CRICKET
Fundraiser moved over rain
A star-studded charity game to aid Australian bushfire relief was yesterday moved from the Sydney Cricket Ground to Melbourne due to forecast torrential rain, forcing some players to drop out. Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting were to come out of retirement to skipper the teams tomorrow to raise money for victims of the blazes, which began in September last year and have left at least 33 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed. It was scheduled as a curtain-raiser to the Twenty20 Big Bash League final, but with downpours expected, Cricket Australia said that it would no longer be possible in Sydney. Instead, it is to be played on Sunday at the smaller Junction Oval in Melbourne following a T20 clash between the Australia and England women’s teams. Warne, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke were among those forced out due to prior commitments. Adam Gilchrist is now to captain one of the teams in Warne’s absence, with Australian Test skipper Tim Paine acting as coach. The Ponting team is to be coached by Sachin Tendulkar. Other international stars to participate include Wasim Akram, Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh and Justin Langer. Match profits are to go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
SOCCER
Lazio match record in draw
SS Lazio on Wednesday equaled a 21-year club record for staying undefeated, but missed the chance to move second in Serie A after being held to a goalless draw by Hellas Verona. Simone Inzaghi’s side closed to within a point of second-placed Inter. The Roman side are four points behind leaders Juventus and 11 points clear of fourth-placed Atalanta BC, who occupy the final UEFA Champions League berth, ahead of AS Roma on goal difference. Lazio matched their longest unbeaten Serie A run of 17 consecutive matches, the feat of the 1999 side coached by Sven-Goran Eriksson. “It’s a record that pleases me,” said Inzaghi, who played for the team under Eriksson and helped Lazio lift their last Scudetto in the 1999-2000 season. Verona missed out on moving into sixth place and the UEFA Europa League berths as they remain ninth, but just one point off the European spots.
SOCCER
Marseille beat Saint-Etienne
Dimitri Payet on Wednesday scored a brilliant goal as second-placed Olympique de Marseille claimed a 2-0 victory at AS Saint-Etienne to cut the gap to Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain back to 12 points, although hundreds of their diehard fans were stopped from watching the game. The match was delayed by 15 minutes after clashes between the two sets of fans outside the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Firefighters and the Saint-Etienne prosecutors’ office said that there were no injuries or arrests. However, the game was played without visiting supporters — believed to number about 400 — who left under police escort, despite making a round trip of about 650km. Earlier on Wednesday, Olympique Lyonnais failed to close the gap to the top three as they were held to a goalless draw at home by lowly Amiens SC. Elsewhere, bottom club Toulouse were cut further adrift with a 1-0 loss to RC Strasbourg Alsace, while Montpellier Herault moved into fifth, despite a 1-1 home draw with Metz.
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