MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017 SPORTS England call up Finn as Woakes replacement

LONDON: Steven Finn will replaced injured teams, with a side strain suffered while Zealand in Cardiff on Tuesday. “The ICC al governing body. healed in time for the Champions Trophy. fellow paceman Chris Woakes in England’s bowling just two overs at the start of has confirmed that the event technical Finn, a veteran of 69 ODIs, last played Middlesex fast bowler Finn was left Champions Trophy squad, the International England’s opening Group A win over committee of the ICC Champions Trophy for England as recently as Monday when, out of England’s original squad for the Council confirmed yesterday. Bangladesh at the Oval on Thursday. 2017 has approved Steven Finn as a on his Lord’s home ground, he featured in tournament but could go straight into Woakes was ruled out of the rest of the The experienced Finn, 28, will join the replacement player for Chris Woakes in the final match of a one-day series the XI to play New Zealand, if as hap- 50-over tournament, which features the England squad ahead of their second the England squad for the tournament,” against South Africa while Woakes was pened at the Oval, they pick just the one world’s top eight one-day international match of the tournament, against New said a brief statement from cricket’s glob- being rested with a thigh problem that specialist spinner. —AFP West Indies rout Afghans in T20

BASSETERRE: Another abject dis- was interrupted after 11 overs by heavy, play by paved the way for the sustained showers which held up play for West Indies to complete a series-clinching almost two hours. 29-run win on the Duckworth Lewis System “It’s difficult to be switching on and off (DLS) in the rain-affected second fixture of when there are interruptions like that and the three-match T20 International series at I’m glad that we were able to stay focused Warner Park in St Kitts on Saturday. through it all,” he explained. “Now we have Set a revised target of 123 after the to keep in mind that the job isn’t finished hosts were limited to 112 for three in a as yet because we want to get another win match reduced to 15 overs per side, the on Monday.” Afghans were routed for just 93 off 13.3 West Indies were 79 for two off 11 overs overs with fast bowler Kesrick Williams when the rains came with an intensity that leading the demolition with figures of raised fears of an abandonment. However three for 11 to take the “Man of the Match” they eventually relented and the hosts award. managed to get another 33 runs off the A day after being restricted to 110 all remaining four overs on the resumption. out off 20 overs on the way to a six- After Brathwaite chose to bat first on defeat, this effort did little to enhance the winning the toss, openers Chadwick visitors’ claims to be elevated to the ranks Walton and Evin Lewis sought to give their of the Test-playing nations. team a flying start with a succession of They now face the prospect of being boundaries. Both got into the twenties whitewashed in the T20 series going into before falling though. the final match at the same venue on Walton was caught at long-on off spin- Monday and look set to suffer the same ner while Lewis pulled a fate in the three One-Day Internationals short ball from medium-pacer Janat to be which follow in St Lucia. taken at deep midwicket. Karim Janat topscored with 20 as the tumbled around him. As in the first LEARNING EXPERIENCE match, much of Afghanistan’s misery was Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons self-inflicted through a series of poor shots were just getting into stride when the LONDON: South Africa’s Imran Tahir (C) celebrates with teammates taking the wicket of ’s Asela Gunaratne for four runs during the ICC compounded by a lack of understanding in heavy showers swept across the ground Champions Trophy match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at The Oval in London on Saturday. — AFP the middle which saw two run outs con- and on the restart, Samuels departed to the tributing to the ignominious slide to defeat. bowling of in the desperate At one stage they had crashed to 55 for rush for runs. CRICKET eight before Janat and the last two in the West Indies retained an unchanged 11 batting line-up delayed the inevitable, the from the first match while Afghanistan match concluding when West Indies cap- made two changes to no avail. Noor Ali tain Carlos Brathwaite took the catch that Zadran replaced Usman Ghani at the top of Tahir spins South Africa ended Janat’s resistance and give Williams the while his best figures in T20 Internationals. came into the final eleven at the expense of “I just give it everything on this pitch,” fellow seamer Shapoor Zadran. said Williams after the match. “I just knew if “It is important for our development to to big win over Sri Lanka I bowled with pace in the right areas suc- have more matches against teams of this cess would come my way.” calibre,” said visiting Asghar Brathwaite chipped in with two wickets Stanikzai. “It’s the only way we can improve LONDON: Leg-spinner Imran Tahir took four and was especially pleased to complete a and we hope to show a much improved wickets as South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs SCOREBOARD second consecutive win in challenging cir- performance in the final match of this to begin their Champions Trophy campaign in cumstances after the West Indies innings series.” — AFP style in London on Saturday. LONDON: Completed scoreboard in the Champions Trophy Group B match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Defeat came with an added sting for Sri The Oval on Saturday. Lanka who were later found guilty of a slow SCOREBOARD South Africa U. Tharanga c Miller b Tahir 57 over-rate offence by the ICC with their captain Hashim Amla run out (Mendis) 103 K. Mendis c De Villiers b Morris 11 banned for their next two match- Q. De Kock c Dickwella b Pradeep 23 D. Chandimal run out (De Villiers) 12 BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts and Nevis: Scoreboard of the rain-affected second fixture of a three-match T20 es, and players fined. F. Du Plessis c Chandimal b Pradeep 75 C. Kapugedara lbw b Tahir 0 International series between West Indies and Afghanistan at Warner Park in St Kitts on Saturday. The Tahir finished with four for 27 in 8.3 overs A.B. de Villiers c Kapugedera b Prasanna 4 K. Perera 44 match was reduced to 15 overs per side. after former captain Hashim Amla scored his D. Miller c Prasanna b Lakmal 18 A. Gunaratne c Parnell b Tahir 4 J.P. Duminy not out 38 S. Prasanna lbw b Morris 13 West Indies Innings M. Nabi run out 8 25th ODI century to set Sri Lanka a target of 300 C. Morris run out (Tharanga) 20 S. Lakmal run out (Tahir) 0 C. Walton c Noor Ali Zadran b Nabi 29 K. Janat c Brathwaite b Williams 20 runs. Sri Lanka were cruising along at 116 for W. Parnell not out 7 L. Malinga b Rabada 1 E. Lewis c Naib b Janat 25 Shafiqullah run out 1 two when Tahir was introduced to the attack in Extras: (1lb, 10w) 11 N. Pradeep c Duminy b Tahir 5 M. Samuels c b Naib22 Najibullah b Brathwaite 11 the 18th over and South Africa immediately got Total: (for six wickets in 50 overs) 299 Extras: (lb 6, w 8, nb 1) 15 L. Simmons not out 17 R. Khan b Narine 2 a firm grip on the game. took Did not bat: K. Rabada, M. Morkel, Imran Tahir. Total: (all out, 41.3 overs) 203 C. Brathwaite not out 8 D. Zadran b Taylor 9 on one of South Africa’s best fielders-A.B. de Fall of wickets: 1-44 (De Kock), 2-189 (Du Plessis), 3-194 Fall of wickets: 1-69 (Dickwella), 2-94 (Mendis), 3-116 Extras (b-2, lb-2, w-7) 11 A. Hamza not out 6 Villiers-on a misfield and was run out by a direct (De Villiers), 4-226 (Miller), 5-232 (Amla), 6-277 (Morris) (Chandimal), 4-117 (Kapugedera), 5-146 (Tharanga), 6- Total (3 wkts, 15 overs) 112 Extras (b-4, lb-4, w-1) 9 hit. Three deliveries later, Chamara Kapugedera Bowling: Malinga 10-0-57-0 (5w), Lakmal 10-0-51-1 155 (Gunaratne), 7-191 (Prasanna), 8-191 (Prasanna), Fall of wickets: 1-42 (Walton), 2-74 (Lewis), 3-97 Total (all out, 13.3 overs) 93 (2w), Pradeep 10-0-54-2 (1w), Gunaratne 10-0-64-0 (1w), Bowling: Rabada 8-1-46-1 (3 w) (1 nb), Parnell 10-0-54-0 (Samuels) Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Naib), 2-19 (Noor Ali Zadran), was foxed by a Tahir googly and was out leg Prasanna 10-0-72-1 (1w). (1 w), Morkel 6-0-31-0 (2 w), Morris 7-0-32-2 (1 w), Tahir Did not bat: J. Mohammed, R. Powell, S. Narine, J. 3-19 (Shenwari), 4-34 before wicket without scoring. 8.3-0-27-4, Duminy 2-0-7-0 (1 w). Taylor, S. Badree, K. Williams (Nabi), 5-40 (Stanikzai), 6-41 (Shafiqullah), 7-52 Tharanga-captain for the day after Angelo Sri Lanka Result: South Africa won by 96 runs Bowling: D. Zadran 3-0-33-0 (2w), K. Janat 3-0-19- (Najibullah), 8-55 (Khan), Mathews failed a late fitness test on a calf mus- N. Dickwella c Parnell b Morkel 41 Man-of-the-Match: Imran Tahir (RSA) 1 (1w), A. Hamza 2-0-11-0, M. Nabi 2-0-21-1, R. 9-85 (Zadran), 10-93 (Janat) cle injury-too fell for the googly when he hit one Khan 3-0-14-0, G. Naib 2-0-10-1. Bowling: S. Badree 3-0-11-1, J. Taylor 2-0-13-1 straight to the deep cover fielder. He top scored (1w), K. Williams with 57 runs. Sri Lanka never recovered after whereas South Africa were 32 for none at the deliveries with six fours. Afghanistan Innings 2.3-0-11-3, S. Narine 3-0-24-1, C. Brathwaite 3-0- that and were shot out for 203 runs with still 8.3 same stage. The middle order failed to capitalize Amla was run out by a direct hit from G. Naib b Badree 12 26-2 overs remaining. Noor Ali Zadran c Taylor b Williams 6 after a good start and they have to win their Tharanga for a fine 103 that came off 115 deliv- A. Stanikzai c Simmons b Brathwaite 9 Result: West Indies won by 29 runs on DLS The ICC then took decisive action over the remaining two games against India and Pakistan eries with five fours and two sixes. S. Shenwari c wkpr Walton b Williams 0 method slow over-rate after the Sri Lankans took four to have any hopes of a semi-final berth. “It was an amazing innings by Hashim. He hours and seven minutes to finish their overs Sri Lanka were excellent against South did really well to assess the conditions, and during the South African innings. Africa’s seamers, but the introduction of Tahir communicated well with us what kind of score ICC rules stipulate that teams should finish derailed their innings. is going to be good,” South Africa captain A.B their 50 overs within three-and-a-half hours. After being put into bat in overcast condi- de Villiers said. J.P. Duminy gave some impetus Opener Niroshan Dickwella had given them a tions, Amla consolidated for South Africa with to the South African innings smashing 38 off blistering start smashing 41 off 33 balls. his 25th ODI hundred and the fifth against Sri 20 deliveries with five fours and a six. Duminy The openers added 69 runs in 50 deliveries Lanka. He added 145 runs with Francois du added 45 runs for the sixth wicket with Chris and they were 87 for one at the end of ten overs Plessis, who contributed with 75 runs off 70 Morris (20). — AFP Smith urges Australia to step on the gas

LONDON: Steve Smith admits Australia have no rassment, Smith needs far more accurate and Smith was frustrated with the sloppy bowling, margin for error as they look to kick start their penetrating spells from his bowlers. but he refused to reveal whether he would Champions Trophy campaign against Josh Hazlewood took six wickets against make changes to the line-up to face Bangladesh yesterday. Australia’s bid to open the New Zealand, but fellow quicks Mitchell Starc Bangladesh. “I thought it was probably one of Champions Trophy group stage with a win were and Pat Cummins were much less impressive, the worst bowling displays that we’ve put on thwarted by heavy rain against New Zealand on managing just one wicket between them. for a very long time,” he said.” —AFP Friday. Smith’s side needed a revised target of 235 to win in 33 overs after Kane Williamson hit a century in New Zealand’s 291 all out. Australia were 53 for three off nine when the ‘King’ of the road LeBron players left the field for the final time due to the bad weather in Birmingham. The teams took a needs win at Golden State point apiece, a result that most benefits Group A rivals England. England launched the tourna- OAKLAND: LeBron James has won a road game onship, you have to win on the road. And we ment, which features the world’s top eight one- in an NBA record 29 consecutive playoff series understand that. With Golden State having day teams, with an eight-wicket win over and the Cleveland superstar must stretch that home court the last three years, we know it’s Bangladesh at The Oval on Thursday. streak for the Cavaliers to defend their title. going to be tough. “You have to win on the road Smith acknowledged his team now have to Golden State owns a home-court edge in the to be great.” win their remaining group matches if they are to NBA Finals and opened the best-of-seven cham- James, who last month overtook Michael advance to the semi-finals. pionship series with a 113-91 home triumph, Jordan to become the NBA’s all-time playoff “It’s obviously not ideal for both sides to have although James will have another chance to win scoring leader, was coached by current Warriors a washout. So for us now it’s just about making at Oakland in game two Sunday. acting coach Mike Brown with the Cavaliers, who sure that we’re playing each game like a final If “King” James and the Cavaliers don’t take appreciates the streak and the longevity James and winning the next two,” Smith said. advantage at Oracle Arena, the Warriors will has shown in reaching eight career NBA Finals, “It’s a pretty quick tournament. So you can’t stretch their NBA playoff win streak record to 14 the last seven in a row. really afford a washout or a loss. games and could become the first champions to “It just speaks volumes to who he is as a “You’ve got to turn it around quickly now and run undefeated through the playoffs by winning player. He’s one of the greatest all time,” Brown control what you can control.” While Australia Wednesday and Friday in Cleveland. said. “When you have his ability, when you have will be expected to take maximum points The 32-year-old playmaker has won a road his intelligence and feel and all that other stuff, against Bangladesh at The Oval, history suggests game in 35 of 38 playoff series over his 12 NBA you’re able to lead your team in difficult situa- Smith’s side shouldn’t underestimate their playoff campaigns, last failing to do so with tions and tough environments. And he’s done unheralded opponents. Australia were the vic- Cleveland against Orlando in the 2009 Eastern that for many years. So you take your hat off to tims of one of the all-time great upsets when Conference finals. him.” James is 3-4 in NBA Finals appearances but BASSETERRE: Mohammad Nabi (R) of Afghanistan is run out by Chadwick Walton (L) Bangladesh beat them by five wickets in a one- “He’s a great player,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn his teams, the Cavaliers and Miami from 2011 to of West Indies during the 2nd T20i match between West Indies and Afghanistan at day international in Cardiff in 2005. Lue said. “Anytime you want to win a champi- 2014, are 1-7 in NBA Finals openers.— AFP Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts, Saturday. — AFP For Australia to avoid another epic embar-