Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting says his parents have received abusive phone calls following the controversial second Test win over India.
"There were a few people who rang in the past few days, having a dig," Ponting told News Ltd newspapers yesterday. "It was disappointing for them to have to go through that."
Ponting said his parents were forced to change their phone number following the anonymous calls criticizing the Australian captain and his team.
Australia won the Test by 122 runs to clinch a world record-equaling 16th consecutive win, but the win was overshadowed by a racism row and some poor umpiring decisions.
The Australian public seemed divided, with opinion polls showing the bulk of cricket fans agreeing the Australian team was arrogant.
Ponting rejected those claims, and has the backing of the game's national authorities, but accepted there were elements of the second Test that "in hindsight you might do a little differently."
Meanwhile opener Virender Sehwag and the struggling Yuvraj Singh both fell cheaply yesterday as India returned to action.
Sehwag fluffed his chance to make a case for Test selection, making just 24 after India won the toss and elected to bat against the Australian Capital Territory XI.
Singh's horror tour continued when he made just two as the tourists paid the price for poor shot selection against a modest attack.
The Indians declared at 325 for nine after throwing a number of wickets away with loose shots, and the ACT were 10 without loss at stumps on the first day.
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, who benefited from dropping down to number four, making 62 from 91 balls with nine fours, said it was disappointing that several batsmen again failed to deliver.
"It is about making people sit up and notice them," he said. "Hopefully they can reinforce that in the second innings. When people get their opportunities they have to put their hands up. That's what these games are about."
In better news for the tourists, embattled opener Wasim Jaffer finally found some form with a stylish 92.
Jaffer, with just 22 runs in four Test innings on this tour, was in much better touch against the ACT bowlers, hitting eight fours and two sixes during his 191-ball knock.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the