sorry, saying it was “totally inappropriate for me to be out drinking during a match where I was representing my country.”
The incident comes after Doug Bracewell was ruled out of the Dunedin Test after cutting his foot cleaning up after a party at his house, prompting NZC to issue a statement of apology from the player this week.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB