CRICKET
Root fractures thumb
England batsman Joe Root is a major doubt for the World Twenty20 tournament this month after fracturing his thumb during England’s one-day series clincher in the West Indies. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Root was returning home from the Caribbean. “Joe Root has a fractured thumb and is returning home to see a specialist,” the ECB said on Twitter. “Ruled out of West Indies T20’s, World T20 decision not made yet.” The World Twenty20 begins in Bangladesh on Sunday next week. England’s first match is against New Zealand on March 22, followed by games against Sri Lanka, South Africa and one of the minor nations. Root played in all three one-dayers against the West Indies, scoring his first international limited-overs century in the final match to help England clinch the series 2-1 despite being struck on the thumb by a delivery from Ravi Rampaul early in his knock.
CRICKET
Aussies send Johnson home
Australia have withdrawn fast bowler Mitchell Johnson from their Twenty20 squad in South Africa and sent him home to rest before the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, Cricket Australia said on Thursday. Johnson left Cape Town just 24 hours after making a major contribution to the Test series win against South Africa and is to miss the three T20 matches against the Proteas starting tomorrow. Moises Henriques will stay on in South Africa as his replacement. “Mitch has had a very long summer and we think he will benefit from returning home for a few days of rest with his family where he can freshen up,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann said in a statement. “He will link back up with the squad in Bangladesh.” Australia’s first match of the World Twenty20 is against Pakistan in Dhaka on March 23.
SOCCER
Stokes allegedly hit ‘Elvis’
Celtic forward Anthony Stokes has been charged with assaulting a man dressed as rock-and-roll icon Elvis Presley. Republic of Ireland international Stokes is accused of striking Elvis impersonator Anthony Bradley, 42, at a nightclub in his hometown, Dublin, last year. The alleged incident happened at Buck Whaley’s nightclub on Lesson Street in the Irish capital on June 8. Following further investigations, the 25-year-old was on Thursday charged with assault causing harm at Dublin District Court. Stokes, who has scored 11 times for Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic this season, was first arrested and questioned in August about the alleged incident. Bradley was treated for a suspected broken nose and chipped teeth following the alleged altercation at Buck Whaley’s. Judge Michael Walsh remanded Stokes on unconditional bail and ordered him to appear again before the court on May 29.
SOCCER
Birmingham owner gets jail
Hong Kong businessman and Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung was yesterday sentenced to six years in jail for laundering HK$720 million (US$93 million). Judge Douglas Yau handed down the sentence in the southern Chinese city’s district court after convicting the 54-year-old of five charges of money laundering on Monday. “The sentence must include an element of deterrence to discourage those who are in a position to exploit the system,” the judge said. “Maintaining the integrity of the banking system is of paramount importance if Hong Kong is to remain an international finance center,” Yau added.
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
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