CRICKET
Hughes match planned
New South Wales and South Australia are to play a Sheffield Shield match in honor of Phillip Hughes near to the former Test batsman’s home next year. Hughes died two days after being struck by a ball during a match between the two states at Sydney Cricket Ground last year, triggering a wave of mourning across Australia. “There are really no words that can describe the loss we all felt after the tragic passing of Phillip,” South Australian Cricket Association chief executive Keith Bradshaw said in a statement. “This match is but one way to remember our friend and much-loved teammate so close to his home town.” The Phillip Hughes tribute match between the two teams he represented in Sheffield Shield cricket is due to take place at the Coffs International Stadium from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28 next year.
CRICKET
Australia thrash Kent
Australia’s Ashes squad began their preparations for the forthcoming series with a convincing 255-run win over English county side Kent on Sunday. The four-day tour match ended with the tourists having made 507-8 and 322-4, before declaring in both innings, while Kent replied with scores of 280 and 294. Shaun Marsh and Steven Smith both hit centuries in Australia’s first innings, while Mitchell Marsh chipped in with a ton in the second. The bright spot for the hosts on Sunday was a combative 127 from Daniel Bell-Drummond. Australia next play Essex in another four-day game which begins tomorrow in Chelmsford. It will be their second and final warm-up before the Ashes starts against England in Cardiff a week later on Wednesday next week.
SOCCER
Bardsley in mix for semi
The swelling below England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley’s right eye has gone down substantially, leaving coach Mark Sampson confident she will be available to play in the FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final against Japan tomorrow. Sampson said team officials still believe the swelling was caused by an allergic reaction. He said tests have been conducted and information sent to England for analysis. Sampson spoke on Sunday after the Lionesses arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, a day after beating Canada 2-1 in the quarter-finals in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bardsley left the game early in the second half when her eye began swelling. Bardsley traveled with the England squad and showed very little sign of the swelling. “Yeah, it looks better,” Bardsley told reporters as she made her way to the team bus.
ICE HOCKEY
Lidstrom in Hall of Fame
Nicklas Lidstrom was to add Hockey Hall of Fame member to his long list of achievements yesterday. The Swedish defenseman, along with Canadian defenseman Chris Pronger and Russian forward Sergei Fedorov, are expected to highlight this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame class when it was due to be announced in Toronto yesterday. Lidstrom played 20 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings. The seven-time Norris Trophy winner as defenseman of the year won four Stanley Cups in Detroit, as well as the 2002 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff Most Valuable Player. He also scored the gold medal-clinching goal for Sweden at the 2006 Olympics to become a rare Triple Gold Club member. Only 26 players have won an Olympic gold medal, a world championship and a Stanley Cup. Lidstrom won his world title in 1991.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
RSS