CRICKET
Australia thump England
A battling 94 from Steve Smith yesterday handed Australia a series win against England with a game to spare after a 72-run victory in the second one-day international in Sydney. Josh Hazelwood won the toss and elected to bat, but two early wickets brought Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (58) to the crease. The pair put on 101 before Labuschagne departed. Smith increased the pace soon after and was assisted by Mitchell Marsh (50). A six off Sam Curran over square-leg took Smith into the 90s, but he fell metres short of his century, holing out at long-off to Adil Rashid, who took 3-57. England lost two wickets without scoring a run in the first over by Mitchell Starc, but Josh Vince (60) and Sam Billings (71) steadied the tourists, However, their demise led to a collapse, with the visitors bowled out for 208.
CRICKET
Indian selectors sacked
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday sacked its entire selection committee, led by former fast bowler Chetan Sharma, and put out the call for replacements after the team’s T20 World Cup exit. Rohit Sharma’s men were thrashed by 10 wickets by England in their semi-final at the Adelaide Oval last week, prompting fresh soul-searching by a team who last won a global title at the 2013 Champions Trophy. Their exit prompted calls from commentators and the public for heads to roll. The BCCI issued a statement inviting fresh applications to fill all five positions on its selection panel.
BASKETBALL
Spain displace the US
Spain replaced the US men’s basketball team at the top of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world rankings, a spot the US have held for more than 12 years. Spain have enjoyed success in the past few years, including winning the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and this year’s FIBA EuroBasket. “It’s not exactly a new title and it probably can’t be maintained for too long, but it’s something so unique, prestigious and historic that I feel tremendously proud of everyone who ... has contributed to it,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo wrote on Twitter. Spain top the rankings with 758.6 points followed by the US with 757.5 and Australia in third on 740.3.
HORSE RACING
US court says rules invalid
The US Congress unconstitutionally gave too much power to a nonprofit authority it created in 2020 to develop and enforce horseracing rules, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is “facially unconstitutional.” The authority created by the act was meant to bring uniform policies and enforcement to horseracing amid doping scandals and racetrack horse deaths, but the 5th Circuit in two rulings ruled in favor of opponents of the act in lawsuits brought by horseracing associations and state officials in Texas, Louisiana and West Virginia. Three judges agreed with opponents of the act that the setup gave too much power to the nongovernmental authority and too little to the US Federal Trade Commission. “A cardinal constitutional principle is that federal power can be wielded only by the federal government,” Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote. “Private entities may do so only if they are subordinate to an agency.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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