CRICKET
Batsman joins illustrious list
Lancashire’s Jordan Clark has become only the fifth batsman to hit six sixes in one over during a professional match. The English County said in a statement on Wednesday that the 22-year-old had achieved the feat in a Championship Second XI game against Yorkshire to join an illustrious list of names. Former West Indies all-rounder Garfield Sobers was the first man to do it, in 1968, and Indian Ravi Shastri followed suit in 1985. South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs smashed six sixes in an over at the 2007 World Cup and Indian Yuvraj Singh did the same at the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup the same year.
RUGBY UNION
Ex-England star hit by bus
Former England flyhalf Danny Cipriani was in hospital with concussion yesterday after being hit by a bus, his club Sale Sharks said. The 25-year-old had been on a night out in the city of Leeds with his Sale teammates and a club spokesman confirmed he was being treated for concussion. Cipriani, who has seven England caps, joined Sale on a three-year deal last year in a bid to revive his international career after a controversy-marred stint with Australian club the Melbourne Rebels. While in Australia he was under the spotlight for breaching team discipline on a number of occasions. Cipriani landed in hot water in 2011 for taking a bottle of vodka from the bar of a nightclub without paying for it and was later stood down for a month for breaching team curfews and failing to turn up to training.
BOXING
Pacquiao eyes Macau fight
Fight legend Manny Pacquiao will likely face either of US fighters Brandon Rios or Mike Alvarado in Macau in November, his promoter Bob Arum said yesterday. The Filipino, 34, who has won an unprecedented eight world titles in different weight divisions, had wanted to fight either Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez or unbeaten US boxer Timothy Bradley, who both beat him last year. However, they decided to fight each other in Las Vegas in September. “The choice is between Alvarado and Rios,” Arum said, conceding that Marquez or Bradley had been his initial priorities. Pacquiao’s next fight was pushed back because October was a busy month for Macau with many holidays, making November a better choice, Arum said. Pacquiao lost his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown in June last year in a controversial points decision to Bradley, then suffered a knockout defeat to Marquez.
Badminton
Rookie beats idol Hidayat
Indian rookie H.S. Prannoy fulfilled a long-cherished dream yesterday, playing childhood idol Taufik Hidayat and beating him by frequently unleashing effective backhand strokes he modeled on the retiring Indonesian stalwart. Former world and Olympic champion Hidayat, 31, will hang up is racket in June and he clearly struggled against an Indian 11 years younger as Prannoy won 26-24, 21-9 in the round of 16 at the India Open super series tournament. “It was a dream to play him [Hidayat]. More than winning, I was thinking more about coming and playing him here,” Prannoy said. “Obviously in childhood days, everybody wants to imitate their idols. I did it so many times. I’m a professional player now and I have my own strokes, but if you notice, I have a strong backhand and I learnt it from watching him, the basic technique of hitting a backhand.”
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