■ Cricket
Board bans 13 bowlers
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has barred 13 bowlers in domestic cricket for illegal bowling actions, a BCB official said yesterday. The barred bowlers included Faisal Hossain and Jamal Babu, former members of the national team. Faisal played four one-day internationals and a test for Bangladesh while Jamal has fielded in a one-day match against England. They last played for Bangladesh in 2004 and 2003. A bowling review committee of the BCB issued the decision after examining 19 bowlers detected last year for the illegal actions.
■ Soccer
Inter net cup win
Julio Cruz scored the only goal as a second string Inter Milan side won 1-0 at Messina in the first leg of their Italian Cup last 16 tie on Thursday. The 32-year-old Argentina international struck for the holders and current league leaders in the 40th minute, drilling a low free-kick into the net from 20m. With one eye on tomorrow's Serie A clash at Parma, Inter coach Roberto Mancini rested many players and gave debuts to Greek midfielder Lampros Choutos and Hungarian striker Attila Filkor. In the day's other match second division Napoli won 1-0 at home to Serie A side Parma.
■ Cricket
Pawar accepts apology
Cricket supremo Sharad Pawar has accepted an apology from Australian captain Ricky Ponting for his team's behavior after the Champions Trophy final, an official said yesterday. "Ponting spoke to Mr Pawar and apologized for the incident. Mr Pawar has accepted the apology and told him the matter was closed," said Board of Control for Cricket in India official Rajiv Shukla. Cricket Australia had said earlier that Ponting contacted Pawar late on Thursday after 36 hours of trying and expressed regret for offence caused when the Australian manhandled the official off the presentation stage after Sunday's final.
■ Rubgy Union
Eden Park to be ditched
The government said yesterday it backed a new waterfront stadium for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, leaving the current sporting Mecca, Eden Park, facing an uncertain future. Eden Park hosted the opening game and final of the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, and the Rugby League World Cup final the following year. In 1950 it was home to the Empire Games, the first time New Zealand played host to the Commonwealth sporting extravaganza, and in 1956 was the venue for New Zealand's first cricket Test win. But Sports Minister Trevor Mallard preferred the new stadium to Eden Park for when New Zealand next hosts the World Cup.
■ NFL
49ers announce move
The San Francisco 49ers NFL team announced on Thursday that the team will move from its home at Candlestick Park in San Francisco to Santa Clara, California, by 2012 but would not change the team's name. "The Candlestick Point project will not accommodate a next-generation NFL stadium," team owner John York told a news conference. He called Candlestick Park "the oldest and worst stadium" in the NFL.
■ Motor Racing
Rossi trades bike for car
Valentino Rossi got behind the wheel of Mika Hakkinen's Mercedes on Thursday and clocked some fast laps on the Hockenheim circuit. Don't expect to see the MotoGP star racing cars any time soon, though. "I had a lot of fun. The Mercedes is an impressive racing car and drives like a Formula One car," Rossi said. "But I still don't know at this time whether I'll ever race on four wheels. But it's good to know that I didn't look that bad," he said. Rossi's best lap was only about a second off the fastest time on the DTM circuit. "A formidable time. It was a very good performance by Valentino," Mercedes motor sports chief Norbert Haug said. Mercedes said Rossi got the trial at his own request and "impressed with consistently fast laps" in the car.
■ Boxing
Salido tests positive
New IBF featherweight champion Orlando Salido of Mexico could be stripped of his title after testing positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone, a Nevada boxing official said on Thursday. "If he had steroids in his system, no matter how they got there, he shouldn't have been in the ring," said Keith Kizer, Nevada Athletic Commission executive director, on Thursday. Kizer said urine samples collected from both fighters before the fight in Las Vegas on Oct. 4 were tested for steroids. Post-fight urine samples for banned stimulants came back negative, Kizer said. Salido, 25, who trains in Los Angeles, earned a unanimous decision over IBF 57kg titleholder Robert Guerrero, 23, of the US. Salido has been temporarily suspended for two months pending a hearing, Kizer said.
■ Baseball
Igawa free to play in MLB
The Central League's Hanshin Tigers have granted pitcher Kei Igawa permission to pursue a career in the US major leagues. Igawa, who would have had to play in Japan for three more seasons before becoming a free agent, will put up for bid by the Tigers, team officials said yesterday. Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Seibu Lions and infielder Akinori Iwamura of the Yakult Swallows have already been put up for bid. Major league teams will be able to bid to secure the negotiating rights for the Japanese players. After being awarded the negotiating rights for the highest bid, a team will have 30 days to sign the player. Igawa went 14-9 in last year with a 2.97 earned run average.
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
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