■CRICKET
Bravo burst in vain
Inspired bowling by Windies allrounder Dwayne Bravo wasn’t enough to force a result as the second Test between Australia and West Indies in Adelaide ended in a draw yesterday. The home side reached 212 for five chasing 330 to win after West Indies were dismissed for 317 in the morning session. Windies captain Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 165 with Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Johnson grabbing five for 103 and fellow opening bowler Doug Bollinger finishing with three for 50. Simon Katich and Shane Watson then put on 33 for the Australian first wicket before Katich was caught by Adrian Barath off the bowling of Bravo for 21. Ricky Ponting was the next man out after the lunch break, bowled by pace man Ravi Rampaul for 20 before Watson fell to a catch by Bravo off Darren Sammy two short of his half-century. Australia were 132 for three at tea but the visitors slim hopes of victory improved considerably when Bravo dismissed Michael Hussey and Marcus North in quick succession. Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke ensured there were no more scares for the home side, with Clarke finishing on 61 not out.
■SOCCER
Spaniards dominate list
Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have swept the list of five nominees for the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award. Barcelona are represented by Spanish midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi along with Argentine playmaker Lionel Messi, the strong favorite for the award to be handed out on Dec. 21. Real Madrid are present thanks to the inclusion of Brazilian Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. The quintet have emerged from an initial 23-strong shortlist with voting restricted to the coaches and captains of national selections.
■SQUASH
Shabana struggles
Reigning World Open champion Amr Shabana was taken to four games by unfancied Indian Saurav Ghosal before making the quarter-finals of the PSA Masters squash in Mumbai, India, on Monday. World No. 3 Shabana, who won his fourth Open title in Kuwait City last month, overcame the 32nd-ranked Ghosal 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10 in 48 minutes at the Bombay Gymkhana. “Sourav is a really strong player and gave me a good fight,” said Shabana, who is favored to win the US$152,500 event after top-seed Gregory Gaultier crashed out in the first round. Shabana’s quarter-final opponent will be compatriot Mohamed El Shorbagy, who won a dramatic five-game cliffhanger against world No. 6 James Willstrop of England. The 20th-ranked Shorbagy won 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 13-11 in a match that took two hours and 20 minutes to finish after Willstrop left the court with a bleeding forehead during the second game. Shorbagy, who lost the first game, was leading 8-5 in the second when his racquet accidently hit Willstrop in the forehead, interrupting the match for more than an hour.
■CRICKET
Pakistanis to miss edition
Pakistan’s cricketers will miss the next edition of the IPL because of a delay in securing visas for the lucrative Twenty20 event in India, IPL chief Lalit Modi said yesterday. “We have been informed by the Pakistan Cricket Board that they have not been able to obtain the visas as of now,” Modi told local media. “Pakistan’s players are out and will not be allowed to take part in the next IPL. We are informing the teams that they can now go for replacement of Pakistan players.” The deadline for obtaining visas for the March 12 to April 25 event was on Monday.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
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