CRICKET
SA win Sheffield Shield
South Australia yesterday chased down a record 269 runs in an Australian first-class cricket final to win their first Sheffield Shield cricket title in 29 years. South Australia scored 270-6 in their second innings to beat Queensland by four wickets on the fourth day of the scheduled five-day final. Jason Sangha led South Australia with an unbeaten 126, while Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey scored 105. The two combined for a 202-run partnership. Several hundred fans ran on to the pitch at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide when the match ended. Queensland were bowled out for 95 in their first innings and South Australia posted 271 all out in reply. Queensland’s Jack Wildermuth (111) and Jack Clayton (100) led a comeback, with Queensland posting 445 in their second innings. The highest previous run chase to win a Shield final was Victoria’s 239-2 against New South Wales in 1990-1991.
Photo: AFP
CRICKET
Chapman ton leads NZ
Mark Chapman struck a sublime century and Nathan Smith claimed four wickets yesterday as New Zealand eased to a 73-run win over Pakistan in the first ODI in Napier. Chapman’s career-best 132 formed the foundation of an imposing 344-9 at McLean Park before Pakistan’s promising chase capitulated, to be all out for 271 in the 45th over.
Photo: EPA-EFE
CRICKET
Law named Nepal coach
Former Australia batter Stuart Law has been named coach of the Nepal men’s team on a two-year contract, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said on Friday. The 56-year-old replaces Monty Desai, whose two-year stint with the South Asian side ended after CAN did not renew his contract. Law, a 1996 Cricket World Cup runner-up with Australia, last coached the US, guiding them to the Super 8 of the T20 World Cup last year on home soil. The US announced his departure from his role after just six months in charge.
SOCCER
Leon urge FIFA U-turn
Leon captain James Rodriguez on Friday urged FIFA to reconsider booting the Liga MX team from the FIFA Club World Cup. Leon were axed last week for failing to comply with regulations regarding multi-club ownership. Leon and fellow Mexican club Pachuca both qualified, but have the same owner, Grupo Pachuca. “It’s a big injustice,” Rodriguez said at a media conference. “If they leave us out, it is not going to be fair and it will be a stain on soccer. There are fans that have bought tickets and are in debt to pay for them. How do you tell them now that they are not going to go?”
SOCCER
Brazil fire Dorival Junior
Brazil coach Dorival Junior was fired on Friday after 14 months in charge amid poor results and disappointing performances from the national team. Junior’s sacking by Brazilian Football Confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues came three days after a 4-1 defeat to Argentina in Buenos Aires, Brazil’s heaviest defeat in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. “The confederation announces that Dorival Junior’s cycle is over,” Rodrigues told media in Rio de Janeiro. “From now on, we will work in the search for a substitute.” Under the 62-year-old Junior, Brazil won seven matches, drew seven and lost two, scoring 25 goals and conceding 17.
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
FOCUS: ‘We came out here with a goal in mind ... to keep our foot on their throat and on their neck, and continue to play 48 minutes of basketball,’ Donovan Mitchell said The Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday thrashed the Miami Heat to cruise into the next round of the NBA playoffs as the Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory. After pounding Miami 124-87 in game three on Saturday, No.1 Eastern Conference seeds Cleveland once again piled on the misery for their outclassed opponents with a crushing 138-83 victory to complete a 4-0 series win. The 55-point drubbing was the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and sets up a series against either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Shuttler Lin Chun-yi yesterday kept Taiwan on the board as they faced their first major challenge of the group stage after marching into the last eight at the Sudirman Cup Finals in Xiamen, China. Taiwan were losing 3-1 to South Korea as of press time last night, with only the men’s doubles match remaining. Taiwan and four-time champions South Korea have already progressed to the quarter-finals, after Taiwan on Monday blanked the Czech Republic 5-0 without giving up a single game. Before last night’s tie, Taiwan were undefeated in Group B, with a 9-1 match record, ahead of South Korea, who, although also
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