Rain washed out play in two Tests on opposite sides of the planet on Saturday, while in England Josh Cobb made a swashbuckling 80 to lead Northamptonshire to a four-wicket victory over Durham in county cricket’s Twenty20 Blast final in Birmingham.
Inadequate ground drainage and maintenance systems resulted in the abandonment of the third day without a ball being bowled in the fourth and final Test between the West Indies and India at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Saturday.
No play has been possible since the first day on Thursday in Trinidad, when the West Indies reached 62-2 before lunch.
Photo: AFP
With the Test seemingly destined for a draw, India, despite a 2-0 lead in the series, will lose their No. 1 ranking in Test cricket to Pakistan.
India need to win the series 3-0 to retain the top position
In South Africa, Dale Steyn claimed two early wickets in New Zealand’s reply to their 263 all out on day 2, but their progress was halted after a sodden outfield meant no play was possible yesterday.
New Zealand were 15-2 in reply.
In England, Durham scored 153-8 from their 20 overs and reduced Northants to 9-3 before Cobb hit three sixes and 10 fours off 48 deliveries to put his side on the brink of victory.
Captain Alex Wakely hit 43 and Northamptonshire reached their target with five balls to spare.
Rain also affected Pakistan, with their one-day game against Ireland abandoned without a ball being bowled at Malahide.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care