■CRICKET
Windies lead by 296
West Indies skipper Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 155 in their second innings on the fourth day of the second Test against Australia in Adelaide as the tourists closed on 284-8, a lead of 296 over the hosts. Gayle held the West Indies innings together, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul the next highest scorer with 27. Mitchell Johnson took 4-85 in 19 overs for Australia, while Doug Bollinger took 2-36 from 14 overs. Australia lead the series 1-0.
■CRICKET
Gambhir named India’s best
Batsman Gautam Gambhir was named India’s top international cricketer for the 2008-2009 season and awarded the Polly Umrigar Trophy at an Indian cricket board function on Sunday. Left-handed opener Gambhir, who is also ICC’s test cricketer of the year, scored 1269 runs with five centuries in eight tests during the award period from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30 and was consistent in the shorter formats of the game.
■CRICKET
Pair set partnership record
Pakistani players Rafatullah Mohmand and Aamer Sajjad have set a world second wicket partnership record in first class cricket with a stand of 580. The pair accumulated the run glut playing for WAPDA against Sui Southern Gas Corporation in Pakistan’s oldest first class competition, the Quaid-e-Azam trophy on Sunday in Sheikhupura. Mohmand (302 not out) and Sajjad (289) bettered the previous second wicket best of 576 runs set by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama against India in Colombo in 1997. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene hold the highest partnership record for any wicket with a 624-run stand against South Africa in Colombo in 2006.
■RUGBY UNION
Cooper faces charges
Australia center Quade Cooper has been charged with burglary and will appear in court next week, rugby officials said on Sunday. Police would not specifically name Cooper, 21, but a Queensland Rugby Union spokesman told reporters that the international had been charged with burglary. “We are still trying to establish the full facts of the matter but that is our understanding,” the spokesman said. “There is no running away from that. That is correct.” Queensland police said a 21-year-old man had been charged with one count of burglary following an alleged break-in at the resort of Surfers Paradise in the early hours of Sunday. The man was arrested near the scene, a police spokeswoman said, and was released later on bail. The man is due to appear at the local Southport Magistrates Court on Friday. Cooper was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when he was 15, making his home in Queensland state. He made his Test debut last year and featured in all of Australia’s November internationals against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
■MARATHON
Kenyans dominate Vegas
Kenyan runners Christopher Toroitich and Caroline Rotich won the Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday, topping a field of more than 27,600 on a frigid morning in the desert. Toroitich crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds, holding off Terefe Yae of Ethiopia by 1:27. Assefa Tesfaye of Ethiopia was another second back in third place. The top American finisher was Stephen Haas in fifth with a time of 2:18:45. Rotich finished in 2:29:47 to win the women’s race ahead of Alevtina Ivanova or Russia, who had a time of 2:30:05. Serkalem Abrha of Ethiopia was third in 2:36:26.
■BASKETBALL
Net’s player splits lip
New Jersey Nets’ Chinese forward Yi Jianlian is expected to miss at least another week of NBA action after requiring 50 stitches to repair a cut upper lip. Yi, who has missed 15 games with a sprained right knee, had hoped to return on Sunday. But he was accidentally elbowed by teammate Sean Williams while playing 3-on-3 after practice on Saturday. “Sometimes these things work out for the best,” coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “He really wanted to get back, was very anxious to get back, so maybe he was hurrying himself a little bit and he’ll be fully recovered when he gets back.” Yi hasn’t played since hurting his knee in a game against Charlotte last month. He has been been sidelined since injuring his knee in a game against Charlotte early last month. The Chinese Olympian is averaging 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds this season.
■BADMINTON
Lee wins Masters Finals
World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia won his second consecutive Super Series Masters Finals title by beating South Korean Park Sung-hwan on Sunday. Lee claimed a 21-17, 21-17 success, collecting the US$40,000 winner’s check in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. There was further joy for Malaysia in the women’s singles with Wong Mew Choo defeating German Juliane Schenk 21-15, 21-7 in the final. The women’s event had been hit by the loss of the world’s two top players, Wang Yihan and Wang Lin, who both withdrew last month in order to represent China in the East Asian Games.
■SQUASH
Angry Gaultier crashes out
World No. 2 Gregory Gaultier of France crashed out in the first round of the US$152,500 PSA Masters squash on Sunday, losing to Daryl Selby of England. Gaultier, the top seed here after world No. 1 Karim Darwish of Egypt withdrew with a back injury, failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead and went out in a five-game thriller that lasted an hour-and-23 minutes. The 11th-ranked Selby won 12-10, 1-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-6 in the glass court erected on the lawns of the Bombay Gymkhana here. “This is my best win ever,” said a delighted Selby. “Greg is such an amazing player. When he gets confident, he gets on a roll. Gaultier, who lost his temper frequently during the long match, walked off in a huff after the loss without speaking to reporters.
■TENNIS
Henin returns with win
Belgium’s former world No. 1 Justine Henin began her return to tennis after an 18-month absence with victory over Italy’s Flavia Pennetta in the Women Tennis Trophy here on Sunday. And the 27-year-old is already dreaming of winning an elusive women’s crown at Wimbledon. “It is another Justine Henin who will try and go out there and achieve her dream of finally winning Wimbledon,” Henin said. Having beaten compatriot Kirsten Flipkens in the semi-final of this exhibition event on Saturday, Henin defeated Pennetta, currently 12th in the WTA rankings, 6-4, 6-4 to win the trophy. Although not part of the official circuit, the victory will have given Henin the belief she can once more compete at the top level. The 27-year-old Belgian announced her retirement from top-level tennis in May last year after winning seven Grand Slam titles and spending a total of 117 weeks at the top of the women’s rankings. Only months earlier, fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters made a stunning return to the sport by winning the US Open after a two-year absence to start a family.
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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