SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013 SPORTS draw tour opener

SYDNEY: Stand-in England ting order. Matthew Prior praised his team for improv- Pace trio , and ing during their tour opener against the all laboured with the ball, tak- West Australia Chairman’s XI despite man- ing seven between them in the aging only an unconvincing draw against match, but just two in the home team’s first the second-string side. innings. The three-day match in Perth ended Tremlett finished with just one when the home team called a halt at 168 for the match, while Finn and Rankin for five in their second innings, represent- picked up three each, and the trio conced- ing an overall lead of 228 after England was ed 425 runs between them. dismissed for 391 in reply to the Chairman However, Prior said he was pleased with XI’s 451 for five declared. the trio’s on the final day. Up against a side comprising fringe first- hopefuls , who was dismissed class players, the tourists were largely dis- first ball, and Ben Stokes (4) also failed to appointing, aside from centuries to key grasp their opportunity, although Michael batsmen and . Carberry made the most of his chance at They didn’t appear to have gained much the top of the order, making 78 to advance insight into their best side for the first his cause. Brisbane Test, starting on November 21, The tourists’ fielding also left a lot to be with almost all their fringe players failing to desired, with six catches going to ground. fire. However, Prior said the England team One positive for England was the form of got exactly what they needed from the key batsmen Bell and Trott, who both outing, claiming the tourists improved scored centuries. markedly as the match went on. Trott hit an unbeaten 113 and Bell “I think we got a huge amount from it,” retired when on 115, the pair spending he said. “In all departments, we gradually valuable time in the middle as they shared got better throughout the game, certainly in a 197-run partnership before the latter in the field, and from a fielding and bowl- decided to give his teammates the chance ABU DHABI: Red Bull Racing’s Australian driver Mark Webber drives during the qualifying session at the Yas Marina circuit. —AFP ing point of view. for some time in the middle. “The first day obviously wasn’t great. But Trott batted for 342 minutes, hitting 10 there’s reasons for that - a bit of rustiness - fours and one six, while Bell, who led the and that’s why we’re here four weeks early. aggregates in series earlier this “To make sure we have the games and to year, faced 165 balls with 19 fours and two clear the cobwebs before the first Test sixes. Webber on pole match.” Queensland’s Chris Lynn followed up his England rested several key players for 104 with an unbeaten 61, while star WA all- the match, including captain rounder Mitch Marsh also performed (sore back), allowing the opportunity for strongly with quick-fire knocks of 58 and some Test hopefuls to push their claims, 62. England’s next tour game is a four-day- most notably for the third seamer’s posi- er against Australia A, starting in Hobart on in Abu Dhabi GP tion and the spot at number six in the bat- Wednesday. —AFP

ABU DHABI: Mark Webber seized pole position tors’ crown in a row in India. gling in practice. Brazilian team mate Felipe for the floodlit Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yesterday “We lost it in turn one, sorry guys,” the 26- Massa, who is leaving the team at the end of the with Red Bull team mate and quadruple world year-old had said over the team radio. Mercedes year, qualified one place ahead of the double champion Sebastian Vettel making a rare error filled the second row at the Yas Marina circuit, champion. “All weekend we haven’t been so and having to settle for second best. with Germany’s Nico Rosberg qualifying third quick and in qualifying we were not so fast,” The pole, with Webber approaching the end and Britain’s 2008 world champion Lewis Alonso told reporters. “Also my laps were not so of his Formula One career this month, was the Hamilton fourth despite spinning off on his final clean and I lost a couple of tenths. Maybe it is Australian’s 13th in 12 years and second in three lap. Only Vettel and Hamilton, when he was with better to start in this position tomorrow.” races. McLaren, had previously qualified on pole in the Kimi Raikkonen, who is third overall and 24 “Mark did a very good lap so congratulations four races to date in the Emirate. points behind Alonso, qualified fifth for Lotus in to him,” said Vettel, who is chasing his seventh Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, currently second a race he had contemplated not coming to only win in a row after wrapping up a fourth succes- overall and fighting to lift his team ahead of days earlier. The Ferrari-bound Finn, who told sive title with victory from pole in India last Mercedes and back to second in the construc- reporters on Friday that he had not been paid all weekend. tors’ championship, had a miserable evening season and could yet walk out of the final two “I should have done a little bit better, but I and will start 11th. races in Austin, Texas, and Brazil, will have don’t know if it would have been enough. He did It was the first time this season the Spaniard Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg alongside. a great job, no mistakes,” added the German, has failed to qualify in the top 10 but it came as Raikkonen’s team mate Romain Grosjean quali- whose team also secured their fourth construc- no surprise after Ferrari appeared to be strug- fied a disappointing seventh. —Reuters All Blacks continue unbeaten run

TOKYO: An unusually sloppy New Zealand contin- ued their unbeaten run this season with an eight- try 54-6 victory over a combative and tenacious Japan side in their rugby test at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium yesterday. Charles Piutau (two), , , Richie McCaw, Jeremy Thrush, Frank Halai, Beauden Barrett all scored tries for the All Blacks, who effi- ciently put away their scoring opportunities but were let down by messy patches. Flyhalf Daniel Carter added five conversions while Barrett added two late conversions. Japan fullback slotted two first half penalties for the home side, who were hemmed inside their own territory for much of the game but will take heart from their improved performance. The match was significant for being the first outside of a World Cup between the two sides, with the All Blacks having recorded victories of 145-17 and 83-7 and few had expected the result yesterday to be any different. The world champions had said they wanted to AUSTRALIA: English bowler Ben Stokes delivers the ball on day three of the Ashes use the match to introduce some of their less expe- tour match against a Western Australian Chairmanís XI at the WACA ground in rienced players to test rugby, with nine players sent Perth. —AFP directly to Paris to prepare for their clash with France next week. New Zealand coach gave starts to SCOREBOARD and Halai and also introduced Jeffrey JAPAN: New Zealand’s All Blacks Beauden Barrett (second right) and Japan’s Yoshikazu Fujita Toomaga-Allen and Luke Whitelock off the bench (left) fight for the ball during their rugby test match at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby PERTH, Australia: Scoreboard on the final day of the three-day tour match between the WA to bring the total of new caps to 21 since he took Ground. —AFP Chairman’s XI and England at the WACA Ground in Perth yesterday: over following the 2011 World Cup. vantage, and clinical at the lineout where they also against those types of teams for 50 minutes to WA Chairman’s XI 1st innings 451-5 dec (C Lynn 104) (Anderson), 10-391 (Rankin). “It was a very good game for us in a number of contested on New Zealand’s throw. keep the pressure,” Japan’s stand-in coach England 1st innings (overnight 270-2) Bowling: Cockley 3-0-7-0 (2w), Duffield 23.3-3-96- ways. We got some new people on track, they got “The Japanese put us under pressure at times. Wisemantel said. Michael Carberry c Allenby b Turner 78 2 (9nb), Dixon 18.3-1-107-0 (5nb), Beer 28-6-87-2, some experience and understood what it’s like to lbw b Allenby 36 Allenby 22.5-6-58-4, Turner 6-0-34-1. Their scrum was pretty good, they scrummaged “We gave away a few cheap tries and that’s be an All Black,” Hansen told reporters. well,” said New Zealand captain McCaw. where we let the game slip.” The home crowd, who Jonathan Trott 113 WA 2nd innings “We got Richie (McCaw) and Dan (Carter) back Ian Bell retired 115 Luke Towers c Anderson b Rankin 1 All Black prop Ben Franks concurred, saying painted the sold out stadium red, greeted Japan’s Gary Ballance c Triffitt b Duffield 0 Marcus Harris lbw Rankin 22 on track and they got some time.” Japan had a trou- Japan’s low scrum, which pushed back the visiting rare attacking chances with enthusiasm, with Matthew Prior c Triffitt b Duffield 4 Chris Lynn not out 61 bled build-up with coach Eddie Jones hospitalised pack on a few occasions, gave them trouble. excitement reaching a crescendo in the last minute Ben Stokes c Triffitt b Allenby 4 Mitch Marsh lbw Finn 62 with a stroke last month and assistant Scott The visitors superior ball handling at pace, how- of the match when Japan wing Steven Finn b Beer 15 Tom Triffitt c Prior b Finn 0 Wisemantel taking over the reins for their ever, proved the decisive factor with the All Blacks almost scored a try in the corner. Chris Tremlett lbw b Beer 0 Ashton Turner lbw Tremlett 12 November tests. The ‘Brave Blossoms’ had been striking from deep, running into space and exploit- “We were disappointed we could not get a try James Anderson c Triffitt b Allenby 8 James Allenby not out 7 buoyed by their first win over an inexperienced ing the home side’s mistakes inside their own half since there were attacking opportunities to take Boyd Rankin c Triffitt b Allenby 0 Extras (nb1, b2) 3 and depleted Wales side in June and Wisemantel Extras (lb2, w2, nb14) 18 Total (for five wickets, 39 overs) 168 to record the comfortable victory. advantage of. But we come away from the game said the rare meeting with the All Blacks was a Japan still drew solace from the fact that they confident we are on the right track,” Japan captain Total: (all out, 101.5 overs) 391 Fall: 1-9 (Towers), 2-24 (Harris), 3-124 (Marsh), 4- chance to show the world they were improving. Fall of wickets: 1-100 (Root), 2-137 (Carberry), 3- 126 (Triffitt), 5-149 (Turner). kept the point differential below the half century . The All Blacks, who have now won 330 (Bell), 4-334 (Ballance), 5-338 (Prior), 6-347 Bowling: Tremlett 8-1-35-1 (1nb), Rankin 9-2-34-2, That was only too evident in the gloomy and mark for the first time against the toughest of all 11 of their tests this year, head to Paris to meet (Stokes), 7-382 (Finn), 8-382 (Tremlett), 9-391 Stokes 4-1-18-0, Finn 10-1-53-2, Root 8-1-26-0 wet conditions where the Japanese were combat- opponents. “We did really well in the first 20 min- France on Nov. 9, while Japan will play Scotland at ive at the scrum, despite a significant weight disad- utes. The next step is we need to maintain it Murrayfield in Edinburgh. —Reuters Dillon dominates at Texas

FORT WORTH: Ty Dillon led 130 of the 147 laps over defending series champion James Buescher Dillon, who Childress described as quiet but for a dominating milestone victory at Texas, while with two races left. Crafton only has to finish 18th focused this week, responded in Texas with an Matt Crafton moved closer to a NASCAR Truck or better in the last two races to win the season impressive victory. He won by 2.66 seconds over Series season championship with another top-10 title. While describing the No. 88 Toyota as “hor- Johnny Sauter on the high-banked, 11/2-mile finish. rendously bad” early, Crafton’s crew kept making track with an average speed of 145.571 mph. Dillon drove the No. 3 Chevrolet to its 100th adjustments. He was running around 19th late in “We went through a lot the last week. I think NASCAR victory across the sanctioning body’s the race. “We never gave up,” Crafton said. “I wish today everybody sees what happens when we three main series, including the late Dale right now we could start the race.” put a whole race together,” Dillon said. “It means a Earnhardt in Cup races. Dillon was greeted in Dillon’s victory came a week after Dillon spun lot to give ourselves a clean sheet, give us some- Victory Lane on Friday night by Richard Childress, Kevin Harvick late at Martinsville when both were thing new to talk about.” his grandfather and truck owner. racing for position. Harvick hit Dillon’s truck Buescher finished sixth on his home track. “It’s great. To have my grandson to win the under caution, then drove into Dillon’s pit stall as There will be no NASCAR sweep at Texas, where 100th race with the No. 3, with Dale Earnhardt, he returned to pit road. Adam Brown, one of the Nationwide race is late yesterday before the and Austin and Ty, all they’ve done, it’s very, very Dillon’s crew members threw a hammer at Sprint Cup race today. special,” Childress said. “It’ll be a night I remember Harvick’s truck, and was indefinitely suspended Cup regulars Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski for a long time. ... I know Dale Earnhardt is smiling by NASCAR. entered all three events, but both had problems down tonight.” Harvick is leaving RCR at the end of the year in the truck race. Busch, who won the Sprint Cup Childress had used the No. 3 regularly in the after 13 seasons to join Stewart-Haas Racing. He and Nationwide races at Texas in April when there truck series. But after Earnhardt’s death in a crash said after the race his departure was because wasn’t a truck race, got something stuck on his at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500, Childress did- Childress was too focused on the development of grill early in the race and had problems with his n’t bring back the No. 3 full-time in a car again grandsons, whom he claimed were undeserving engine overheating before it finally gave out on until Austin Dillon moved up from trucks to the of their advancement in the organization. the 99th lap. Keselowski spun out on the 24th lap FORT WORTH: Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet, Nationwide Series last year. Austin Dillon tweeted: “Awesome win ... so and dropped a lap then. He never made that up celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Crafton finished 10th and has a 46-point lead proud. You showed how bad you want it!” Ty and finished 21st.—AP WinStar World Casino 350k at Texas Motor Speedway. —AFP