■ CRICKET
No return for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe should not return to the Test arena until it shows it can perform at the required standard, an International Cricket Council committee said on Thursday. The Zimbabwe government withdrew the African country from Test cricket last year although they still take part in one-day internationals and played in this year's World Cup in the Caribbean. "The committee did not support the return of Zimbabwe to Test cricket until such time as the team demonstrates its ability to perform at a standard that does not risk undermining the integrity of Test cricket," the council's statement said.
■ CRICKET
West Indies call up Samuels
Jamaica batsman Marlon Samuels was summoned to the West Indies cricket squad to replace injured captain Ramnaresh Sarwan on Thursday. Daren Ganga, the vice captain who took over West Indies in the second Test at Headingley after Sarwan damaged his shoulder in the field, was named captain. Samuels has played in 23 Tests for an average of 28 runs. His last Test was a 49-run defeat to India in Jamaica in July last year. He played at the recent World Cup. Without Sarwan, West Indies batted one man short and fell to its worst Test defeat, an innings and 283 runs last Monday. Sarwan was ruled out of the rest of the tour of England and returned home on Wednesday.
■ CYCLING
Petacchi wins on Tour
Italian Alessandro Petacchi of the Milram team dug deep during a dramatic finale to win the 18th stage of the Tour of Italy on Thursday. Fellow Italian Danilo Di Luca of Liquigas retained the race leader's pink jersey after the 203km mainly flat stage. Petacchi started his sprint for home more than 500m from the line but had the strength to hold off Argentine Maximiliano Richeze, who finished second, and Dane Matti Breschel, who came third. "It was a difficult sprint because the finish was on a slight hill," Petacchi said afterwards. "It's starting to get tough now towards the end of the race but I would like to thank my team-mates who worked hard the whole day. We don't have the entire team and it's not easy to control a race for 200km."
■ SOCCER
Ranieri quits Parma
Claudio Ranieri quit as coach of Serie A team Parma on Thursday, sparking fresh media reports he was set to take over at Manchester City. "Claudio Ranieri has informed the club of his intention to leave," Parma said on their official Web site. "The club has expressed its thanks for his precious work, culminating in Parma staying in Serie A, and wish him the best success in the future," it said. Reports in England have linked the former Chelsea coach with a return to the Premier League with City, who dismissed Stuart Pearce at the end of the season.
■ ATHLETICS
Proposed ban hits Pistorius
Athletics' governing body has proposed a new technical equipment rule that would effectively ban South African amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius from taking part in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 20-year-old from Pretoria has set competitive times in the 100m, 200m and 400m although he had both legs amputated below the knee when less than a year old because of a congenital condition. A former rugby and water-polo player, Pistorius uses high-tech, J-shaped carbon-fibre blades which are fixed to his legs just under the knees. He managed third in the 100m at the 2004 Paralympics in the T44 category.
■ FOOTBALL
NFL extends booze ban
NFL clubs may no longer serve alcohol at team functions or on buses or flights, extending a ban that until now applied only in locker rooms. NFL owners and executives were told by commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday that the rule pertains not only to players but to owners, coaches and guests. "I believe that no constructive purpose is served by clubs continuing to make alcoholic beverages available, and that doing so imposes significant and unnecessary risks to the league, its players and others," Goodell wrote to all 32 teams in a letter.
■ BOXING
Tyson hopes thwarted
Mike Tyson does not have permission from Arizona authorities to travel to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and work the corner of heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov during his WBO title fight against Shannon Briggs today. Tyson must get approval from a judge to travel outside of Arizona while drug charges against him are pending. However, Tyson was allowed to attend his daughter's high school graduation in Washington yesterday. Last week Tyson was allowed to leave Arizona for addiction treatment in California. He faces charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs following an arrest in Scottsdale last year.
■ CYCLING
Doper Zabel wins stage
One week after admitting he took performance-enhancing drugs during the Tour de France 11 years ago, Erik Zabel posted his first victory of the season when he won Thursday's second stage of the Tour of Bavaria. Among a group of former Telekom riders who admitted they took the blood booster EPO in the 1990s, Zabel is the only rider still active. His current team, Milram, decided two days ago to keep Zabel until the end of the year, before ruling on whether to honor the last year on his contract. Zabel said he never took performance-enhancing drugs again after using EPO for the first week of the 1996 Tour de France.
■ BASEBALL
PRC could host MLB games
China could host Major League Baseball games as early as next year but popularizing the sport in the country is a long-term challenge, MLB President Bob DuPuy said yesterday. DuPuy, who arrived in China this week with a delegation of baseball officials to discuss boosting the sport's profile in China, said it would take time, money and patience to put baseball in the spotlight in China. "There is a very serious chance we will be playing games here next year," DuPuy said at a news conference in Beijing. "It's our goal to work with them to make sure at least one stadium will stay as a showcase for baseball [after the Olympics]."
■ GOLF
Eight share lead in Wales
Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie and eight others shared the lead at 4-under-par 65 in the first round of the Wales Open on Thursday. Lawrie made his timely return to form just seven weeks before this year's Open at Carnoustie, where he won in a playoff in 1999 after Jean Van de Velde threw it away on the final hole. Two more Scots, Gary Orr and Steven O'Hara, led along with Paul Broadhurst, Brett Rumford, Ricardo Gonzalez, Soren Kjeldsen, Steve Alker and Jose Manuel Lara. Lawrie has struggled with his putting this year, but he has switched to a new putter like the one used at the BMW PGA Championship last week by Justin Rose, who finished second.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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