SOCCER
NZ cancel England game
New Zealand yesterday pulled out of a friendly next month against England, saying that “complications” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had made it too difficult to field a team at Wembley on Nov. 12. “The shifting nature of travel restrictions and commercial flight availability under COVID means that we do not have certainty we could assemble a squad at Wembley,” New Zealand Football chief executive officer Andrew Pragnell said in a statement.
CRICKET
CSA intervention looms
South African Minister of Sports Nathi Mthethwa yesterday told the International Cricket Council that he intends to intervene in the running of Cricket South Africa (CSA) unless the latter commits by Oct. 27 to governance reforms. CSA has been mired in controversy and claims of mismanagement since the suspension of former chief executive Thabang Moroe in December last year, with an internal report providing a long list of concerns over the actions of staff members in the organization. “Efforts have been made over several months to try and assist CSA to stabilize its governance matters. This, after a huge outcry regarding the failure of its leadership to effectively manage its affairs,” the ministry said in a statement.
RUGBY UNION
Plumtree issues warning
New Zealand assistant coach John Plumtree yesterday said that Australia got away with several off-the-ball incidents in the drawn first Test in Wellington and that if the referee for Sunday’s second match is similarly lenient then the All Blacks would fight fire with fire. All Blacks coach Ian Foster was particularly unhappy with some of the treatment dished out to Richie Mo’unga, saying on Monday that the flyhalf was the victim of several late tackles that were not picked up by referee Paul Williams of New Zealand. Plumtree continued that theme, saying he hoped that the referee for the second Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park, Australia’s Angus Gardner, would be more vigilant. “That type of play on the field has got to be dealt with by the ref,” Plumtree told reporters in Auckland. “There were several occasions where there was some off-ball incidents, but it has got to be dealt with properly on the field.” If the Wallabies adopted similar tactics on Sunday and went unchecked, then the All Blacks would have no choice but to give the visitors a dose of their own medicine in front of what is expected to be a sold-out crowd of 47,000, he said.
RUGBY UNION
S Africa given extension
Rugby Championship organizers SANZAAR have given World Cup champions South Africa an additional 48 hours to decide whether they are to compete in the four-nation tournament in Australia from next month. Australia, Argentina and New Zealand are locked in, but the participation of the Springboks, the defending champions, has been in doubt because of their lack of domestic rugby. “The SANZAAR member unions have agreed to provide SA Rugby with an additional 48 hours to finalize its internal stakeholder discussions on participation,” SA Rugby said in a statement. “This will now delay the scheduled departure of the Springboks from South Africa to Australia.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and