CRICKET
Flintoff steps down
Andrew Flintoff has stepped down as the coach of the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, suggesting that he did not feel valued by the franchise’s new owners. The former England all-rounder coached the men’s team of the Headingley-based franchise in the past two editions of the tournament. Appearing on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, cohosted by Superchargers spinner Adil Rashid, Flintoff confirmed his talks with the Sun Group, which bought the full 100 percent stake in Superchargers in February, had broken down. “I genuinely don’t do it for the money, although it’s nice, but I’m worth more than just over a quarter of the [salary of] other head coaches,” the 47-year-old said. “I wasn’t encouraged they wanted me anyway, but then also you want to feel valued. So I said that it’s not going to work for me, and they weren’t going to move on it.” The BBC quoted a Sun Group spokesperson as saying: “We had discussions with Freddie and extended an offer, which was an increase over his current salary at Northern Superchargers. While we would have loved to have him on board, we respect his decision.” Flintoff, also the head coach of the England Lions, is tipped as a future coach for the England national team.
Photo: Reuters
SOCCER
Player breaks neck
Togo international Samuel Asamoah broke his neck after colliding with a pitch-side advertising board during a domestic fixture in China, his club said, fearing he might be left paralyzed. Video footage showed the 31-year-old being shoved by an opponent during a match on Sunday in China’s second-tier League One as they jostled for the ball, plowing head-first into an LED advertising panel. The midfielder’s club, Guangxi Pingguo, said that Asamoah sustained fractures in his neck and nerve damage, and subsequently underwent surgery. “He is at risk of high-level paraplegia and will miss all remaining games this season. His career may also be seriously affected,” the club said on Monday. On Wednesday the club said that Asamoah was recovering from surgery and was in a stable condition. “Guangxi Pingguo FC sincerely thanks all fans and all walks of life for their concern and support for Samuel Asamoah,” the team said. “His recovery progress will be announced in due course after follow-up examinations.” Asamoah spent most of his career in Belgium before moving to China last year. He has played six times for Togo, according to statistics Web site transfermarkt.com. Citing Chinese soccer authorities, The Paper reported that the advertising display was positioned 3m from the field in line with international standards. The opposition player, Chongqing Tonglianglong midfielder Zhang Zhixiong, was given a yellow card following the incident.
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Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
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