CRICKET
Taiwan players eye Iceland
Three Taiwan-based players this week said that they were interested in an invitation to play in a T20 tournament in Iceland in July next year. Iceland Cricket on Tuesday wrote on social media that it was hoping to host Munich Cricket Club. “Unfortunately, they now cannot come, so we have a space for a touring team then,” the governing body said. It would be five T20 matches, one against each of Iceland’s domestic clubs, from July 4 to 6 in Reykjavik, it said. On the Taiwan Cricket Facebook page — which is not operated by the national cricket association — Chetan Pundora and Bivan Singh Waraich yesterday wrote: “I am in,” while Vishwajit Tawar posted a gif indicating that he was packed and ready to depart. All three are top performers in Taiwan. “Iceland itself is a fascinating land, a land of northern lights, and I am sure those lights will shine brighter above a cricket ground,” Pundora told the Taipei Times later in the day. “Let’s play cricket in beautiful Iceland and explore it together.” The national cricket association had not responded to a request for comment as of press time last night.
FOOTBALL
Bill Bergey dies aged 79
Bill Bergey, a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker who played in a Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles, died on Wednesday, the team announced. He was 79. His son, Jake, posted on social media that Bergey died of cancer. Bergey had been open about his fight with the disease over the past few years. Bergey, who was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2009, said he had a form of jaw cancer since 2021. “I didn’t give it the old: ‘Why me?’ or anything like that,” he said last year. “I just thought that I had to fight it just like I would fight anything else that I needed to fight.” Bergey was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969 and made one Pro Bowl appearance for them before he was traded ahead of the 1974 season. Bergey’s career took off in Philadelphia and he became one of the more popular Eagles players in his era. He made the Pro Bowl in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978, and was named an All-Pro in 1974 and 1975. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie said Bergey “gained the respect of players and coaches across the league for his blue-collar work ethic and hard-nosed play. Bill exemplified what it meant to be an Eagle in every way, and proudly represented the team in the community well after his playing days were over.”
SOCCER
City at risk: Guardiola
Manchester City are at risk of missing out on next season’s UEFA Champions League due to their dip in form, manager Pep Guardiola said. City, who are looking to qualify for Europe’s top club competition for a 15th straight season, have won just one of their past eight Premier League games and are seventh, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool. Guardiola’s side are four points behind Nottingham Forest, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualification berth. “When I said before, people laughed. They said: ‘Qualifying for the Champions League is not a big success,’ but I know it because it happens with clubs in this country,” Guardiola said. “They were dominant for many years and after they were many years not qualifying for the Champions League. The one team that has been in the Champions League for the past years has been Manchester City. Now we are at risk.”
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
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