SPORTWednesday 28 March 2018

Wilder awaits, but heavyweight Joshua has

eyes only for Parker

Nadal to return for Spain in DavisCup

PAGE | 32-33 PAGE | 34 PAGE | 36

Axe looms for Australia coach and captain in

cricket crisis

QTTA unveils new Emir Cup Trophy

A

QFA continues to use VAR in domestic gamesTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: In cooperation with Al Kass Sports Channels, the Qatar Football Association (QFA) referees department has applied the Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) technology in local matches, as it seeks to obtain the final approval of FIFA to be able to apply the technology inside the stadium in the upcoming Qatar Cup 2018 matches.

The technology has been applied for a period of time at the QSL Cup and Qatargas U-23 League matches, and QFA U-17 Cup semi-finals.

In March, the technology was applied in a number of Qatargas U-23 League matches including Al Gharafa vs Al Markhiya and Umm Salal vs Al Arabi.

Last week on 22 March, the technology was also applied in the QFA U-17 Cup semi-finals which saw Al Gharafa take on Al Arabi and Al Sadd take on Al Duhail.

In a move aimed at

optimising the application of the significant technology, the ref-erees department is intending to use the technology in round 20 of Qatargas U-23 League on April 2.

QFA referees have demon-strated a good understanding of the requirements needed to apply the technology correctly, and this a result of the efforts they have made during previous VAR training.

The use of the technology in local matches is an implemen-tation of the agreement signed by the QFA regarding the appli-cation of the VAR technology and is a continuation to previous training workshops and a training camp that was previ-ously held for elite referees on 4-28 August 2017 in Tabarka, Tunisia.

The use of the technology reflects QFA’s referees department objectives to prepare the referees in the best way possible through training

them to use the technology during official broadcasted matches, with the assistance of Al Kass Sports Channels.

Neji Jouini, Executive Director of the Referees Department at QFA said: “The process of implementing the technology is ongoing and is working more effectively now than when it started, especially as we continuously aim to develop its use, in order to reach the required level needed.”

He added: “We have seen great results up to now, and the most important thing is that people are starting to accept the implementation of this tech-nology more than before because accepting a new concept in football takes time. I believe it’s best we continue to implement this technology for the time being and wait for FIFA’s final approval before we finally decide on using the tech-nology in important competitions.”

He added: “The decision to use the technology should be based on the idea of truly believing that the technology has

the capacity to solve problems and assist the referees in making important decisions on the field. I think we should continue to

believe that modern technology, in some cases, when used cor-rectly, can help in the devel-opment of football.”

Qatar Football Association referees department has applied the Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) technology in local matches. COURTESY FIFA.COM

Qatar’s Adel maintains 2nd position after round threeTHE PENINSULA

QASR AL SARAB: Qatar’s Adel Abdulla maintained second position in the T2 standings but lost a little ground on his main rival through the third loop stage of 281.38km in the soft sand dunes of the Rub Al Khali at Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge yesterday.

Using a rented Nissan Safari Y61 to continue his campaign to win back the FIA T2 World Championship title, Adel began the day’s special 29min 24.9sec behind Ahmed Shegawi. He and navigator Nasser Al Kuwari crossed the finish line in pun-ishing heat in a time of 5hrs

18min 17sec and now trail their rival by 47min 53.9sec heading into the final two days of the event.

Adel said: “Today we started one minute ahead of the leader but we were stuck in the first 15km in some very soft sand. The leader saw us, avoided the place and managed to pass us. We tried to push all the way to the end but we had lost just under 20 minutes. Anyway, second place is perfect for me and we still have two days to go.”

Adel Abdulla is running his T2 programme with the crucial support of the Qatar government, the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and Ooredoo Qatar.

Lower down the T2 field, Russia’s Yuliya Khegay-Migunova was badly delayed once again and Romania’s Claudia Laurentiu Barbu has already incurred massive time penalties.

Competitors will tackle the penultimate selective section of the event on Wednesday, a third loop stage of 244.49km through the Liwa Desert.

Adel Abdulla competes in the third stage of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge yesterday.

1. Ahmed Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Laurent Lich-

tleuchter (FRA) Toyota Land Cruiser 15hrs 00min

11.7sec

2. Adel Abdulla (QAT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)

Nissan Patrol 15hrs 48min 05.6sec

TBA. Yuliya Khegay-Migunova (RUS)/Aldis Vilcans

(LVA) Toyota LC 200 TBA. Laurentiu-Claudiu

Barbu (ROU)/Paul-Nicusor Spirodon (ROU) Nis-

san Navara

T2 POSITIONS

Disgraced Aussie trio sent homeAFP

JOHANNESBURG: Australia captain Steve Smith will be sent home from the tour of South Africa for his role in the ball-tampering scandal, but coach Darren Lehmann will remain in charge, team management said yesterday.

Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, the player

caught on camera attempting to doctor the ball with a piece of tape, will all return home.

“I understand and share the anger and disappointment of Aus-tralian fans,” Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said at a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e i n Johannesburg.

“On behalf of Cricket Aus-tralia, I want to apologise to all Australians that these events have taken place, especially to all the

kids.” Further sanctions are expected to be announced within the next 24 hours, Sutherland said.

Smith has already been sus-pended for one Test and docked his entire match fee by the Inter-national Cricket Council (ICC) in a scandal which has seen Aus-tralian cricket’s reputation dragged through the mud.

Sutherland said Lehmann had no knowledge of the plans to tamper the ball.

Earlier, Matt Renshaw was called to South Africa to reinforce an Australia squad mired in a cheating scandal ahead of the fourth Test later this week in Johannesburg.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Renshaw said.

“People dream about winning a Shield their whole cricket careers and managing to do it at 21 and obviously what’s coming in South Africa.”

The new Emir Cup Trophy unveiled by

the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA)

yesterday. Top players will vie for the coveted trophy in the annual

tournament to be played from April 20 to 25.

James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia, speaks to the media yesterday.

30 WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018SPORT

Euro champions Portugal look a bit shakyREUTERS

ZURICH: European champions less than two years ago, Portugal are suddenly looking shaky in the run-up to the World Cup with key players suffering a dip in form and a central defence showing its age.

Coach Fernando Santos admitted before this month’s friendlies against Egypt and Netherlands that, compared to Euro 2016, it was proving much more difficult to finalise his squad for this year’s tournament in Russia.

Monday’s 3-0 drubbing by a Dutch team who failed to qualify for the World Cup would not have brought him any comfort, although it might have helped to decide who to leave out.

One thing abundantly clear was that Portugal still need Pepe in the central defence.

The Brazilian-born player, nursing a broken toe but expected to play again next month, is 35 and playing his club football in Turkey rather than with Real Madrid, yet was sorely missed against the Dutch.

The makeshift pairing of Rolando and Jose Fonte, also into their 30s, were all at sea as Por-tugal shipped three goals in 35 first-half minutes.

Santos had hoped to give 20-year-old Ruben Dias his international debut but the Benfica defender pulled out due to injury. Bruno Alves, the other main option who played in Fri-day’s 2-1 win over Egypt, is 36.

One of Santos’s biggest head-aches is that many of his key players at Euro 2016 have lost their way at club level.

Renato Sanches has suffered the most dramatic fall from grace.

The dread-locked midfielder barely got a look-in after joining Bayern Munich in 2016 and has spent this season on loan at Swansea City where injuries and lack of form have badly affected his confidence.

Adrien Silva missed four months of the Premier League season because his move from Sporting to Leicester City was not registered while Andre Gomes has barely featured at Barcelona.

Joao Mario, on loan at West Ham United after falling out of favour at Inter Milan, is a shadow of the player who featured in France and left back Raphael Guerreiro has had an injury-plagued season at Borussia Dortmund.

There is still plenty of talent.In midfield, William

Carvalho is as reliable as they come while Joao Moutinho and Bernardo Silva offer creative options.

In attack, Andre Silva remains a bright prospect despite difficulties in settling at AC Milan and the gifted Ricardo Quaresma

brings a touch of the unexpected.

And, of course, there is captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Por-tugal’s all-time leading scorer and most capped player, but the squad lacks strength in depth as Santos admitted last year.

“Portugal has group of players of very high quality but in numerical terms, we don’t have a large number,” he said. “It’s important they are always in good form.”

A rather dour figure even in good times, Santos struggled to

look on the bright side after Mon-day’s defeat.

“The result made us poorer but the experience left us richer,” he said. “We never want to work on the basis of defeats but we have to know how to draw pos-itive conclusions.”

Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo claps as he leaves the pitch during the international friendly match against the Netherlands at Stade de Geneve Stadium in Geneva in this March 26, 2018, file photo. The Dutch national team won 3-0.

Ukraine’s Vitaliy Buyalskiy in action with Japan’s Tomoaki Makino during their friendly at Stadium Maurice Dufrasne, Liege, Belgium, yesterday. Ukraine won 2-1.

England squad hopefuls can still push for World Cup spots: SouthgateREUTERS

LONDON: England boss Gareth Southgate has said it is not too late for any player to win a place in his 23-man squad for the World Cup in June.

Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was hoping to win his first cap since Euro 2016 in the friendlies against Netherlands and Italy but was forced to withdraw from the squad with a knee injury.

The 26-year-old midfielder now faces a race against time to prove his fitness to Southgate, who will be monitoring players that are in contention during the remaining games of the Premier League campaign.

“I don’t think it’s too late for anybody,” Southgate told reporters.

“It is obviously more difficult because there are a couple of guys who have been in squads and not had the chance to play for us.

“We will still be monitoring everybody between now and the end of the season because there is probably a squad of 31, 32 players that are in contention and none of us know what is going to happen in the next eight to 10 weeks.”

Southgate was without tal-ismanic goalscorer Harry Kane against Italy (last night) as he

continues to recover from an ankle injury.

“I don’t know when he’ll (Kane) be back, but he was con-fident that would be sooner rather than later,” Southgate added. “His mindset is very pos-itive. None of these lads wants to miss games.”

England have three more warm-up games before the World Cup in Russia, having beaten the Netherlands 1-0 last week.

Forward Raheem Sterling has urged the home supporters to show the team some love in the buildup to the World Cup as they prepare to face the Italians at Wembley.

Southgate’s side have gone five matches without conceding a goal but have failed to produce much fluid attacking football themselves and scored just three times in that period.

“I feel sometimes there is too much negativity,” Sterling told BBC.

“If you want your country to do well, as everyone says, bring a positive light into it. Make the boys go off to the World Cup with clear heads, knowing everyone’s behind them, everyone’s with them.”

England begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia in Volgograd, Russia on June 18.

Nike deal hurts England preparations with WC ballREUTERS

LONDON: England appear set to play only one of their three remaining World Cup warm-up matches with the tournament ball because of the Football Association’s long-term commitment to Nike, The Times reported yesterday.

Several participating nations, including Germany and Spain, have played friendlies with the Adidas Telstar ball that will be used at the June-July tournament in Russia.

However, Gareth Southgate’s England used the Nike Ordem V ball in the friendly against Italy at Wembley yesterday as part of the FA’s contract with their American apparel and ball supplier which runs until 2030.

The Times said the Ordem V ball would also be used in England’s next warm-up fixture against Nigeria on June 2 but Nike had allowed the FA to test the Adidas ball in the final friendly against Costa Rica on June 7.

It will be the only time the team will get an opportunity to play with the World Cup ball prior to their opening group match against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18.

Klopp can guide Liverpool to CL glory: German star MatthaeusREUTERS

LONDON: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has stayed true to the attacking philosophy that won him admirers in Germany and has assembled a squad capable of winning the Cham-pions League, Germany’s former World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaeus said.

Five-times European cham-pions Liverpool are in the quarter-finals of this year’s com-petition and face fellow Premier League side Manchester City in the first leg at Anfield on April 4.

Klopp led his former club Borussia Dortmund to Bun-desliga titles in 2011 and in 2012, when they also won the German Cup for a domestic double, and he steered them to the 2013 Champions League final where they lost to arch-rivals Bayern Munich.

The 50-year-old took take charge of Liverpool in 2015, where he has bolstered his adventurous brand of soccer with a number of key signings including Premier League top-scorer Mohamed Salah of Egypt and fellow forward Sadio Mane of Senegal.

“He (Klopp) didn’t change his style too much (from Dortmund)... he has done a very good job. I believed from the

beginning that he and Liverpool have a very good relationship,” Matthaeus told the club’s website (www.liverpoolfc.com).

“You can see that in the good results, the good games and he has bought the right players. For me, it is a team that can win the Champions League in two months (time) in Kiev,” he added during his interview.

Liverpool are also chasing

second spot in the Premier League behind champions-elect Manchester City.

The Merseysiders are in third place with 63 points from 31 games, two behind arch-rivals Manchester United who have a game in hand.

“He is working very hard, his team is always ready to fight for 90 minutes and they are in good condition,” Matthaeus, who

played in the 5-5 draw between Bayern Munich and Liverpool Legends teams at Anfield at the weekend, added.

“He finds the right players, especially in the offence, who can make the difference on the highest level.”

Liverpool kick off this week-end’s Premier League action at 16th-placed Crystal Palace (1130 GMT) on Saturday.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring a goal in his team’s Champions League match against NK Maribor at Anfield, Liverpool, in this November 1, 2017, file photo.

31WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018 SPORT

Iraq’s Basra banks on football revenues after FIFA ends banAFP

BASRA: Boasting an ultra-modern stadium, the southern Iraqi city of Basra is hoping to cash in on football fans starved of international matches after the lifting of a three-decade ban.

Earlier this month world governing body FIFA finally lifted its prohibition on Iraq hosting competitive interna-tionals -- sparking jubilation in the violence-wracked nation.

The news was especially welcome for businesses in Basra, one of three locations now allowed to stage the matches along with Shiite holy city Karbala and Kurdish capital Arbil.

The southern city lies at the heart of a key oil-producing region but it is now looking to kick start its tourism sector -- and hoping football could help turn it into a winner.

The signs are already promising.

Late last month Basra saw fans pack out its 65,000-seater stadium for a friendly against Saudi Arabia, and now the city is hosting a mini-tournament with Qatar and Syria.

Hotel manager Tony Dib says every match day brings a flood of bookings -- with packed establishments in the city even forced to refuse clients.

“Business increases dramat-ically,” Dib, who runs the Basra Sheraton, said.

“Investors need to start thinking about building new hotels as the current capacity is not enough.”

Up until recently the vast bulk of people checking into

Basra’s hotels have been busi-nessmen, mostly from the oil industry.

But with the Qatar and Syrian national teams now in town they are having to make way for another clientele -- football-mad fans from at home and abroad.

“It was necessary to relocate customers who came for business to make space for those who came for the matches,” said vice president of the Basra chamber of commerce Qassem Al Saadi.

Governor Assaad Al Aydani says the matches are having a “positive impact on the economy” of the city, over 500 kilometres south of Baghdad on the borders with Iran and Kuwait.

He is hoping the uptick in economic activity will push local and national authorities to start “supporting more investment projects”.

Already businesses have been rejigging their offerings to cater for the increased demand from visitors.

Iraq’s national carrier has put on two additional flights during the week that the tour-nament is being held and the railway bolstered capacity for the estimated 7,000 supporters who came Baghdad.

“Ahead of each match the national railway puts on three extra trains for 1,500 people from Baghdad to Basra,” said regional rail boss Hadi Shallal.

Tickets cost some $6.Officials are hoping that the

recent matches are just the starting whistle.

Now Iraq has returned to the full international fold they are pitching for Basra to host the region’s most popular football event the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2024. But for that to happen local businessmen say there will need to be a lot of money ploughed into the city.

“We are struggling to cope with holding just a small tour-nament,” said Saadi from the chamber of commerce.

“How could we deal with something on the scale of the Arabian Gulf Cup?”

Qatar’s Akram Hassan Afif heads the ball next to Syria’s Amr Jnayat during the international match at Basra Sports City Stadium in the southern Iraqi city in this March 24, 2018, file photo. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Female Palestinian football referee Yasmeen Nayroukh, 29, the only one accredited to feature in all-male games in the West Bank, runs during a local football match in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Picture taken March 26, 2018.

Greece lifts Superleague ban, matches set to resumeREUTERS

ATHENS: The Greek government yesterday ordered the lifting of the suspension for Superleague matches after more than two weeks following the pitch invasion of a gun-carrying club president.

Matches were suspended on March 12, a day after Ivan Sav-vides, the president of PAOK, charged on to the pitch with a gun in his belt, to complain over a dis-allowed goal towards the end of a game against fellow title con-tenders AEK Athens.

Greece’s Deputy Culture and Sports Minister Georgios Vassil-iadis took the decision a day after Superleague clubs unanimously accepted changes to the league’s disciplinary code and submitted proposals for improving the country’s top soccer division.

“The Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport....has decided to immediately lift the suspension of the Superleague championship as well as the Greek Cup,” the ministry said in a statement.

Greece had indefinitely sus-pended matches after Savvides was filmed wearing a gun holster as he strode on to the pitch to protest about a PAOK disallowed goal against AEK Athens.

The game was abandoned and later awarded to PAOK 1-0 following the controversial goal which had prompted the initial protests. Savvides has since apol-ogised for his actions.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA has also warned Greece to act decisively in this matter or risk facing a potential national suspension. The European Club Association has suspended PAOK as a member with immediate effect.

UEFA confirms it will allow players to switch clubs in CLREUTERS

ZURICH: Players who switch clubs during the course of a season will be allowed to play for both in the Champions League under new rules announced by UEFA yesterday.

The European global soccer body said in a statement that it would also allow teams to use a fourth substitute in extra-time during Champions League and Europa League knockout ties.

The new ruling, to come into effect next season, means that a player who been fielded by one club in the group stage of the Champions League, and is trans-ferred during the January window, can play for his new club in the knockout stages.

The same applies to the Europa League.

Under current rules, clubs who qualify for the knockout stage of either the Champions League or Europa League are allowed to register three new players.

These can include one player

who has represented a different club in the Europa League group stages but none who have been fielded for another club in the Champions League group stage.

The present ruling prevents Barcelona from fielding Philippe Coutinho in the Champions League this season as he has already played for Liverpool.

Alexis Sanchez was eligible for Manchester United, however,

as he switched from Arsenal in the Europa League to the Cham-pions League.

The new rules state that “that a club may register three new eligible players without any restrictions.”

UEFA said the new ruling brought it into line with domestic leagues which “do not impose restrictions on the eligibility for competitions of players

registered for a new club during the winter transfer window.”

UEFA said the fourth substi-tution will be allowed following its approval by soccer’s law-making body IFAB on March 3.

It said that 23 players, instead of 18, would be allowed on team sheets for the Cham-pions League and Europa League finals, and the European Super Cup match.

Keepers must get used to new WC ball: Spain coachREUTERS

MADRID: Spain coach Julen Lopetegui has said goalkeepers will have to get used to the World Cup ball before the tournament starts in June rather than complain about it following crit-icism from Germany’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Spain’s Pepe Reina.

“I know what the boys have told me, but it’s the ball that’s going to be used and anything else is merely to stomp your feet and make a fuss,” Lopetegui, a former Barcelona and Real Madrid keeper, told a news conference on Monday.

“What we need to do is make the most of the positives, get over it and nothing else,” he

added ahead of their World Cup warm-up match between his side and Argentina and after Spain drew 1-1 with world champions Germany in a friendly on Friday.

National teams are using the Adidas Telstar 18 for the first time during the current round of internationals and the lack of grip and excessive movement through the air has been criticised.

Napoli keeper Reina, who is likely to be in the Spain squad for the Russia finals, was apo-plectic, telling Diario AS: “There’s still time to change it” before the event kicks off.

“I bet you any money that there will be at least 35 goals scored from long range, because it’s impossible to work out, not to mention it’s

covered in a plastic film that makes it difficult to hold on to,” Reina added.

Local media reported that the view was shared by the other keepers in the Spain squad, David de Gea and Kepa Arrizabalaga, with the former saying simply “No” when asked if he was a fan.

Germany forward Thomas Mueller scored against Spain on Friday with a long-range strike that appeared to deceive De Gea mid-flight, while German goalkeeper Ter Stegen branded the Telstar as “complicated”.

“Even though the ball’s not always at fault, it’s true that this one is a little bit complicated. You saw it in the goal we scored. It moves a lot and could be better,” he said.

Georgia’s Solomon Kvirkvelia (left) and Giorgi Papunashvili in action with Estonia’s Taijo Teniste (right)during their friendly match at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia, yesterday.

Spain’s goalkeeper David de Gea takes part in a training session at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

32 WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018SPORT 33WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018 SPORT

Australian coach and captain face axe amid CA’s crisis talks AFP

JOHANNESBURG: Australia coach Darren Lehmann and skipper Steve Smith faced the axe yesterday with cricket chiefs holding crisis talks in South Africa to deal with an esca-lating cheating scandal.

Cricket Australia (CA) boss James Sutherland, under mounting pressure to come down hard on what Australian media has dubbed a “rotten” team culture, has arrived in Johannesburg.

Sutherland is holding talks with Cricket Australia’s head of integ-rity, Iain Roy, who is probing the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test match against South Africa on Saturday.

Reports say they could ban both Smith and vice-captain David Warner for 12 months and send them home in disgrace.

Smith has already been sus-pended for one Test and docked his entire match fee by the Interna-tional Cricket Council for his role in a plot that saw team-mate Cam-eron Bancroft use a piece of grit-encrusted sticky tape to change the condition of the ball.

It means Smith will miss the fourth and final Test in Johannes-burg starting on Friday.

Lehmann has remained silent, but Britain’s Daily Telegraph said he had decided to quit.

Lehmann took over the coach-ing reins in 2013 when predecessor Mickey Arthur was sacked, with

Justin Langer considered a front-runner as his replacement although Ricky Ponting will also be in the mix.

“We understand the strong interest everyone has in this situa-tion and we are following due process to properly address all of

the relevant issues involved,” Sun-derland said in an email.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turn-bull said yesterday it had been “a shocking affront to Australia” and Cricket Australia must act “deci-sively and emphatically”.

Former Australian coach John Buchanan, who led the team from 1999 to 2007, said Smith must resign as captain and urged cricket chiefs to be fully transparent in their investigation.

“It is a very difficult time for members of Australian cricket; however, I believe there is a golden opportunity to reset the dial around

player and staff behaviours, actions and decision-making,” he said.

There has been a national out-cry over Smith’s admission that the “leadership group” within the team decided to cheat.

That group of senior players usually includes fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, but they are reportedly furious at being embroiled in the saga.

The ramifications of the scan-dal have been far-reaching with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the guardian of the laws of the game, calling for a “major shift in attitude” to preserve the game for future

generations. Former South African captain Graeme Smith has hit out at the ICC’s handling of the scan-dal, saying it had “missed an opportunity to really handle this properly and lead our game”.

“They haven’t done that. You have had two players, who have admitted guilt for cheating. I think that’s huge.”

Bancroft used a strip of yellow sticky tape he had covered with dirt granules to illegally scratch the rough side of the ball, thereby facil-itating more swing for bowlers.

He was filmed not only rubbing the ball with the dirtied tape but

concealing the evidence down the front of his trousers. The ICC fined him 75 percent of his match fee and slapped him with three demerit paints, but he escaped a suspension.

Former South Africa captain Fanie de Villiers has described how he tipped off the TV camera crew that caught Bancroft in the act after he noticed the ball behaving unu-sually for the conditions.

“We actually said to our cam-eramen: ‘Go out. Have a look, boys. They are using something.’ It’s impossible for the ball to get altered like that on a cricket wicket where

we knew there is a grass covering on,” De Villiers told Australian radio station RSN927.

Smith insisted it was the first time his team had cheated in this manner, but former England cap-tain Michael Vaughan claimed he is “pretty sure” Australia were ball-tampering during their 4-0 victory in the Ashes, which finished earlier this year.

“I look at the amount of tape some of the fielders have worn, par-ticularly during the Ashes series at mid-on and mid-off. You don’t have to name names, they know who they are,” he told BBC Sport.

Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann walks through a police cordon at Cape Town International Airport, yesterday. RIGHT: Former Australian captain Steve Smith arrives at the airport.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described the cheating scandal as “a shocking affront to Australia” and has asked Cricket Australia to act “decisively and emphatically

The international backlash following Australia captain Steve Smith’s confession to cheating during the third Test

against South Africa last weekend defies the fact that ball-tampering is about as old as the game of cricket itself.

The difference this time is that Australian players have been caught out, and that has shamed the fans who re-

vered their national team and believed it to be above even the need to cheat.

There’s been all kinds of methods used to try and make one side of the leather ball rougher - which assists the

bowlers with extra swing - and the players charged in the past include some of the stars of the game.

Here’s a list of some of the higher-profile ball-tampering cases in the modern game.

Chris Pringle, New Zealand, 1990The gentle medium pacer got away without any punishment despite admitting to ball tampering not long after

making his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi.

Television technology was nowhere near as high-tech as it is now, when every action of a player on the field can

be closely monitored. And the on-field umpires were the sole adjudicators of Test matches before the Interna-

tional Cricket Council started appointing match referees.

He took a career-best 11 wickets for 152 runs in the third Test at Faisalabad’ on a batting friendly wicket, later re-

vealing he’d used a bottle top to scratch the ball. He said he’d tampered with the ball because he believed Paki-

stani bowlers were also doing it. The late Martin Crowe acknowledged later that while he’d been ready to accept

that Pakistan was a better team, “we were not going to accept what they were doing with the ball.”

Michael Atherton, England, 1994The “dirt in the pocket” incident happened when the England captain took dirt off the pitch, put it in his pocket

and was caught on camera using it on the ball.

Atherton was not fined or reprimanded by the ICC match referee Peter Burge, but the England Cricket Board took

the sterner step of imposing a fine on Atherton.

It was one of the darker episodes in his career. But Atherton, working this month as an analyst during England’s

two-Test tour to New Zealand, has sympathized with the current Australia captain, describing calls for Smith to

be banned for life as “ridiculous.”

Waqar Younis, Pakistan, 2000Eight years after being first accused of ball tampering by the British media during a series against England, Paki-

stan fast bowler Waqar Younis became the first cricketer to be fined and suspended for the offense. New Zealand

match referee John Reid fined Waqar, who was renowned for his prodigious swing, 50 percent of his match fee

after finding him guilty of ball tampering in a limited-overs international against South Africa in Sri Lanka. Paki-

stan skipper captain Moin Khan and allrounder Azhar Mehmood were handed 30 percent fines during the Singer

Cup one-day match.

Reid reviewed TV footage, which showed Waqar apparently using his fingernails to scratch one side of the ball.

Waqar had avoided punishment after Reid had warned him for ball tampering during a Test match against Sri

Lanka earlier in the tournament. Waqar and team officials successfully argued on that occasion that the bowler

was attempting to clean debris from the ball.

Sachin Tendulkar, India, 2001Match referee Mike Denness was in the international cricket hot seat when he penalized five Indian players for

excessive appealing and sanctioned Tendulkar for ball tampering during the second Test against South Africa at

Port Elizabeth. TV cameras showed Tendulkar cleaning the seam of the ball but, because he hadn’t notified um-

pires he was doing it, it fell under the regulations for altering the condition of the ball. The charge quickly became

contentious, with serious backlash in India, where Tendulkar remains to this day an undisputed legend of the

game. The ICC, after thoroughly investigating the matter, revoked the suspended one-game ban on Tendulkar.

Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan, 2003Fiery fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was banned for two one-day internationals for scratching the surface of the ball

during a game against New Zealand in Sri Lanka.

Later in his book “Controversially Yours,” Akhtar admitted that he was desperate and “began fussing with the ball”

because it was hot and humid in Dambulla and the wicket was very slow.

Akhtar also said he knew it was against the rules and not something to be proud of. He also admitted he had

tampered with the ball on many occasions during his playing days. “I can’t seem to help it. I have got to do

something with the ball. I know this will make a big noise, but I won’t lie about it.”

Rahul Dravid, India, 2004Rahul Dravid, who was nicknamed “The Wall” because of his unyielding approach to batting, was caught on

camera applying lozenge on the ball while playing Zimbabwe in a one-day international in Australia. Match referee

Clive Lloyd said that TV footage showed enough that the Indian captain intentionally applied the lozenge to the

ball and was in breach of the code of conduct. He was found guilty and fined 50 percent of his match fee.

Pakistan team, 2006In one of the most controversial episodes, the Pakistan team refused to play after being penalized for ball tamper-

ing during a Test match against England at The Oval. Umpires Darrel Hair and Billy Doctrove awarded the Test

match to England. The controversy started when both umpires discussed the condition of the ball, changed it and

awarded five penalty runs to England. Play continued without any proTest from Pakistan until the tea break. Dur-

ing the interval, though, Pakistan players discussed the penalty and believed they hadn’t tampered with the ball.

They refused to take the field and after umpires waited in the middle for 15 minutes, the result was awarded in

England’s favor. By the time Pakistan players agreed to return to the field, umpires told them the match was over.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said umpire Hair didn’t give him details of the alleged tampering. It was for the

first time in the history of so-called gentleman’s game that a Test match was decided in this manner.

Stuart Broad, England, 2010The England fast bowler faced accusations of ball tampering when he appeared to step on the ball with the spikes

of his boot during a Test match against South Africa at Cape Town. Broad stopped a rolling ball with his foot be-

fore he stood on it. He argued that he was a bit lazy because of the extreme heat and denied tampering with the

ball.

No formal charges were laid despite complaints from the South Africans. Former England captain Nasser Hussain

said that he had no doubt the fast bowler was wrong and “if a player from another country did the same, we’d

have said they were cheating.”

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan, 2010Afridi was banned for two one-day internationals after appearing to bite the ball twice during a his team’s two-

wicket loss against Australia in Perth. A TV umpire informed the on-field umpires, who discussed the matter with

Afridi and the ball was changed. Afridi was summoned by match referee Ranjan Madugalle after the match,

pleaded guilty to the charge, apologized and said he regretted the incident. Afridi later said there’s no team in the

world which doesn’t tamper with the ball, but “my methods were wrong, I am embarrassed, I shouldn’t have done

it. I just wanted to win us a game but this was the wrong way to do it.”

Faf du Plessis, South Africa, 2016The South Africa captain was fined 100 percent of his match and also given three demerit points for ball tamper-

ing during the second Test against Australia. Television footage showed du Plessis sucking on candy, sticking fin-

gers into his mouth and then using his saliva to shine the ball. He had fined previously in 2013 for scuffing the

ball on the zip of his trousers in a match Pakistan.

MAJOR BALL-TAMPERING INCIDENTS IN RECENT CRICKET HISTORYBayliss embarrassed by Aussie ball-tamperingREUTERS

LONDON: England coach Trevor Bayliss said he was disappointed and embarrassed by the ball-tampering scandal that has rocked Australian cricket, describing the players’ actions in the third Test against South Africa as “a terrible mistake”.

Australian Bayliss coached Eng-land in their recent 4-0 Ashes defeat.

“I’m obviously disappointed, and as an Australian I’m embarrassed,” Bayliss was quoted as saying by www.cricket.com.au on Tuesday.

“(Australia captain) Steve (Smith) is a lovely young bloke who has made a terrible mistake, and I’m sure Cricket Australia (CA) will work out the course of action required.

“They obviously will be punished, but I’ve no idea how severe, we’ll have to see what Cricket Australia

come up with.” Bayliss said had seen no evidence of the Australians attempting to alter the state of the ball during the Ashes series.

“I thought we were outplayed by a much better team. I’ve got no com-plaints,” he said.

England captain Joe Root has also said he had no knowledge of any attempt to tamper with the ball in the Ashes while seamer Stuart Broad was surprised the Australians had felt the need to cheat.

“I saw Steve Smith say it was the first time they have tried it,” Broad told reporters in Auckland where England are involved in a Test series against New Zealand.

“To me, it’s surprising - why they would change a method that’s been working?

“If you look at the Ashes series we’ve just played, they reverse swung

the ball in nearly all of those test matches, sometimes in conditions where you wouldn’t expect the ball to reverse.

“I don’t understand why they have changed their method for this one game.”

CA is due later to announce the findings of its internal investigation into the conduct of captain Smith, his deputy David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft.

CA CEO James Sutherland is giv-ing a news briefing in Johannesburg, where he is likely to announce the punishments to be handed out to the players.

Bancroft, allegedly under the instruction of Smith, was caught on camera using sticky tape to pick up granules of dirt off the pitch to rub on the ball in order to generate reverse swing.

England head cricket team coach Trevor Bayliss (right) during

team’s training session last week in Auckland.

Australia incredibly stupid, says former SA skipperAFP

JOHANNESBURG: Ali Bacher, the last South Africa skipper to win a series against Australia in the republic, says disgraced captain Steve Smith and his ball-tampering players are “incredibly stupid”.

Bacher led South Africa to a 4-0 whitewash over Bobby Simpson-skippered Australia in the 1969-1970 season.

“In this age of a thousand cameras, it was stu-pid to even think of doing it (ball tampering), and incredibly stupid to go through with it,” he told the South African media.

TV cameras caught Cameron Bancroft trying to change the condition of the ball last Saturday in Cape Town using a piece of grit-encrusted sticky tape during a Test won by South Africa to take a lead..

Smith later admitted he hatched the plot to cheat with the unnamed “team leadership” and is now facing disciplinary action from cricket bosses soon.

Reports say Smith and vice-captain David Warner could be banned for 12 months and sent home in disgrace.

“You have to put the blame on the captain and I believe Cricket Australia will think long and hard about taking it further than the one-Test ban Smith has already got,” said Bacher.

“I feel sorry for Cameron Bancroft because he would have been acting under instructions. If the leader of the team says you must do that, what option do you really have? “One thing that they (Cricket Australia) have always done is act imme-diately on things like this.

“You look back at Shane Warne, who had a brilliant cricket brain, but never got the captaincy because of his misdemeanours.

“I would be surprised if Cricket Australia did not take this further,” he said ahead of a planned media conference in Johannesburg hosted by Aus-tralian cricket boss James Sutherland.

South Africa lead the series 2-1 going into the final Test from Friday at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg.

Desperation drove Aussies, says GibsonREUTERS

CAPE TOWN: Australia’s win-at-all-costs mentality is behind the ball-tampering scandal that has engulfed their cricket and they should now introspect how they play the game, according to South Africa coach Ottis Gibson.

Leading the touring side at New-lands, Steve Smith admitted that the pressure of being behind in the third test led to an orchestrated attempt to alter the condition of the ball to aid reverse swing and gain an advantage.

“The Aussies have said it

themselves, the brand of cricket they play is win-at-all-costs,” Gib-son told reporters yesterday, adding that Australia’s relatively comfort-able 4-0 win in the Ashes against England might have played a part.

“When you look at the Ashes, they were never really behind in any of the games, they won quite comfortably.

“Here they have been behind a couple of times and perhaps that desperation came into it. It’s a shame that something like this had to happen for them to have to have a look at themselves.

“Every team, since the

beginning of reverse swing, tries to get the ball to reverse. They skim it in, they bounce it in, they try and get it rough. The spinner gets his hand in the dirt and rubs it on the ball. Everybody has got a way of get-ting the ball to go a little bit further.

“The ball will reverse naturally, but everybody has a way of getting it to go a little bit further. Perhaps the desperation that they were behind in the game meant they took it that step further. It’s unfortunate.” Gibson is surprised how “big” the story has become globally, but believes this is because of the

spectacular fall-from-grace for a side that had been a power in the game for so long. “When you see such a deliberate act, then people will become very interested in it,” he said.

“Especially with what Steve Smith said, that it was planned by a few of them, makes it an even big-ger topic for people to talk about.

“Cricket Australia is a hundred-year-old organisation and they have been the envy of the world in terms of winning World Cup and so on. They have had great teams and great players for a long time.

“Those great players from the

past will now feel like their good name has been tarnished a bit, so people have a right to be upset about it.”

“I would hope it (ball-tamper-ing) never happens under my watch. I am not going to sit here and say that we are whiter than white or anything, but we will try and play the game within the rules at all times.

“We know what the rules are and the imaginary line that was talked about the whole series. We feel like we know where that is. We will make sure that we never try and cross that line.”

Disgraced

Cameron Bancroft

arrives at Cape

Town International

Airport yesterday.

Bangladesh eye Kirsten as team consultantAFP

DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket authorities said yesterday they were in talks with former South African batsman Gary Kirsten (pictured) to hire him as a team consultant for an extended period.

Bangladesh have been looking for a head coach for the national cricket team since October, after former Sri Lankan opener Chandika Hathurusingha stepped down.

But Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesperson Jalal Yunus said they had offered Kirsten, 50, who was India’s coach when they won the 2011 World Cup, a different role unlike that of a head coach.

“He is on our list but he will come only as a team consultant. It’s not final, though. Hopefully we will be able to strike a deal after the Indian Premier League,” Yunus said.

Kirsten, who played 101 Tests and 185 one-day internationals for South Africa before coaching the Proteas and India, will be in charge of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, which begins on April 7.

“If he agrees, he will also work with the Under-19 and the A-team and give us advice about cricket structure,” Yunus said. The BCB said it would appoint a sep-arate head coach for the national team even if it reached an agreement with Kirsten.

“He will not always be with the team, he will deal with separate issues, work with development squads like what Eddie Barlow did. He (Kirsten) will give advice but there will be a head coach.” Former South African great Barlow was Bangla-desh’s coaching director when the country achieved Test status in 2000.

Former West Indies great Courtney Walsh acted as Bangladesh’s head coach during the recent Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 triangular tournament in Sri Lanka, in which they narrowly lost to India in the final.

Yunus revealed that they are also in talks with former South African batsman Neil McKenzie as a possible batting consultant.

- Tim Paine -

Was seen as a surprise choice when drafted in to replace Smith when he stood down as skipper for the remainder of the

third Test in Cape Town after the ball tampering scandal erupted. The 33-year-old wicket-keeper had been a shock selec-

tion for the recent Ashes series against England after six years in the wilderness. But as an elder-statesman with a calm

head, he could get the nod.

- Mitchell Marsh -

The 26-year-old all-rounder has been in good form with bat and ball and could be a solid long-term pick. After a period

of mediocre performances, he has now established himself as a near permanent fixture in the team. The son of former

national coach Geoff, he has honed his leadership skills as skipper of Western Australia.

- Usman Khawaja -

An outsider, but the top-order batsman has plenty of experience and patience. Born in Pakistan, the 31-year-old has

displayed composure at difficult times and shown his credentials as captain during a stint in charge at Queensland and

on the Australia A tour of India in 2015.

- Pat Cummins -

The tearaway paceman is widely regarded and has youth on his side at age 24. It is highly unusual to have a fast bowler

as captain and the burden may be too much, but if cricket chiefs are looking for a fresh start, he could be the man to take

them forward. Was tipped earlier this year by Michael Clarke as a captain-in-waiting.

- Michael Clarke -

Clarke was Smith’s predecessor, retiring in 2015 after playing 115 Tests. Now a TV commentator, he suggested at the

weekend he was open to a return. “If I was asked by the right people, then I would think about my answer,” the 36-year-

old told Australia’s Nine Network, although he is seen as a real wildcard.

FIVE WHO COULD SUCCEED SMITH AS AUSTRALIA CRICKET CAPTAIN

Vaughan ‘pretty sure’ Australia tampered with ball during Ashes seriesAFP

LONDON: Michael Vaughan (pictured) says he is “pretty sure” Australia were tampering with the ball during the recent Ashes series against England as cricket chiefs held crisis talks over the cheating scandal engulfing the sport.

Australian captain Steve Smith has been suspended for one Test and docked his entire match fee by the International Cricket Council for his role in a plot that saw teammate Cameron Bancroft tamper with the ball during the third Test against South Africa.

Smith said it was the first time time it had happened under his cap-taincy but Vaughan, who led England to Ashes glory in 2005, believes it has been going on for “quite a while”.

“I can’t believe that this hasn’t happened before,” Vaughan told the BBC.

“I look at the amount of tape some of the fielders have worn, particularly during the Ashes series, mid-on, mid-off. (You) don’t have to name names but they know who they are.

“I’m pretty sure that it was going

on during the Ashes series. But it wasn’t the reason why England lost 4-0.” Joe Root, who captained in Aus-tralia, has said he saw no reason to suspect Australia of ball-tampering during the series.

Bancroft used a strip of yellow sticky tape he had covered with dirt granules to illegally scratch the rough side of the ball, thereby facilitating more swing for bowlers.

Vaughan said Australia had bro-ken an unwritten rule by taking an object onto the pitch to tamper with the ball even though he admitted many teams used “tricks” during matches.

34 WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018SPORT

Ji fires hole-in-one to capture Classic crown AFP

LOS ANGELES: South Korea’s Ji Eun-hee aced the par-three 14th hole en route to a two-shot victory on Sunday in the LPGA Kia Classic in Carlsbad, Cali-fornia.

Ji finished with five birdies and her eagle one in a five-under par 67 at the par-three 14th at Aviara Golf Club.

Her 16-under par total of 272 put her two strokes in front of Americans Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas.

Ji began the day in a three-way tie for the lead with com-patriot Kim In-kyung and Salas.

Her four birdies on the front nine included three in a row at the sixth, seventh and eighth, and she added another at the 10th.

Her lead had been trimmed to one, however, when her

tee-shot at 14 bounced on the green and rolled in, boosting her advantage back to three.

She maintained that edge despite a three-putt bogey at 15 when Kerr bogeyed the 17th.

Ji dropped one more shot with another three-putt at the last, where her first putt raced past the hole.

By then, however, her fourth LPGA Tour title was virtually in the bag.

“I hit it pretty well today,” said Ji, who hit all 18 greens in regulation.

“I was driving the ball really nice and I rolled in nice putts.” She laughed when she learned she’d won two cars from tour-nament sponsor Kia -- the one that comes with the trophy and one on offer for the ace at 14.

“I didn’t know that!” Even better, she gained a big boost

heading into the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage, California, next week.

“I’m really confident,” said the 31-year-old, who won the 2009 US Women’s Open.

Her latest win comes five months after she ended an eight-year title drought with a victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan in October.

Kerr, who led after 36 holes after a second-round 64 but stumbled with a three-over 75 on Saturday, was pleased to put herself back in contention with a four-under 68 that included six birdies.

“Eun-hee’s playing some great golf,” Kerr said after reaching the clubhouse on 274.

“I did my best. I had a tough day yesterday and it would have

taken a super-low round today to catch Eun-hee. I’m happy with my first good tournament of the year.”

Salas had three birdies in her three-under 69.

The South Korean had five birdies and three bogeys in a two-under 70 that left her tied for fourth on 275 along with Americans Jane Park (67) and Kris Tamulis (68).

Ji Eun-Hee of South Korea celebrates her -16 under par victory with the winner’s trophy during the final round of the LPGA Kia Classic at the Park Hyatt Aviara golf course on Monday.

272 - Ji Eun-hee (KOR) 70-68-67-67

274 - Cristie Kerr 67-64-75-68, Lizette Salas 69-67-69-79

275 - Jane Park 71-69-68-67, Kris Tamulis 70-70-67-68, Kim In-kyung (KOR) 67-69-69-70

276 - Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 71-70-66-69, Lee Jeong-eun (KOR) 68-69-70-69, Hsu Wei-Ling (TPE)

72-66-68-70

277 - Brittany Lincicome 72-72-65-68, Choi Hye-jin (KOR) 72-70-66-69, Ko Jin-young (KOR) 70-72-

66-69, Caroline Masson (GER) 70-70-68-69

278 - Aditi Ashok (IND) 70-72-71-65, Bronte Law (ENG) 69-72-68-69, Park Hee-young (KOR) 66-70-

72-70, Carlota Ciganda (ESP) 70-68-69-71

279 - Charley Hull (ENG) 70-72-70-67, Park In-bee (KOR) 71-71-68-69, Cindy LaCrosse 69-69-68-73,

Caroline Hedwall (SWE) 66-70-70-73

280 - Hur Mi-jung (KOR) 74-69-70-67, Brooke Henderson (CAN) 69-70-73-68, Michelle Wie 71-72-

68-69, Pernilla Lindberg (SWE) 71-70-69-70

LPGA KIA CLASSIC SCORES

Olympic bodies visit Games venues AP

TOKYO: A dozen national Olympic committees have been given a quick look at Tokyo’s venue prepara-tions for the 2020 Summer Games.

Mark England of the British Olympic Associ-ation says they were impressed.

“We haven’t had many questions to ask the organising com-mittee because the venues have been abso-lutely fantastic,” England said.

The tour yesterday marked the committees’ first visit to Tokyo since the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics ended last month.

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Gymnasium was among the venues. It was built in 1954 and hosted gym-nastics for the 1964 Olympics. It will be the venue for table tennis in two years and sits next to the new Olympic stadium, which is under construction.

“In this venue here today - historical and traditional though it is - we can see that it is in absolutely superb con-dition,” England said.

Tokyo’s use of existing venues will delight the International Olympic Committee, which has been criticized when cities have built “white elephant” sports venues.

The most recent Olympics in Rio de Janeiro left behind a half-dozen venues that are not being adequately utilised.

Rio built a cycling velodrome that has caught fire twice since the Olympics ended two years ago. Several arenas in the Olympic Park are largely vacant, and a newly built golf course has struggled to find players.

“It was obviously more challenging for Brazil because it was the first (Olympics) in South America, so they didn’t have that history, tra-dition of hosting games,” England said. “The games were very dif-ferent in Rio de Janeiro. The two are not compa-rable. The state of read-iness if very, very well advanced in Tokyo.”

Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand lines up a putt on the fifth green during the fourth round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club on Saturday.

Aphibarnrat ready to spring Masters surprise

REUTERS

BENGALURU: Thai-land’s Kiradech Aphib-arnrat is hoping to emerge as a surprise contender at next week’s US Masters following a string of consistent perform-ances over the last two months.

The 28-year-old has been in blistering form since winning the World Super 6 Perth title in February and Richard Mille Brunei Championships earlier this month.

With momentum on his side, Aphibarnrat recorded a tied-fifth

finish in the WGC-Mexico Championships before being beaten in last week’s WGC-Dell Match Play in Texas in the quarter finals by eventual winner Bubba Watson.

His performances in the last four months of the season saw him jump from 160th in the world into the top 50 and the result at Texas moved him up to a career-high 29th.

“The way I fought to qualify for the Masters is amazing. Now I want to show the world an Asian can surprise and contend in a major,” he

told the Asian Tour website.

“I’ve been com-fortable with the way I’ve been playing. I’m feeling very confident and I’ve putted very well lately. I look forward to playing in Augusta. I will try to go earlier and try and feel comfortable on the greens.”

It will be Aphibarn-r a t ’ s s e c o n d appearance at the Augusta National after securing a credible tied-15th on his Masters debut in 2016, his best result at a major so far.

The way I fought to qualify for the Masters is amazing. Now I want to show the world an Asian can surprise and contend in a major: Kiradech Aphibarnrat

Joshua just focusing on Parker fightAFP

ISLEWORTH, UK: Anthony Joshua heads into his bout against rival world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker in Cardiff on Saturday with Deontay Wilder lying in wait -- but the Briton insists he is not looking beyond this fight.

Joshua is putting his Interna-tional Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association titles on the line against World Boxing Organisation champion Parker in front of an expected 78,000 sell-out crowd at the Principality Stadium.

It will be the first time two undefeated heavyweight cham-pions have met in a title fight in the United Kingdom, with the British Olympic gold medallist

boasting a professional record of 20 wins, including 20 knockouts, from as many con-tests, while New Zealander Parker has stopped 18 of his opponents inside the distance during an unbeaten 24-fight career.

But next in line for the winner is Deontay Wilder, the American who holds the World Boxing Council version of the heavyweight title.

“It’s 1,000 percent one fight at a time,” Joshua told a news conference at the London head-quarters of broadcaster Sky Sports. “My future stops on Sat-urday. One fight at a time. All this talk about Wilder. I’m looking at Parker, he’s a champion for a reason.”

Joshua added: “He (Parker) is

quick and he can take a punch but that is what I have heard, so I am repeating what people are saying.

“Let’s say I’ve got £20 in my pocket, looking at myself I believe Anthony Joshua knocks out Joseph Parker for sure.” Joshua had been accused by Parker of showing disrespect to travelling New Zealand media by failing to grant them a sep-arate interview slot last week.

But he insisted that, after several hours of press duties, he had to eat before heading off for another training session.

“People thought I walked out on the New Zealand press but that wasn’t the case, I had to make a move and I was willing to return,” Joshua said.

“Unless I take care or business, no one is going to

interview me.” Meanwhile Joshua said he was in the best shape of his career after dethroning Wladimir Klitschko in a brutal battle and seeing off Carlos Takam.

Parker, wearing a smart suit and glasses, was equally bullish about his chances.

“It’s great to be here, we’ve had a great build-up and a great camp. I can’t wait to put on a great display on March 31,” he said. “I’m taking those belts back to New Zealand.

“Joshua is a great champion and we respect him and what he’s achieved. We love challenges.

“It’s my time, I’m young, sharp and am determined to win. I’m here to be part of history, doing it for my team, family and country.

Britain’s Anthony Joshua (left) and New Zealand’s Joseph Parker pose together during a press conference in London yesterday.

35WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018 SPORT

Boston Celtics’ guard Terry Rozier (right) dives for a loose ball against Phoenix Suns’ guard Elfrid Payton in the first quarter of their NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

NBA: Sixers notch big win as Fultz is back in action AFP

NEW YORK: Outscoring the visiting Denver Nuggets 34-15 in the third quarter, the Phila-delphia 76ers moved a step closer to locking down home-court advantage for the first round of the NBA play-offs with a 123-104 win Monday night.

Seven players scored in double figures for the 76ers, who remain the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the Indiana Pacers. Dario Saric led the way with 20 points while Joel Embiid con-tributed 20 points and 13 rebounds despite foul trouble.

Sixers rookie Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in last June’s NBA draft, returned from a five-month absence due to a shoulder injury and finished with 10 points and eight assists in 14 minutes.

Will Barton led the Nuggets with 25 points.

Celtics 102, Suns 94Jayson Tatum scored 23

points and Marcus Morris had 20 against his former team before leaving with an injury as Boston won at Phoenix.

Al Horford added 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who picked up their fourth straight win. Morris sustained a right ankle injury in the second half and did not return. X-rays on Morris’ ankle came back negative, the team announced.

Josh Jackson had 23 points, Tyler Ulis had 19 points and eight assists and Troy Daniels scored 18 as Phoenix took its 12th straight defeat and lost for the 22nd time in 23 games.

Grizzlies 101, Timberwolves 93

Wayne Selden canned four

3-pointers and scored 23 points as Memphis defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Marc Gasol added 20 points, including a pair of foul shots with 14.5 seconds left to up the lead to six, and also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Jeff Teague notched a game-high 25 points and seven assists for Minnesota, which managed just 11 points in the fourth quarter. Andrew Wiggins and Taj Gibson each finished with 18 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

Hornets 137, Knicks 128 Kemba Walker had 31 points,

including 11 in overtime, and Dwight Howard added 23 points to lead Charlotte over visiting New York.

Walker had three 3-pointers in the extra frame as the Hornets outscored New York 20-11 to

win their fourth consecutive game. Trey Burke scored 42 points and Michael Beasley had 27 to lead the Knicks, who lost for the third time in four games.

Pistons 112, Lakers 106Reggie Jackson led a bal-

anced attack with 20 points, and host Detroit won for the fourth time in five games by topping Los Angeles.

Jackson, playing just his fourth game since recovering from a severe ankle sprain, added five rebounds and three assists. Reggie Bullock scored 16 points and Andre Drummond had 15 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit, which retains slim playoff hopes. Julius Randle paced the Lakers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow rookie Lonzo Ball posted 15 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

NHL: Golden Knights clinch play-off berthREUTERS

CHICAGO: Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves to pick up his 403rd career victory and tie Grant Fuhr for 11th place on the all-time wins list as the expansion Vegas Golden Knights clinched a Stanley Cup play-off berth with a 4-1 decision over the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Monday in Las Vegas.

William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and two assists, Shea The-odore finished with a goal and an assist, and Alex Tuch also scored a goal for Pacific Division-leading Vegas. The Golden Knights’ Gerard Gallant earned his 200th career coaching victory.

The Golden Knights became the third expansion team since 1968-69 to make the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Hartford Whalers and Edmonton Oilers both accomplished the feat in 1979-80 after moving over from the World Hockey Association.

Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for Colorado, and Erik Johnson scored his ninth goal of the season.

Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 2Jack Eichel scored the tie-

breaking goal with 10:23 remaining in the third period as Buffalo ended Toronto’s team-record 13-game home winning streak.

Eichel also scored Buffalo’s first goal and recorded his fifth multi-goal game of the season and 15th career. It was his first two goals since returning March 17 from a 15-game absence caused by an ankle injury, and he matched his career high by scoring his 23rd and 24th goals.

Casey Nelson also scored while Zemgus Girgensons recorded two assists as Buffalo snapped a four-game losing streak. Patrick Marleau and Nazem Kadri collected goals for the Maple Leafs.

Kings 3, Flames 0Dion Phaneuf, Anze Kopitar

and Jeff Carter scored power-play goals, and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots for his fifth shutout of the season as Los Angeles topped visiting Calgary.

The Kings moved into a tie with Anaheim for third place in the Pacific Division with 91 points. The result also moves Los Angeles a point ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and two points in front of the St Louis Blues in the wild-card chase.

Phaneuf and Kopitar each finished the night with a goal and an assist. Dustin Brown added secondary helpers on the final two goals.

Sharks 4, Blackhawks 3 (SO)Kevin Labanc scored the

decisive goal in a shootout, and San Jose won at Chicago for its eighth victory in a row.

Logan Couture also scored during the shootout round for San Jose, which has not lost a game in more than two weeks. Marcus Sorensen, Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl scored in reg-ulation for the Sharks. Alex DeBrincat, Connor Murphy and Patrick Sharp each tallied goals for the Blackhawks. Sharp also scored during the shootout.

Coyotes 4, Lightning 1Trevor Murphy scored his

first career NHL goal, and vis-iting Arizona pulled away for a win at Tampa Bay.

Jakob Chychrun, Brendan Perlini and Clayton Keller also scored for the Coyotes, who snapped a two-game skid.

Arizona goaltender Antti Raanta allowed a Nikita Kucherov goal late in the third period to spoil a chance for his third shutout of the season. Raanta made 19 saves. Tampa

Bay goaltender Louis Domingue stopped 31 of 34 shots but drew the loss against his former team.

Canadiens 4, Red Wings 2Brendan Gallagher netted a

pair of goals 5:05 apart in the second period, and Montreal defeated visiting Detroit in a battle of teams eliminated from the playoff race.

Alex Galchenyuk had a goal and an assist, and Paul Byron also scored for Montreal.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price made 26 saves. Detroit got one goal and one assist from Gustav Nyquist, and Tyler Bertuzzi added a goal. Jared Coreau stopped 27 shots.

Capitals 4, Rangers 2Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny

Kuznetsov each had a goal and an assist as Washington scored four first-period goals and defeated host New York for a fourth consecutive win.

Washington also got one goal apiece from Matt Niskanen and T J Oshie. Nicklas Backstrom had two assists, giving him six in the past two games. Rangers centre Lias Andersson scored a goal in his first NHL game, and Mats Zuccarello also collected a goal.

Hurricanes 4, Senators 1Warren Foegele notched a

goal in his first NHL game to start the scoring as Carolina defeated visiting Ottawa.

Panthers 3, Islanders 0Keith Yandle, Nick Bjugstad

and Evgenii Dadonov scored goals, and James Reimer tied a career high by recording his fourth shutout of the season for Florida, which moved closer to a wild-card spot and eliminated host New York from play-off contention. The Panthers won for the seventh time in 10 games (7-3-0) to close within one point of the idle New Jersey Devils for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

Los Angeles Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) defends as Calgary Flames’ centre Sam Bennett (93) attempts to play the puck during their NHL game at Staples Centre.

Stanton shines as Yankees beat Braves AP

ATLANTA: Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius homered and Sonny Gray had another strong outing for the New York Yankees, who closed out spring training with a 5-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.

Gregorius hit his fifth home run of the spring in the first inning off Brandon McCarthy, a two-out drive that just cleared the right-field wall.

There was no doubt about Stanton’s third homer since joining the Yankees in one of the biggest deals of the offseason.

He got a hanging curveball on an 0-2 pitch from McCarthy in the third, sending it into the second deck in left field for another two-run shot.

With temperatures dipping into the 40s and late-inning showers, there were only a few hundred people still around - pretty much all Yankees fans - by the end of the game at SunTrust Park.

Gray went five innings, per-mitting one run and three hits with seven strikeouts.

He didn’t walk anyone.Atlanta’s lone run came in the

fourth. Ozzie Albies led off with

a double and moved around to score on a pair of groundouts. Neil Walker, filling in at first base for injured Greg Bird, scooped up three straight one-hop throws that inning to help Gray escape further trouble.

Gray, acquired last summer from Oakland, finished the spring with a 1.98 ERA in four appear-ances covering 13 2/3 innings.

“It’s probably by far the best spring I’ve had,” Gray said after the game.

“And it’s probably the best I feel coming out of a spring. I feel ready for the season. And I think a lot of guys in here are excited to get started,” he added.

McCarthy went three innings in his final tuneup for the season, giving up four runs, three walks and those two homers.

It was the worst showing in four appearances for the newest member of the Braves rotation, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers during the offseason.

“This was just a day to move past,” McCarthy said.

Asked what upset him the most, he deadpanned: “All the pitches I threw, the way I felt, the mechanics, how far some of the balls flew.”

Diamondbacks, Marte agree to $24m, 5-year dealAP

PHOENIX: A person familiar with the deal says the Arizona Diamond-backs and infielder Ketel Marte have agreed to a $24m, five-year contract.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. The deal includes two club options worth a total of $22m.

The 24-year-old Marte came up from Triple-A Reno last season to fill a critical role at shortstop when Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings went down with injuries. Marte will spend a lot of time at second base this season with Ahmed back at shortstop.

Marte came to the Diamondbacks with starting pitcher Taijuan Walker in the trade that sent infielder Jean Segura to Seattle shortly after Mike Hazen took over as Arizona’s general manager before last season. The extension shows how strongly Hazen and those around him feel about Marte’s future.

Marte hit.260 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 73 regular-season games for the Diamondbacks, and he had an outstanding run in Ari-zona’s brief stint in the post-season.

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36WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH 2018

“Pliskova is an amazing player, a top-10 player. For me, it’s

a challenge to see how I can approach that and how I can

progress from that match.

Victoria Azarenka prepares to meet Karolina Pliskova

Nick Kyrgios of Australia hits a forehand against Fabio Fognini of Italy (not pictured) on day seven of the Miami Open. Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-3.

Tennis: Zverev wins another three-setterREUTERS

MIAMI: Alexander Zverev rallied from a one set deficit to defeat Spain’s David Ferrer 2-6 6-2 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open on Monday as he moved a step closer to a breakthrough title this year.

The 20-year-old German has yet to recapture the form that earned him five singles titles, including two Masters events, in 2017 but he has displayed guile in prevailing in a pair of three-set matches in Miami.

Zverev, ranked fifth in the world, recovered from a rusty opening set to break Ferrer’s service three times in the second set and twice more in the decisive stanza.

He will next face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who advanced with a 6-3 6-3 win over Fabio Fognini.

“I knew it was going to be tough. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve and he’s very unpredictable,”

Kyrgios said. “We both competed. I just played a little better in some bigger points.”

In earlier action, Fernando Ver-dasco dug deep to earn a 3-6 6-4 7-6(4) win over Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis to set up a mouth-watering fourth-round clash against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

The 34-year-old fired down 13 aces to beat Kokkinakis, who had been full of confidence after stunning world number one and defending champion Roger Federer in the second round.

Verdasco, who reached the Miami quarter-finals in 2009 and 2010, rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third set and again from 3-0 down in the decisive tiebreaker before prevailing in a match that lasted nearly three hours.

He then got involved in a Twitter spat with Kyrgios, who had

expressed his desire for the Spaniard to lose his third round match. Next up for Verdasco is Carreno Busta, who beat American Steve Johnson 6-4 6-4 to reach the fourth round for the first time.

“It’s never easy,” Carreno Busta, the 16th seed, said after his 78-minute match.

“And this is the first time that I’ve played on this court. But I feel really comfortable and I’m playing good. When you play with confidence it’s easier.”

Also reaching the fourth round were Kevin Anderson, a 4-6 6-2 6-3 winner over Karen Khachanov, and Denis Shapovalov, who upset 11th-seeded American Sam Querrey 6-4 3-6 7-5.

Unseeded American Frances Tiafoe was leading his match against 10th seed Tomas Berdych, 6-7(2) 6-2 5-4 when it was suspended due to darkness.

Kyrgios and Verdasco get into Twitter spat in MiamiREUTERS

MIAMI: Fernando Verdasco (pictured) got into a Twitter spat with Australian Nick Kyrgios on Monday over a since-deleted post in which the latter expressed his desire for the Spaniard to lose his third round match at the Miami Open.

Verdasco, the 31st seed, became annoyed during his 3-6 6-4 7-6(4) win over Thanasi Kokkinakis and even argued with the Australian qualifier in the deciding set when he accused his opponent’s father of talking during his serves.

Kyrgios, who has a reputation on the tennis circuit for being out-spoken, took to Twitter to weigh in on the happenings at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida.

“I hope TK wins this match, Ver-dasco is the saltiest dude, must be frustrated at his past success against Aussies,” Kyrgios wrote in a Twitter post he has since deleted.

World number 39 Verdasco does indeed have a poor record against

Australian players, his most recent loss to a competitor from Down Under coming at the hands of teenager Alex de Minaur in the first round at the Sydney International in January.

Verdasco, who could face Krygios in the Miami semi-finals, felt the need to respond after his nearly three-hour match and wrote, “when you have the courage to put a tweet insulting another player you need

to have the same to don’t delete it.”

Kyrgios, who enjoyed a speedy 6-3 6-3 win on Monday to reach the fourth round, was not about to let the spat end there and fired off one final message:

“I would honestly have

told it to Fernando’s face, the reason I deleted my previous tweet was because I didn’t want to cause unwanted attention, but I’m just gonna leave this here. Thanks for blocking me, I’m sure that took a lot of courage x.”

Verdasco will be in back in action today when he faces fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, the 16th seed. Kyrgios will battle German fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

Nadal back for Spain in Davis CupAFP

MADRID: Rafael Nadal celebrates his impending return to world number one spot with a recall yesterday to Spain’s Davis Cup team for the quarter-final tie against Germany.

Nadal, who will top the latest world rankings to be released Monday, rejoins the squad for the first time since 2016 for the April 6-8 tie, team captain Sergi Bruguera announced. The 16-time Grand Slam winner is certain to take over from Roger Federer as world number one after the shock defeat of the Swiss ace in the second round of the Miami Masters on Saturday.

Bruguera said that the 31-year-old was recovering well from an injury to his right leg that has sidelined him since he pulled out of the Australian Open in January. In February, he pulled out of the Mexican Open just hours before his opening match. “I have kept in touch with him and he is going from strength to strength and he is feeling good after his conva-lescence and he is training more,” said Bruguera.

Nadal last appeared for Spain in the Davis Cup in Sep-tember 2016. Pablo Carreno, Roberto Bautista, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez line up with Nadal for the tie on clay in Valencia, eastern Spain. The winner of the tie will meet either France or Italy in the semi-final. In the other two quarter-finals, Croatia play Kazakhstan and the United States play Belgium. Nadal, who turns 32 in June, ended 2017 as the oldest year-end world number one in the 45-year history of the ATP rankings. He lost the top ranking to Federer in February.

Star Murray resumes training after surgery

AFP

PARIS: FORMER world number one Andy Murray has returned to training at Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy in France, almost three months since undergoing hip surgery.

“Andy Murray arrived on Friday night and will stay until at least the first week of April,” a member of the academy said.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has been targeting a comeback for the grass-court season in June, but his resumption of training will increase the possibility of an earlier return than expected.

A video posted on Instagram showed Murray practising on a hard court at the academy near Nice with his coach Jamie Delgado. The 30-year-old Briton has not played competitively since a quarter-final defeat by Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last July, and has since slipped to 29th in the world rankings.

Murray also has an Olympic Games gold medal to his name.

Venus Williams of the US looks on during a changeover against Johanna Konta of Great Britain during the Miami Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. Venus won 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Men’s Fourth Round ResultsFernando Verdasco (ESP x31) bt Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4)

Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP x16) bt Steve Johnson (USA) 6-4, 6-4

Kevin Anderson (RSA x6) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x32) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Nick Kyrgios (AUS x17) bt Fabio Fognini (ITA x15) 6-3, 6-3

Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Sam Querrey (USA x11) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

Alexander Zverev (GER x4) bt David Ferrer (ESP x28) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4

Borna Coric (CRO x29) bt Jack Sock (USA x8) 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3

Miami Open Results - Women’s Fourth RoundKarolina Pliskova (CZE x5) bt Zarina Diyas (KAZ) 6-2, 2-1 retired

Victoria Azarenka (BLR) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x30) 6-2, 6-2

Sloane Stephens (USA x13) bt Garbine Muguruza (ESP x3) 6-3, 6-4

Angelique Kerber (GER x10) bt Wang Yafan (CHN) 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3

Elina Svitolina (UKR x4) bt Ashleigh Barty (AUS x21) 7-5, 6-4

Venus Williams (USA x8) bt Johanna Konta (GBR x11) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2

Danielle Collins (USA) bt Mónica Puig (PUR) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2