CRICKET
England, India lose points
England and India have lost two World Test Championship points each and fined 40 percent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate in the series opener at Trent Bridge, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday. ICC match referee Chris Broad imposed the sanction after both sides were ruled to be two overs short of their targets after time allowances were taken into consideration. The rain-marred fixture ended in a draw after the whole of Sunday’s final day was washed out, with the second Test of the five-match series to start at Lord’s today. Under ICC regulations, players are fined 20 percent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with teams penalized one Test Championship point for each over short. England captain Joe Root and India captain Virat Kohli pleaded guilty and accepted the proposed sanctions.
BOXING
Errol Spence ruled out
Errol Spence Jr has dropped out of his pay-per-view fight with Manny Pacquiao on Saturday next week because of a retinal tear in his left eye. WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas is to step in to face Pacquiao at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the same date, the promoters announced on Tuesday. Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) holds the WBC and IBF welterweight titles, but he has fought just once since September 2019 due to a car crash and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Spence did not learn that he had a torn retina until a prefight medical examination by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday, his promoters said. Spence was to have surgery in Texas yesterday to repair the tear, but he will miss out on his high-profile showdown with the 42-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs). “I was excited about the fight and the event,” Spence said. “There was no way I could fight with my eye in that condition. I’d like to apologize to everyone. You know I’ll be back soon. We’ve come back from worse.”
OLYMPICS
Quarantine criticized
A four-week quarantine imposed on 16 athletes returning from the Tokyo Games has been criticized as “cruel and uncaring” by the Australian Olympic Committee. All travelers entering Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic are subjected to a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine, and members of Australia’s Olympic delegation have returned in groups to undergo two weeks of supervised isolation in various state capitals. However, South Australia is imposing an additional 14-day domestic quarantine on those athletes who want to return to the state after isolating in Sydney, where an outbreak has prompted a lockdown. That has sparked outrage among athletes and Olympic officials. Australian Olympic committee chief executive Matt Carroll yesterday said South Australia’s decision posed mental health risks for the athletes, who have all been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and lived and competed under a strict bio-security conditions since before leaving for Japan. “While other countries are celebrating the return of their athletes, we are subjecting ours to the most cruel and uncaring treatment,” Carroll said. “They are being punished for proudly representing their country with distinction at the Olympic Games.”
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
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
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