CRICKET
Match marred by attack
Afghan officials say armed attackers killed at least two people and kidnapped others in an assault on a cricket match in a rural area near the Pakistan border. Paktia Province police chief General Zelmai Oryakhail yesterday said the assailants opened fire on the match on Thursday, killing a police officer and a civilian. He says five others were wounded in the attack in Zazi Aryub District. Paktia acting governor Abdul Wali Sahee said 36 people, mostly teenagers, were kidnapped. Oryakhail said all but three have been freed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though officials said they suspect the Taliban launched the assault.
CRICKET
Watling fifty aids weak NZ
Stand-in captain B.J. Watling’s unbeaten fifty helped a weakened New Zealand side to 202-7 on the first day of their opening tour match against Somerset in Taunton, England, on Friday. New Zealand only have 11 fit players at their disposal, with six of their squad playing in the Indian Premier League, including captain Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry. Meanwhile, opening batsman Martin Guptill, one of the stars of New Zealand’s run to the World Cup final and in England playing for county side Somerset, is sidelined with a side strain. Somerset have lost all three of their first-class County Championship matches so far this term, but three wickets from Tim Groenewald and two each from debutant Josh Davey and Jim Allenby saw them make inroads into New Zealand’s top order. Test wicketkeeper Watling steadied the innings, striking nine fours in his 52 not out as New Zealand fought back from 133-6 to pass the 200-mark before bad light forced the teams from the field on the first day of four.
ATHLETICS
Cuban triple jumps 17.94m
Pablo Pichardo on Friday registered the sixth-longest triple jump ever recorded with a 17.94m leap that broke the Cuban record of former world champion Yoelbi Quesada. The 21-year-old, who was a silver medalist at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, improved his personal best by 18cm. Quesada’s national record of 17.85m had stood since the 1997 World Championships in Athens. “I was hoping for more than 17.50m, but not such a huge jump,” Pichardo said. He is also closing in on the exclusive club of triple jumpers who have gone beyond the 18m mark. Britain’s Jonathan Edwards set the world record of 18.29m in 1995, Kenny Harrison of the US achieved 18.09m in 1996, while Frenchman Teddy Tamgho recorded 18.04m in 2013.
MOTOR RACING
F1 warned over rules
Formula One does not need to rip up the rule book and try to fix something that is not broken, team technical heads warned on Friday as the sport discusses possible changes for 2017. “I think we should leave it alone, in the main,” Williams’ head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley said. “We should perhaps think about stopping tampering with it rather than thinking we are going to create a new set of rules and that is going to fix everything. We do have to seriously think about not changing anything... The racing is very good.” Smedley, whose former Ferrari team have called for a revolution in the sport, said every rule change ultimately favored those with the biggest resources and led to big gaps in performance. Formula One’s strategy group is due to meet in London on Thursday to discuss proposals for 2017.
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