Fast bowler Mitchell Starc leads a list of 20 players under Australia captain Michael Clarke named to Cricket Australia’s contracted list for this season, which includes back-to-back Ashes series and follows the team’s demoralizing four-Test defeat in India.
Left-armer Starc, who frequently led Australia in all forms of the game, including some strong batting performances, was reported to have been one of the big winners with a US$1 million contract. Clarke is the highest-paid with about US$2 million a season.
Ex-captain Ricky Ponting and veteran batsman Michael Hussey, who were on last year’s list, have retired, while David Hussey, Michael’s 35-year-old brother, was excluded after the selectors’ decision to concentrate on younger players.
David Hussey’s international career appears to be over. He has played 69 one-day matches and 39 Twenty20s for Australia.
Paceman Jackson Bird, allrounder Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith also missed out on contracts, but they remain under consideration for the Ashes and one-day selection.
George Bailey, Ed Cowan, James Faulkner, Phillip Hughes, Glenn Maxwell and Clint McKay all retained their places after earning upgrades during the last contract period.
Aussie national selector John Inverarity yesterday said the list reflects the renewed focus on the Ashes after a “poor” India tour.
“Speaking with Michael Clarke and others, we’re all very excited about the Ashes and our focus is very much on that at the moment,” Inverarity said.
For the first time, Australia and England will play back-to-back Ashes series — 10 consecutive Tests. The first of five Tests in England is on July 10 in Nottingham.
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