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FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 3 CCYCLINGYCLING | Page 7 Atletico bid to Mohoric sprints erase pain of to stage 10 fi nals past in win as Yates Marseille clash extends lead

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 Sha’baan 30, 1439 AH Imam-ul-Haq sees GULF TIMES Pakistan to win over debutants Ireland SPORT Page 6

FOOTBALL / AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Unbeaten Al Duhail storm Duhail join fellow Qatari side Sadd and Iran’s Persepolis and Esteghlal into quarter-fi nals in last eight from West Asia

SPOTLIGHT We deserved to qualify for quarters: Sadd’s Bounedjah

By Sports Reporter portunities,” added Bounedjah, Doha who himself saw a penalty kick blocked by Ahli goalkeeper Mo- hammed al-Owais, before he was aghdad Bounedjah was able to convert the rebound. relieved that missed “At the end of the day, though, chances did not come we were able to score the two back to haunt Al Sadd goals that mattered and we Bafter the AFC Champions League qualifi ed for the quarter-fi nals. Round of 16 win over Al Ahli on That’s all that matters. We con- Monday. sider this qualifi cation a gift for Bounedjah, the leading scorer the Al Sadd fans after ending the in the tournament, was again season without a title,” the strik- the man of the hour for Al Sadd er added. in their Round of 16 second leg Meanwhile, Al Sadd head against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli. coach praised The 26-year-old netted his eighth the eff orts of his players. Ferreira and ninth goals of the 2018 AFC said: “We played a great game. I Champions League to ensure a 2-2 was hoping for the win but I will draw on the night and a 4-3 aggre- take this draw, which has taken gate win for Al Sadd. us to the quarter-fi nals of the The victory in Jeddah means championship.” the Qataris return to the quar- Asked if Al Sadd were lucky ter-fi nals for the fi rst time since to go through, considering Al 2014, another milestone in what Ahli missed key players, Ferreira has been a hugely successful said: “This kind of talk is unac- continental campaign thus far ceptable because we are missing for Bounedjah. players too. We have had injured “I am obviously delighted we players too; we have missed key reached the quarter-fi nals and players just like Al Ahli and this that my two goals could help the is how football is. Maybe, even team. To be honest, I believe we if Al Ahli had played with a full- deserved to qualify for the last strength team, they may have not eight. I’d like to thank all my been able to win. End of the day, teammates for their eff orts,” said we were better and we deserve to Bounedjah. go through.” “After we ended the QSL sea- The Portuguese added: “We son without any silverware, I am are very happy with the team’s happy that, instead, this win can achievement. I want to thank all Al Duhail’s Youssef El Arabi (centre) vies for the ball with Al Ain players during the second leg of their AFC Champions League Round of 16 tie. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil be our gift back to all the Al Sadd the players for the eff orts they fans,” the Algerian added. put in. Congratulations to all of By Sports Reporter ball from defender Mohanad Salem four However, Bounedjah did admit them. We hope fortune will fa- Doha minutes from time. that there was a degree of relief vour us and we can continue on netted a consola- mixed with the joy of the last our road of success in Asia.” tion goal for Al Ain in the dying seconds eight-place. A dominant per- Al Sadd will now await the NB Stars League champions Al of the game from a penalty kick after he formance from Al Sadd did not draw for the quarter-fi nal round Duhail sealed an emphatic 4-1 was fouled inside the box by defender disguise the fact that, with the next week to know their next op- win over Al Ain in the second Abdullah al-Ahrak. scoreline concerned, their vic- ponents. The opening leg of the leg of their 2018 AFC Champi- Al Ain is still the only UAE side to win tory was only by a slim margin. quarter-fi nals will be played on onsQ League Round of 16 showdown yes- the Champions League. They lifted the “We had numerous chances, August 27 and 28 with the con- terday, progressing to the quarter-fi nals title in 2003, and last failed to reach the especially in the second half, cluding ties scheduled for Sep- 8-3 on aggregate. quarter-fi nals in 2015. and we missed some good op- tember 17 and 18. Duhail remain the only team with a 100 Al Duhail join fellow Qatari side Al percent win record this year in the con- Sadd and Iran’s Persepolis and Esteghlal tinental championship, having won eight in the quarter-fi nals from West Asia. In matches out of eight. Tehran, was the hero as his At the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, hat-trick gave Esteghlal a 3-1 win over the hosts wasted no time in taking full Zobahan in the Round of 16 second leg control and were rewarded with a goal tie yesterday, with Esteghlal advancing to inside 11 minutes when Nam Tae-hee ad- the quarter-fi nals 3-2 on aggregate. vanced down the left and sent a low ball In the East Asia, Tianjin Quan- across the goalmouth that was inadvert- jian eliminated fellow Chinese side ently converted by defender Mohamed Guangzhou Evergrande from the AFC Ahmad past his own goalkeeper. Champions League yesterday, progress- Al Duhail doubled their tally at the Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi shouts instructions to his players yesterday. ing to the quarter-fi nals on away goals half-hour mark through Youssef El Arabi after a breathless 2-2 draw in their Round who stabbed in Ismail Mohamed’s pow- Brake through on goal and the latter at- Coach Djamel Belmadi’s men heaped of 16 second leg tie at Tianhe Stadium in erful cross from the right fl ank. tempted to lob goalkeeper more misery on their visitors as El Arabi Guangzhou. Very little changed after the break as who was able to get his fi ngertips on the caught up with Baghdad Bounedjah at the Meanwhile, Buriram United’s brave run the Qataris continued to attack in num- ball before it fell for Mohammad who top of the competition’s scorers chart, in the AFC Champions League came to an Al Sadd players celebrate their win over Al Ahli during the first leg of bers and soon found the net for a third tapped into the empty net in the 54th converting his ninth goal of the campaign end yesterday as a 2-0 loss at Jeonbuk saw their Round of 16 clash in Doha earlier this month. time. El Arabi sent defender Sultan al- minute. from the penalty spot following a hand them bow out of the 4-3 on aggregate. Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, May 16, 2018 FOOTBALL

SPOTLIGHT Injured Neuer in German World Cup squad as frictions stir Neuer named amongst four goalkeepers, one of whom will be cut for the final 23-man squad which must be finaliseed by June 4 The 32-year-old Bayern Munich star AFP tured foot. He has been named amongst Manuel Neuer has not played for eight Dortmund, Germany four goalkeepers, one of whom will be months with a fractured foot. (AFP) cut for the fi nal 23-man squad which must be named by June 4. Neuer must njured Manuel Neuer was named now prove his fi tness at a fortnight- in Germany’s extended 27-man long training camp in northern Italy, World Cup squad for Russia 2018, which started yesterday. despite not playing since Septem- “Manuel is getting back into full Iber, as political frictions threw a shad- training this week at Bayern Munich, ow over yesterday’s announcement. that assures us that he can tolerate Both midfi elders Mesut Ozil and Il- the full load in the training camp,” ex- kay Gundogan are included despite plained Loew. triggering friction between and “Then we want to get a full idea, talk Ankara after the stars to him frankly and honestly, asking ‘is it posed for pictures with Turkey Presi- possible to play at the World Cup?’ We dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in . have to decide whether Neuer is able to “From the DFB’s perspective, it has put in his top performances. “I don’t been made clear that it was not a good think it is possible to go into a World decision, but I didn’t think of leaving Cup without playing practice.” them out for a second,” said Germany There is no place in Loew’s squad for head coach Joachim Loew. “I have a bit Mario Goetze, who scored the winning of understanding that two hearts beat goal in the 2014 World Cup fi nals, after in the chests of players with an immi- an erratic season at Borussia Dortmund. gration background. They have have “It’s defi nitely not been his season. He expressed regret and done a lot for in- has huge qualities, but isn’t in form,” tegration in Germany.” explained Loew. “Personally, I feel sorry There was more political activity as for him and it was a hard decision.” hosts Russia granted a World Cup visa However, Loew pulled a surprise by to German journalist Hajo Seppelt, who handing a fi rst call-up to Freiburg strik- had been banned from the fi nals after er Nils Petersen, 29, the top-scoring he is currently sidelined by a groin in- Korea and Sweden in Group F. Moechengladbach), Jonas Hector (Co- gart), Leon Goretzka (Schalke 04), Ilkay he broke the story on the Russian state- German in the this season jury. Dortmund winger Marco Reus has logne), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Gundogan (Manchester City/ENG), Sami sponsored doping scandal. with 15 goals. Yet there is no place for a spot in the extended squad after miss- GERMANY SQUAD Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Marvin Khedira (Juventus/ITA), (Real However, Loew’s top concern is striker Sandro Wagner, Robert Lewand- ing out on the victorious 2014 World Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno (Bayer Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Antonio Rue- Madrid/ESP), Thomas Mueller (Bayern whether his captain and goalkeeper owski’s back-up at Bayern Munich, who Cup squad after tearing ankle ligaments Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Mu- diger (Chelsea/ENG) Niklas Suele (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal/ENG), Nils Neuer will be fi t for the World Cup fi - helped Germany win the Conferdera- in a warm-up game. Germany open nich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona/ Munich), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen) Petersen (Freiburg), Marco Reus (Borussia nals, which kick-off on June 14. The tions Cup in Russia last year. their Russia 2018 campaign against ESP), Kevin Trapp (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA) Midfielders/Forwards: Julian Brandt Dortmund), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Mu- 32-year-old Bayern Munich star has Bayern Munich defender Jerome in Moscow on June 17, the de- Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Paris nich), Leroy Sane (Manchester City/ENG), not played for eight months with a frac- Boateng has been called up even though fending champions also facing South Munich), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Saint-Germain), Mario Gomez (VfB Stutt- Timo Werner (RB Leipizg)

NO COENTRAO, RENATO IN PORTUGAL SQUAD FOCUS Lisbon: Fabio Coentrao and (Real Madrid/ESP), Eder (Lokomo- United). ’s preliminary squad: Wilshere and Hart left out of Renato Sanches were miss- tiv Moscow/RUS), Gelson Martins Defenders: Abdullahi Shehu Goalkeepers: ing from Portugal’s 35-strong (Sporting), Goncalo Guedes (Bursaspor FC, Turkey), Tyronne (Dynamo Buchrest/ROM), Jose pre-World Cup squad named (Valencia/ESP), Nani (Lazio/ Ebuehi (Ado Den Haag, The Calderon (Chorrillo), Alex Rod- yesterday by coach Fernando ITA), Paulinho (Braga), Ricardo Netherlands), Olaoluwa Aina (Hull riguez (San Francisco/USA) England’s World Cup squad Santos. The squad, which will Quaresma (Besiktas/TUR), Rony City, England), Elderson Echiejile Defenders: Azmahar Ariano be cut to 23 before the June Lopes (Monaco/FRA) (Cercle Brugge KSV, Belgium), (Patriots/COL), (Mu- 14-July 15 tournament in Rus- Brian Idowu (Amkar Perm, Rus- nicipal/GUA), sia, included Real Madrid star NAMES sia), (Nantes (San Jose/USA), Eric Davis (DAC Cristiano Ronaldo and other PROVISIONAL 30-MAN FC, France), William Ekong Dunajska Streda/SVK), Fidel Es- mainstays of the team that won Tianjin Teda midfielder John (Bursaspor FC, Turkey), Leon Ba- cobar (/USA), Euro 2016, such as Pepe, Wil- Obi Mikel was named as Nigeria logun (FSV Mainz 05, Germany), (Houston Dy- liam Carvalho, Joao Moutinho, captain when the country’s pro- (Kasimpasa FC, namo/USA), Michael Amir Murillo Nani and Ricardo Quaresma. visional 30-man squad for the Turkey), Stephen Eze (Lokomotiv (New York Red Bulls/USA), Luis Portugal will face Spain, 2018 World Cup was released. Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Ovalle (Olimpia/HON), Francisco Morocco and Iran in Group B. Nigeria are the only one of Af- Midfielders: Palacios (San Francisco/USA), PORTUGAL SQUAD: rica’s five representatives from (Tianjin Teda, China), Ogenyi Richard Peralta (Alliance), Torres Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes the last World Cup to return for Onazi (Trabzonspor FC, Turkey), Roman (Seattle Sounders/USA) (Lyon/FRA), Beto Goztepe/TUR), the 2018 edition. (Leicester City, Eng- Midfielders: Ricardo Avila Rui Patricio (Sporting) The team representing land), Oghenekaro Etebo (UD Las (Ghent/BEL), Edgar Barcenas Defenders: Antunes (Getafe/ Africa’s most populous nation Palmas, Spain), (Hapoel (Cafetaleros de Tapachula/MEX), ESP), Bruno Alves (Rangers/SCO), will be looking to improve on Be’er Sheva, Israel), Uche Agbo (Municipal/ Cedric Soares (Southampton/ their progression to the last 16 (Standard Liege, Belgium), Joel GUA), (San Mar- ENG), Joao Cancelo (/ in Brazil but the side have been Obi (Torino FC, Italy), Mikel Agu tin/PER), Adalberto Carrasquilla ITA), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang/ drawn in one of the toughest (Bursaspor FC, Turkey). (Taurus), (Uni- CHN), Luis Neto (Fenerbahce/ groups in what will be their fifth Forwards: (CSKA versidad de Chile/CHI), Anibal TUR), Mario Rui (Napoli/ITA), World Cup appearance. Moscow, Russia), Kelechi Iheana- Godoy (/ Nelson Semedo (Barcelona/ESP), Chelsea wingback Victor cho (Leicester City, England), Mo- USA), Gabriel Gomez (Atletico Pepe (Besiktas/TUR), Raphael Moses was Nigeria’s top scorer ses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium), Bucaramanga/COL), Jose Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund/ in the qualifying campaign (Chelsea FC, Eng- Gonzalez (Union Comercio/ GER), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), with three goals, while Mikel, land), (Changchun PER), Cristian Martinez (Co- Rolando (Marseille/FRA), Ruben , and Yatai, China), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal lumbus Crew/USA), Valentin Pi- Dias (Benfica). weighed in FC, England), Nwankwo Simeon mentel (Plaza Amador), Alberto Midfielders: Adrien Silva with two goals apiece. (Crotone FC, Italy), Junior Lokosa Quintero (Universite/PER), Jose (Leicester City/ENG), Andre Nigeria have been drawn in (Kano Pillars). Luis Rodriguez (Ghent/BEL) Gomes (Barcelona/ESP), Bruno Group D in Russia, alongside Forwards: (Liga Fernandes (Sporting), Joao Mario , Iceland and Croatia, PANAMA LOOK TO YOUTH Deportiva Alajuelense/CRC), (West Ham/ENG), Joao Moutinho who they open their tourna- AND EXPERIENCE (Chor- (Monaco/FRA), Manuel Fernandes ment against in Kaliningrad on Panama coach Hernan Dario rillo), Ismael Diaz (Deportivo Goalkeeper (left) and midfielder Jack Wilshere are not part of ’s England squad (Lokomotiv Moscow/RUS), Ruben June 16. Gomez is expected to rely on La Coruna/ESP), Jose Fajardo for this summer’s World Cup in Russia. Neves (Wolverhampton/ENG), Nigeria Squad: a mix of youth and experience (Club Atletico Independiente), Sergio Oliveira (Porto), William Goalkeepers: at the World Cup this summer (Mineros de By Dominic Fifield and considered the 31-year-old his remains uncapped, is the likeli- Carvalho (Sporting) (Enyimba FC), (De- after unveiling a pre-selection Zacatecas/MEX), Blas Perez Daniel Taylor fi rst choice for much of his ten- est to replace Hart in the 23-man Forwards: Andre Silva (AC Milan/ portivo La Coruna, Spain), Daniel squad of 35 players on Monday. (Municipal/GUA), The Guardian ure. Hart won his 75th and most squad, which Southgate will ITA), Bernardo Silva (Manchester Akpeyi (Chippa United, South In Group G Panama will meet (Sport Boys/PER), Gabriel recent cap against Brazil in No- reveal today. Delph’s inclusion City/ENG), Cristiano Ronaldo Africa), Dele Ajiboye (Plateau Belgium, England and Tunisia. Torres (Huachipato/CHI). vember but and follows a season in which he has ack Wilshere and Joe Hart started the friend- been successfully remodelled as have been omitted from lies in March and have usurped a left-back at City by Pep Guar- England’s squad for this him in the pecking order. diola. The 28-year-old has been BOTTOMLINE summer’s World Cup but The suggestion had been Hart more naturally a central mid- thereJ is a place in Gareth South- would still travel to the World Cup fi elder and brings versatility to gate’s selection for . as an experienced third-choice Southgate’s squad. Wilshere has missed out after – only and Jermain The Burnley defender James Australia axe Maclaren, Cahill included being called up for the friendlies Defoe of Southgate’s recent se- Tarkowski, who has one cap, is against Italy and the Netherlands lections have more than 50 caps, understood to be on the standby AFP Hibs in their 5-5 draw with Rangers. Defenders: (Bursaspor/TUR), Milos in March only to withdraw be- with neither expected to make the list. Southgate is expected to se- It leaves Cahill and Swiss-based Tomi Degenek (Yokohama Marinos/JPN), Mat- cause of injury. cut for Russia – and would have lect Phil Jones, and Juric as the two recognised strikers in the thew Jurman (Suwon Bluewings/KOR), Fran The Arsenal midfi elder, who been willing to fulfi l that role, but as centre-backs, squad, although the highly-rated and un- Karacic (NK Lokomotiva/CRO), has not played for his country his toils at club level appear to with and ustralian football chiefs were capped kept his place. The (Millwall/ENG), (Western Sydney since Euro 2016, started only have counted against him. also capable of playing there. forced to deny yesterday that announcement came as Cahill was unveiled Wanderers/AUS), (Grasshopper 12 Premier League games in the He has endured an indiff erent veteran was in the as the face of the Socceroos’ key sponsor Club Zurich/SWI) season just fi nished and a his- spell on-loan at West Ham this ENGLAND’S LIKELY SQUAD country’s World Cup squad for Caltex’s new advertising campaign. Midfielders: (Sydney FC/AUS), torically fragile body may have season, losing his place towards Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jack commercialA reasons after in-form Hiber- It will see fi ve of the company’s petrol counted against him given the the end of November to Adrián (Hull City/ENG), Butland, Nice Pope. nian striker was axed. The stations in major cities rebadged Cahilltex (Aston Villa/ENG), (VfL Bochum/ demands of a tournament. and starting only 19 league games Defenders: Kieran Trippier, Kyle 38-year-old is the Socceroos’ most prolifi c throughout May and June, featuring large GER), (Queens Park Rangers/ In leaving out Hart, Southgate in total. He regained his place Walker, John Stones, Phil Jones, scorer with 50 goals, hitting the net at three pictures of Australia’s best-known player. ENG), (Al Ahli/KSA), has chosen to ignore his most after a 4-1 defeat at Swansea in Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, Ashley previous World Cups. His record speaks for Football Federation Australia chief David (Huddersfield Town/ENG), (Celtic/ experienced player. The Man- March, but there were subse- Young. itself, but he has only been a bit player for Gallop denied there was any commercial ra- SCO), ( Victory/AUS) chester City goalkeeper, who quent high-profi le errors against Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Millwall since returning to south London tionale behind Cahill inclusion. Forwards: Daniel Arzani (Melbourne City/ has spent the season on loan at Burnley and Stoke. His last ap- Henderson, Fabian Delph, Jake in January. Despite this, he made the cut as AUSTRALIA 26-MAN WORLD CUP SQUAD AUS), Tim Cahill (Millwall/ENG), (FC West Ham, was told on Monday pearance was a 4-1 defeat at Ar- Livermore, Adam Lallana, Ruben coach trimmed his squad (TO BE CUT TO FINAL 23 BY JUNE 3): Luzern/SWI), (Hertha BSC/GER), in a phone-call from the Eng- senal on 22 April. Loftus-Cheek, , Raheem to 26 players from 32 yesterday, with Ma- Goalkeepers: (Feyenoord/NED), (Urawa Red Diamonds/JPN), land manager that he would not Burnley’s , who was Sterling, . claren’s omission the most controversial, (Brighton/ENG), Daniel Vukovic (Newcastle Jets/AUS), Nikita be travelling to a fi fth major fi - called up for the games against Forwards: , , having scored a hat-trick at the weekend for (Genk/BEL) Rukavytsya (Maccabi Haifa/ISR) nals despite Southgate having the Netherlands and Italy but , Gulf Times Wednesday, May 16, 2018 3 FOOTBALL

EUROPA LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT New Italy coach Atletico bid to erase Mancini vows to restore pride AFP His fi rst match in charge will be a pain of fi nals past in friendly on May 28 against Saudi Florence, Italy Arabia in Switzerland. Mancini said there would be ew Italy coach Roberto “room for everyone” in his squad Mancini yesterday said and that he planned to recall in- he wanted to restore form Nice striker Mario Balotelli, pride in the national whom he coached at Inter and Marseille showdown Nside six months after their shock Manchester City. Balotelli has failure to qualify for the World not played for his country since Cup. “Not going to the World the 2014 World Cup. Atletico are looking to win the Europa League for the third time in nine seasons Cup is diffi cult for those who, “Even in diffi cult times, Italy like us, have always been cheer- can boast of having players of AFP down the years, as have Marseille. ing for the national team,” Man- great quality. I will certainly Lyon The French club have previously cini told a press conference at the also speak with Balotelli,” said appeared in four, losing three, the national training centre at Cov- Mancini. “He’s a player that we exception being their victory over erciano, near Florence. want to see at the level he had fter painful defeats in re- AC Milan in the inaugural Cham- “I feel the need to do some- during the Euro (2012 when Italy cent continental fi nals, pions League fi nal in 1993. thing for the national team and reached the fi nal).” ’s Atletico Rudi Garcia’s team were not ex- think it’s the right time for me. He also said he would talk to Madrid are determined to pected to make it this far, having I want to build something for recently retired Italy great And- justifyA their status as favourites in started their European campaign in the years to come and bring Italy rea Pirlo about joining his coach- today’s Europa League showpiece the qualifying rounds last July. But back to the top.” ing setup. In Mancini, Italy have against Marseille in Lyon. Atletico after rousing wins over RB Leipzig Italy have been without a a coach with a solid track record lost in extra time to Real Madrid in the last eight and Salzburg in the permanent coach since Gian as a title-winner, with 13 tro- in the Champions League fi nal of semi-fi nals, OM and their passion- Piero Ventura was sacked after phies in club football. He led 2014, having been seconds away ate fans are now dreaming of glory the four-time world champions Manchester City to their fi rst from victory in 90 minutes, and on home soil. “Those who won failed to qualify for the World English league title in 44 years then lost on penalties to their city the Champions League in 1993 are Cup for the fi rst time since 1958. in 2012, and won three rivals in the fi nal of the same com- still heroes because nobody else Former Manchester City and In- crowns with Inter. petition two years later. has done it since,” Dimitri Payet ter Milan coach Mancini signed He also won the Italian Cup An exit from this season’s said. “We know how tough it is. Of a two-year deal on Monday after with Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio. Champions League in the group course, that’s an added source of severing his lucrative contract Since leaving England in 2013, stage came as a big surprise for a motivation, and if we do win the fi - with Russians Zenit Saint Pe- Mancini coached Galatasaray, formidable side spearheaded by nal, our names will be written into tersburg. whom he lead to a Turkish Cup Antoine Griezmann in attack, but the club’s history books forever.” The contract, reportedly success, and returned to Inter they have put that behind them Marseille are also battling for worth two million euros ($2.3mn) before joining Zenit last June. to close on glory in Europe’s less a top-three fi nish in the French a year, will see Mancini lead Ita- But this will be his fi rst inter- prestigious competition. league, and the fear is that fatigue ly’s bid to qualify for Euro 2020. national coaching job. “I don’t Atletico are looking to win the will be a factor as they try to break If successful, it will be automati- know if this will be my most dif- Europa League for the third time in down Atletico’s brilliant defence. cally extended until June 2022, fi cult challenge, if you coach a nine seasons, after triumphing in “They are a big club, a super team ahead of the World Cup in . club and you don’t win everyone 2010 and again in 2012, shortly af- with great players and a great The Italian federation had is angry with you, here there are ter ‘Cholo’ Simeone was appointed coach. They are used to playing in been looking for a prestigious 50mn people. That’s beautiful coach. “We can’t wait for the fi - big European matches. They are coach to rebuild an Azzurri side too, though, because if you win nal to come around,” full-back clear favourites but we will do eve- decimated after their play-off something important there’s Juanfran said as Atletico target a rything to create a surprise,” wing- defeat to Sweden in the San Siro huge satisfaction. It’s not an easy fi rst trophy since 2014, when they er Florian Thauvin said. last November. Mancini will challenge, but nothing is easy.” won . “With ‘Cholo’ lots of Payet is “optimistic” he will give up a reported 13mn euros in Mancini, a former Lazio and things have changed at Atletico. shake off a minor muscle problem wages over the two remaining Sampdoria forward, never be- Everything we have experienced to feature in today’s game, where years on his Zenit contract to do came a regular during a love- in these last few years we will re- Marseille will hope to have a big national service. hate relationship with Italy over member forever. I hope we can get support behind them. Only around “Mancini gave up signifi cant a 10-year international career another little medal.” 11,500 of their fans will offi cially be fi nancial opportunities to do so. that gleaned just four goals in 36 It would be a fi rst, and possibly in attendance, however, but several This is testimony to his complete caps. He reached the semi-fi nals last major medal as an Atletico thousand more should make the determination and desire to take of Euro 1988, and was in the player for Griezmann, who was three-hour trip to Lyon. on this job,” said Italian FA com- squad that fi nished third in the raised not far from Lyon but has Authorities are preparing for the missioner Roberto Fabbricini. 1990 World Cup on home soil. spent his whole career in Spain. threat of trouble, with a big rivalry The 27-year-old forward joined developing in recent years between Atletico from Real Sociedad on the Marseille and Lyon. Since reach- back of their title success in 2014, ing the fi nal, Marseille fans have but could soon be on his way to taunted Lyon and their outspoken Barcelona. Griezmann and Diego president Jean-Michel Aulas with Costa will lead Simeone’s attack as chants of: “We’re going to smash Atletico return to Lyon, where they up your house”. lost 3-0 to Dynamo Kiev in the fi - There will be 1,250 police offi c- nal of the now defunct Cup Win- ers deployed in the city and around ners’ Cup in 1986. the Groupama Stadium, where to- Atletico have had plenty of day’s match will start at 8:45pm Atletico Madrid’s Thomas (centre) trains with his teammates during a training session at the heartbreak in European fi nals (1845 GMT). Parc OL stadium in Decines-Charpieu, France, yesterday. (AFP)

No Ibrahimovic, no surprise as Sweden name World Cup squad

Stockholm: Sweden coach Janne RUS), Victor Nilsson Lindelof, (Manchester timely boost yesterday as Cristiano Ro- sorted out, we’re weighing everything up Andersson named a 23-man World Cup United/ENG), (Celtic/SCO), naldo took part in training after a lay off and will pick which one we decide is the squad yesterday that dashed the faint (Werder Bremen/ for a twisted ankle. Carvajal had a thigh best option.” hopes of fans expecting to see Zlatan GER), (Leeds/ENG), Emil strain while Ronaldo was hurt in a clatter- The Spanish midfielder added: “Next Ibrahimovic feature at Russia 2018. Swe- Krafth (Bologna/ITA), (Bolo- ing challenge in the 2-2 draw with Barce- week, when everything is over, we’ll de- den beat Italy in the World Cup play-off s gna/ITA), (Swansea/ENG). lona May 6. Madrid take on Liverpool on cide. Then, there’s the World Cup, I want last November, sparking speculation that Midfielders: (Hull/ENG), Saturday May 26 in Kiev chasing a third to get this resolved so that I can focus. former Juventus, AC Milan, Barcelona (Seattle Sounders FC/ consecutive Champions League title. “One option is more advanced than the and Manchester United striker Ibrahi- USA), (Hamburg/GER), Emil other...” movic would come out of international Forsberg (RB Leipzig/GER), POST BARCA, INIESTA TO DECIDE Last week both China’s Chongqing retirement. (Krasnodar/RUS), (Toulouse/ BETWEEN CHINA OR JAPAN Lifan and Japan’s Vissel Kobe, owned by Two weeks ago the 6ft 4ins (1.95m) FRA), Marcus Rohden (Crotone/ITA), Oscar Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta says he Barca sponsors Rakuten, denied making striker, who quit the national squad in Hiljemark (Genoa/ITA) will decide “next week” whether to con- big money moves for the Spanish star. 2016 and is now playing for Los Angeles Forwards: (Al Ain/UAE), John tinue his decorated career in either China Iniesta’s comments appear to rule out a Galaxy in Major Soccer League, said Guidetti (Alaves/ESP), Isaac Kiese-Thelin or Japan. The 34-year-old Barca icon is move to Australia’s A-League which had he would not change his mind on the (Waslan Beeveren/BEL), bringing the curtain down on his two- been suggested as his preferred destina- matter. (Toulouse/FRA) decade stay with the Spanish champions, tion by Spain’s Sport website. SWEDEN SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Robin with his last game for the club he joined Iniesta announced in April his inten- Olsen (FC Copenhagen/DEN), Kristoff er Nor- RONALDO AND CARVAJAL at the age of 12 coming on Sunday. tion to leave Barcelona at the end of the dfeldt (Swansea/ENG), Karl-Johan Johnsson BACK IN REAL TRAINING “There are two scenarios, China or season — Sunday’s finale at the Camp (Guingamp/FRA). Ten days ahead of the Champions Japan, and each has its advantages,” he Nou against Real Sociedad promises to Defenders: (Krasnodar/ League final, Real Madrid received a said. “There are some minor details to be be an emotionally-charged aff air. Italy’s newly-appointed head coach Roberto Mancini holds team's jersey during a press conference in Florence yesterday. (AFP)

ROUND-UP Teen wonder Sessegnon inspires Fulham to playoff fi nal eenage sensation Ryan Sesse- For Fulham — bidding to regain their ter United earlier this month secured according to widespread reports in without fi re. We’ll wait and see when between 3,000 and 10,000 square gnon scored once and created Premier League status after a hiatus of survival as they fi nished 15th. England yesterday. we meet up.” metres, will be built by Spanish leisure another as Fulham edged closer four seasons — it is an historic moment “I’m delighted to have extended my reported the 63-year-old Allardyce was hired after a dismal park group Parques Reunidos in shop- to a Premier League return on as it was is the fi rst time they have won time with the club, and I would like will be informed at a meeting with start to the season under Ronald Koe- ping malls and “iconic establishments” TMonday night with a 2-0 win over Der- in eight play-off matches. “We showed to thank the chairman, the board, my majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri man saw Everton fearing a relegation in major cities, with the fi rst parks by County in their Championship play- a lot of bottle today,” Sessegnon said. staff and everyone at the club, includ- as early as today that his services are battle. Former Watford and Hull City being opened in 2020. off . Thanks to a 2-1 aggregate victory, “Credit to the lads, we pushed and ing our fans, for the support we’ve had no longer required as Moshiri reacts manager Marco Silva is the favourite to The move is the latest step in the ‘Cottagers’ will now play the win- pushed and should have scored in the in achieving our aims,” Hughton said in to fans’ growing discontent with the take over and could complete the move Barca’s global expansion, which has ners of late last night’s clash between fi rst half. Thankfully I got the goal and a club statement on Tuesday. former England manager. to Goodison Park six months after seen the club already open offi ces in Aston Villa and Middlesbrough with it changed the game. The second put “Our second season will be tougher, Allardyce’s rudimentary style of play the club failed to prise him away from Hong Kong and New York and discuss the former leading 1-0 after the fi rst leg pressure on them. We believe in our and we will need that spirit of togeth- has proved deeply unpopular despite Vicarage Road. plans to launch offi ces in China and at Wembley on May 26. style of play.” erness to help us continue to progress lifting the Toff ees from 13th in the Pre- South America. The club also has an English wingback Sessegnon, 17 — — but once we’ve had a well-earned mier League when he was appointed in BARCA REVEAL PLANS FOR extensive set of football schools in the whose performances have attracted HUGHTON AGREES THREE-YEAR break and refl ected on the season November to fi nish eighth. THEME PARKS IN US AND ASIA and Canada and will hold the attention of Manchester United, DEAL TO REMAIN BRIGHTON BOSS just gone, we will begin planning for Despite signing an 18-month deal, Former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique their pre-season tour in the US for a Tottenham Hotspur and French cham- Brighton manager Chris Hughton 2018/19.” Allardyce seemed resigned to his fate once likened the club to Disneyland second year running, playing friendlies pions Paris Saint-Germain — brought has been rewarded for keeping the after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at former and yesterday the La Liga champions against Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma the tie level two minutes into the Seagulls in the Premier League with a ALLARDYCE SET FOR AXE AS club West Ham, during which Everton announced plans to open their own and AC Milan. second-half with his 16th goal of the new three-year contract. Hughton, 59, EVERTON MANAGER: REPORTS supporters called for his sacking. “I amusement parks in Asia and the Last year, Barca’s all-time top scorer season, before his corner was headed guided Brighton back to the top fl ight Sam Allardyce’s reign as Everton can’t quite say confi dent after all the United States in a bid to further boost and talisman Lionel Messi announced home by centre-back Denis Odoi in the for the fi rst time in 34 years last season, manager is set to end after less than six rumours I’m reading in the paper,” said their global brand. plans to open a theme park in Nanjing, 66th minute. and a famous 1-0 win over Manches- months in charge at Goodison Park, Allardyce. “Generally there’s no smoke The fi ve parks, which will be China in 2020. Gulf Times 4 Wednesday, May 16, 2018 SPORT

NBA NHL Fleury fi nds his ruthless streak to Warriors trounce slow down Jets

Reuters Winnipeg, Canada

arc-Andre Fleury quickly gained revenge on the Win- Rockets in playoff nipeg fans who had mercilessly taunted the Vegas Golden Knights netminder on Saturday when the Jets pumped three goals past him in the opening minutes Mof the NHL Western Conference fi nals. Fleury took the barbs and a 4-2 loss with good humour but re- placed the smiles with his game face on Monday as he delivered a stellar 30-save performance to backstop the Golden Knights to a 3-1 victory to send series back to Las Vegas level at 1-1. series opener “I expected that they (would) come out fl ying again,” said Fleury, refusing to gloat. “Everybody steps up at some point and ‘We’re not going to relax. We’re still not where we want to be. We still have a long way to go’ everybody is contributing to the success of our team. That’s why we’ve been consistent in the season and the playoff s.” AFP A triple Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington it was always going to take more than chants of “Fleurrrry, Fleurrrry” no matter how loud to rattle the ice cool French-Ca- nadian. eason wins leader Hou- Fleury’s sparkling play during the fi rst two round of the post- ston battled an en- season that featured series wins over the Los Angeles Kings and tire campaign to seize San Jose Sharks put him fi rmly in the Conn Smythe trophy dis- a home-court edge cussion as the playoff s most valuable player. throughoutS the NBA playoff s, Monday’s eff ort in Game Two of the best-of-seven series will but defending champion Golden have only enhanced his claims. State stole it away with a 119- His.951 save percentage coming into the West Finals was the 106 victory on Monday. best in NHL history for a goalie with at least 10 playoff starts but Kevin Durant scored 37 points he has also surrendered three or more goals in fi ve of his last six and Klay Thompson added 28 for contests. the Warriors to capture the best- Despite the Game One wobble, Fleury remains key to Vegas’ of seven Western Conference hopes of capping a remarkable debut campaign by becoming fi nal opener in a rare series start the fi rst expansion team in a major North American professional on the road for a team seeking its league to claim a championship on their fi rst attempt. third NBA crown in four seasons. As they did in Game One, the Jets came out fi ring on all cyl- “We’re just trying to win every inders but Fleury withstood the barrage while Tomas Tatar and game we play,” Warriors forward Jonathan Marchessault each counted to give the Golden Knights Draymond Green said. “It ends a 2-0 fi rst period lead. up being ‘stealing home court’ “They came out pretty hard and Fleury had to make three or but we don’t look at it that way. four real good save the fi rst seven or eight minutes,” Vegas coach We won one game on the road. Gerard Gallant said. “We rebounded after that and got that 2-0 Let’s try to win two.” lead and it was a diff erent game.” Stephen Curry added 18 Fleury would not surrender a goal until midway through the points, six rebounds and eight fi nal period when Kyle Connor, parked at the side of net, rifl ed a assists while Green contributed shot that somehow found its way between the netminder’s pads, nine rebounds and nine assists sparking a roar from the Winnipeg crowd. for the Warriors. The buzz, however, lasted just 88 seconds before Marchessault “It’s a great start. We played collected his second goal of the game with a nifty backhand over well,” said Thompson, who Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. “We’re not going to relax. We’re still not where we want to be. We still have a long way to go.” NBA scoring champion James Harden netted 41 points to lead the Rockets, who host game two on Wednesday. “We’ve got to do a better job of taking better shots, not turn- ing the ball over and getting back on D,” Harden said. “We’ve got to make them rotate and take tougher shots. They do a really good job if you take bad shots or turn the ball over. That’s what they thrive on. Those mistakes can’t happen.” Durant scored 17 fi rst-half points and sparked Golden State Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (centre) shoots over Houston Rockets guard James Harden and forward PJ Tucker (right) during after the Rockets played aggres- the fourth quarter in game one of the Western Conference finals of the 2018 NBA playoff s at Toyota Centre. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports sively at the start, using two big runs to jump ahead only to have guys off we have to get a better take they made us pay,” Paul “This Houston team never against them mentally,” D’Antoni the Warriors overtake them by mental focus,” D’Antoni said. said. “Some of it was break- stops. They are always in the said. “They are champions for a the middle of the second quarter. “We ran out of gas a little bit in downs, things we can clean up game with 3-point shots. We reason. If we want to beat them “You know they are going to diff erent spots and they didn’t. and do better. We have to com- play a calm steady game, look we have to be mentally sharp. come out with a lot of energy,” “It’s just a bunch of stuff municate better.” for a good shot and play good D “KD was on. We can live with Durant said. we can clean up and we will. Durant says the Warriors every time down.” that. But we can’t have that and “We just tried to take their We’ll come out and attack them know Harden will always be a mental mistakes.” best punch and keep fi ghting. Wednesday.” threat but Golden State must Staying mentally sharp The Rockets jumped ahead To withstand that run says a lot remain poised against a Rockets Thompson had a 3-pointer 9-2 and 21-12 but the Warriors about our team,” Green said. ‘They made us pay’ lineup that can unleash a bar- and two free throws in a 10-2 battled back, taking their fi rst “The further you get along in the Chris Paul had 23 points and rage of 3-pointers if their focus Warriors run that Durant capped lead of the game at 35-33 on playoff s, the more intensity you 11 rebounds for the Rockets, lapses. with a 3-pointer for a 100-87 David West’s layup 2:57 into the need to bring.” who fell behind in the third pe- “We know James is always go- lead with 7:58 remaining in the second quarter. Vegas Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury (left) and Ryan Reaves Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni riod and couldn’t catch up in the ing to score over us. We just had fourth quarter. Houston never “They took the challenge and celebrate their win over Winnipeg Jets in game two of the Western knows that all too well. fourth. to keep solid and keep playing threatened again. played awfully well,” Warriors Conference Finals during the NHL Stanley Cup playoff s at Bell MTS “If we’re going to knock these “Every time we made a mis- hard,” Durant said. “We can do a little better job coach Steve Kerr said. Place in Winnipeg, Canada. (Getty Images/AFP)

MLB Manaea and Athletics down Red Sox again Reuters RBIs and both J.D. Martinez (2- enth. Davis smacked his team- Boston for-4) and Rafael Devers added leading 12th homer in the eighth solo home runs for the Red Sox, to make it 6-4. who had their two-game win- Martinez’s solo blast into the ean Manaea didn’t have ning streak snapped. Red Sox’s bullpen in the bot- no-hit stuff this time Boston starter Rick Porcello tom of the inning again made it around against the Bos- (5-1) allowed fi ve runs on nine a one-run game. ton Red Sox, but he hits and no walks over six in- Oakland closer Blake Treinen pitchedS well enough to lead the nings. He struck out fi ve. pitched a perfect ninth for his Oakland Athletics to another Joyce’s solo homer of approxi- seventh save. victory on Monday night. mately 416 feet to right fi eld in Before the game, Boston add- Manaea gave up four runs the third inning put Oakland ed pitcher Steven Wright to the (three earned) while striking ahead 1-0. major league roster and placed out four over six innings to help Boston answered with two pitcher Hector Velazquez (lower visiting Oakland snap a two- runs in the bottom of the third. back strain) on the 10-day disa- game skid with a 6-5 win against Andrew Benintendi’s infi eld bled list. Boston in the opener of a three- single tied the game, and Rami- Wright had been serving a 15- game series. rez followed with an RBI single. game suspension for violating Manaea (5-4) pitched the fi rst Lucroy put the A’s back in con- MLB’s domestic-abuse policy. no-hitter against the Red Sox in trol with his two-run single in Oakland right-hander Daniel 25 years in his last start against the fourth. Fowler proceeded Mengden (2-4, 4.06 ERA) op- them at home on April 21, strik- to knock a standup RBI triple to poses Boston lefty Eduardo Ro- ing out 10 batters in a 3-0 vic- make it 4-2. driguez (3-0, 4.58) on Tuesday. tory. Oakland won two of three Ramirez made it a one-run games in the series. game with an RBI on his fi elder’s RESULTS Matt Joyce (2-for-4), Matt Ol- choice grounder in the fi fth, but Tigers 6 Indians 3 son (2-for-4) and Khris Davis (2- Olson clocked a solo blast an es- Mariners 1 Twins` 0 for-4) each slugged solo homers, timated 418 feet to right in the Rays 2 Royals 1 Jonathan Lucroy drove in two sixth to give Oakland a 5-3 ad- A’s 6 Red Sox 5 runs and Dustin Fowler had an vantage. Braves 6 Cubs 5 Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sean Manaea RBI. Devers clubbed an estimated Brewers 7 Diamondbacks 2 pitches against the Boston Red Sox during fi rst The Athletics had dropped fi ve 373-foot solo blast over the Angels 2 Astros 1 inning of their MLB game at Fenway Park. of their previous six games. Green Monster in left to bring Rockies 6 Padres 4 PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports Hanley Ramirez had a pair of Boston within a run in the sev- Giants 10 Reds 7 Gulf Times Wednesday, May 16, 2018 5 CRICKET

SELECTION 19 years on, Bangladesh bury hatchet with former coach Greenidge

Bangladesh have finally buried the hatchet with West Indies batting great Gordon Green- idge – nearly two decades after England recall Buttler unceremoniously sacking him as head coach in the middle of the 1999 World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board hosted a reception for Greenidge late Monday in Dhaka, reuniting the coach with his former players and the executives who dumped for fi rst Pakistan Test him. Greenidge led Bangladesh to the ‘Jos is playing with great confidence and flair, and he will bring unique qualities to the Test team’ ICC Trophy title in Malaysia in 1997, and also steered the cricket minnows to their first World Cup. Buttler has not played a Test since being dropped aft er He was awarded honorary citizen- the tour of India 18 months ago, since which time he has ship of Bangladesh in recognition almost exclusively played white-ball cricket. of his achievements. But his relationship with cricket off icials soured after he opposed Bangladesh’s bid for Test status, a move he considered premature. Greenidge, who was sacked as Bangladesh prepared to play Pakistan in a World Cup fixture in England in 1999, had returned to Bangladesh just once since his sudden exit – until Monday’s function. “The parting was disappointing. I would have liked to spend more time with Bangladesh cricket, but it wasn’t to be. I have no ills. But these things happen,” Greenidge told reporters at the reception. Members of the squad he steered to victory in the ICC Trophy swapped stories with their old coach at the function. Greenidge said he hoped the frostiness was resigned to the past. “I cherish all my memories here in Bangladesh. Now that we have met again, I sincerely hope that we can renew that relation- ship, and continue where we left off ,” he said.In a goodwill gesture, Bangladesh cricket off icials donated 500,000 taka ($6,100) to a school Greenidge founded in his native Barbados. Greenidge played 108 Tests and 113 one day internationals and was known as one of the most destructive batsmen of his time.

India’s Manohar re-elected as ICC chairman India’s Shashank Manohar has been re-elected chairman of the International Cricket Council for AFP fi rst of a two-Test series against Paki- pion County match against Essex in another two years, the sport’s London stan purely as a batsman. March where he took eight in ECB targeting younger fans with world governing body said yes- , who succeeded But- the match and scored a century in a terday. Manohar, who became the tler as England’s Test keeper, has re- victory over the county Champions in new 100-ball competition ICC’s first independent chairman ngland recalled batsman Jos tained his place behind the stumps Barbados. in 2016, was elected unopposed Buttler in a 12-man squad an- having become a mainstay of skipper An injury to Somerset team-mate The English and Wales Cricket our existing products so we for a second term after a tenure nounced yesterday for the fi rst ’s side with both bat and gloves. has paved the way for Bess’s Board’s (ECB) proposal for a new know there is a gap in the market- marked by broad reforms. Test against Pakistan at Lord’s Buttler is currently playing for the inclusion as the lone specialist spin- 100-ball competition was created to place and we know that, when we He was the sole nominee for the onE May 24. in the Indi- ner in a squad after England decided attract younger people to the sport, get that product right, it will attract a position. As chairman he spear- In the fi rst England squad since an Premier League, where his last three against recalling Moeen Ali. according to the organisation’s chair- new audience... “ headed eff orts to restructure the former Test batsman Ed Smith took scores have been 95, 94 and 81. “Dom Bess has made an excellent man Colin Graves. Despite the new array of formats ICC to curb the dominance of over as national selector, Somerset off - start to his fi rst-class career,” said Last month, the ECB unanimously that the ECB is testing, Graves cricket’s three wealthiest nations, spinner Dom Bess was given a fi rst call- ‘Outstanding talent’ Smith. backed a proposal to add an eight- emphasised that existing fans of Australia, India and England. up. But he has not played fi rst-class “With Jack Leach missing out due team tournament to their domestic traditional forms would not be taken The 60-year-old former head of But, after England’s tour series losses cricket for Lancashire, his English to injury, the selection panel wanted schedule from 2020. The shorter for granted, pointing out that the Indian board successfully in Australia and New Zealand, top-or- county, since the end of last season. to invest opportunity in a young spin matches will see each side face 15 the governing body’s investment revised the ICC’s governance and der batsman James Vince was dropped “ is an outstanding talent, bowler. six-ball overs, culminating in a final in county and international cricket. pushed for the appointment of its after a run of low scores at Test level who is already a central part of Eng- “Dom’s strong form, character and 10 deliveries. Graves believes that The 70-year-old also said that he was first independent female director. despite the Hampshire batsman mak- land’s white ball teams,” said Smith in all-round abilities presented a compel- ECB’s recent experimentation of new disappointed by the reaction to the “Over the next two years we can ing an unbeaten 201 against Somerset an England and Wales Cricket Board ling case for selection.” formats is due to traditional cricket new proposal but understood that look forward to launching a global on Monday. statement. not enticing younger audiences. the adverse reception was due to strategy for the sport in partner- Buttler, widely regarded as one of “The selection panel feels that this England 12-man squad to play Paki- “It’s a challenge but every county the uncertainty surrounding the ship with our members so we can the most talented English batsmen of is the perfect moment to reintroduce stan in the first Test at Lord’s, May chairman – and I mean every county event. grow the game and ensure more his generation, last played Jos to Test cricket, where he has al- 24-28: chairman - has told me that they are “The reaction (to the new tourna- of the world can enjoy cricket,” when he batted down the order. ready enjoyed some success, including Joe Root (Yorkshire, capt), James behind the new tournament. They ment) was disappointing, but to be Manohar said in an ICC statement. The 27-year-old has had a frustrat- a stint playing as a specialist batsman Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow can see why we are doing it,” Graves expected because a lot of it is in its “The sport is in good health but ing 18-match career in Test cricket, at number seven. (Yorkshire, wkt), Dom Bess (Somerset), told the Times. infancy,” he added. we are the guardians of the game with his last appearance in the format “Jos is playing with great confi dence Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos “What we do know is the kind of au- “It’s only a concept, there’s a lot of and we must continue to work against India at Chennai in December and fl air, and he will bring unique qual- Buttler (Lancashire), Alastair Cook dience that we are not getting. We’re work to do with it and, when we hard to maintain that.” Manohar 2016. ities to the Test team.” (Essex), (Middlesex),Ben after kids and the next generation, do that work and put it out to the resigned from the post last year Having made an impact at interna- Bess, 20, has played just 16 fi rst-class Stokes (Durham), the families. public and players, they will see it in but was persuaded by the ICC tional level as a -keeper/bats- matches. (Surrey), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), “We are not getting them to watch a diff erent light...” board to retake the helm. man, Buttler has been selected for the But he starred for MCC in the Cham- Mark Wood (Durham)

SPOTLIGHT Mark Waugh steps down as Australian selector AFP Waugh, who played 128 Tests and Along with former coach Darren Le- Sydney 244 one-dayers for Australia, has been hmann – who sat beside him on a two- a selector since 2014, focusing mostly man selection panel – he blooded a on but also providing input number of players in Australian colours ustralian cricket great Mark on the one-day international and Test during last year’s T20 tri-series win over Waugh yesterday quit as a teams. England and New Zealand. national selector to take up a He leaves to join pay-tv company Fox However both are now gone, with CA television commentary role as Sports, which along with the free-to-air yet to decide whether there will be an- broadcastersA jockey for top talent after a Seven Network won a bidding war last other panel restructure, or if a new face new rights deal was agreed. month for television and digital cricket will sit beside new coach Justin Langer Waugh will not renew his contract rights in Australia in a six-year deal during the preparations for the tourna- when it expires on August 31 but will re- worth almost Aus$1.2 billion (US$918 ment. main on the panel for the upcoming Aus- million). “In recent times, Mark’s in-depth tralian tours of England and Zimbabwe. It ended cricket’s four-decade rela- knowledge of the T20 game and the “Working alongside my fellow selec- tionship with the rival Nine Network and Big Bash League has come to the fore,” tors, the coaching staff and players over also sidelined the CBS-backed Ten Net- CA performance manager Pat Howard the past four years has been a privilege, work, which had previously screened Big said. and I’m proud of the achievements of the Bash League games. “As lead selector in this format, he has Australian teams across all formats in Since then the two broadcasters have identifi ed talent in the Big Bash League this time,” he said. been working to secure top commentary and helped to create a strong Australian “I fi rmly believe Australian cricket has teams. T20 squad, which has risen up to second a wealth of talented players in its ranks Adam Gilchrist has also signed with on the ICC rankings and laid a platform right now, and I look forward to watching Fox along with Allan Border, Mike Hus- for what we hope will be a successful the team continue to go from strength to sey, and England’s Michael Vaughan. World T20 campaign in 2020 on home strength in the years to come.” Shane Warne, Australia’s most sought- soil. No replacement has been announced after commentator, is widely expected to “We’re disappointed to lose Mark, but with his departure, leaving the panel follow suit. wish him all the best in his new role and consisting of Trevor Hohns, Greg Chap- Test legend will lead we are pleased he will still have heavy in- pell and new coach Justin Langer. Seven’s coverage. volvement in the game.” Gulf Times 6 Wednesday, May 16, 2018 CRICKET

DUBLIN TEST PREVIEW face Kings XI Punjab Imam-ul-Haq sees in must-win game

IANS bowl accurately to get rid of Mumbai the likes of the in-form Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle. On the other hand, despite being a umbai Indians place ahead, Punjab lag behind Pakistan to win over will be desperate Mumbai in net run-rate. for a win against The Ravichandran Ashwin- Kings XI Punjab led side, who started their IPL Mto keep their play-off hopes campaign on a rousing note, alive when they square-off in a faltered in the business end crucial of the league, losing fi ve of (IPL) tie at the Wankhede sta- their last six games. Punjab dium yesterday. suff ered their worst defeat of debutants Ireland Just when Mumbai’s dream the season in their last outing of making it to the fi nal four when Royal Challengers Ban- ‘Batting is very diff icult here so a great knock from Imam and Babar’ was on the verge of getting galore hammered them by 10 shattered, the Rohit Sharma- wickets, a game where both AFP led brigade came up with a the batsmen and bowlers suc- Dublin spirited show to register a hat- cumbed before Kohli’s men. trick of wins before faltering Punjab’s batting mostly against Rajasthan Royals in relies on openers Rahul and akistan debutant Imam- their previous game. Gayle as the duo have accu- ul-Haq saw his side to Mumbai have to win both mulated 558 and 350 runs re- victory as Ireland’s fi rst their remaining two matches spectively. The Punjab open- match in Test Cricket to keep their chances alive for ers have been a major reason Pended in a gallant last-day de- advancing to the play-off s. behind their success as the feat by fi ve wickets at Malahide With 10 points, the three- two have handed a perfect yesterday. time champions are placed at start to their side on several Pakistan, set a seemingly the sixth spot in the IPL points occasions in this year’s edi- modest 160 to win after earlier table while their opponents are tion. Karun Nair has been in- making Ireland follow-on, col- a spot ahead with 12 points in consistent with 247 runs so lapsed to 14 for three before lunch their kitty. Mumbai will once far, while veteran Yuvraj Singh on the fi fth day. But 22-year-old again rely on opener Suryaku- and Mayank Agarwal are yet to left-handed opener Imam, the mar Yadav, who has been con- make their presence felt in the nephew of Pakistan selection sistent with the bat, amassing middle-order. chief and former Test batsman 473 runs from 12 innings. Punjab will be relieved by Inzamam-ul-Haq, responded to The other opener Evin the fact that Aaron Finch re- the pressure with 74 – his Lewis also got back his touch turned to form with a 34 & maiden fi fty at this level. in the last match, hitting a 42- 26 during the loss to Kolkata Together with Babar Azam, ball 60. However, Mumbai’s Knight Riders and RCB, re- who made 59 after being dropped middle order failed miserably spectively. on nine, he kept Ireland at bay including skipper Rohit. Bar- In the department, during a fourth-wicket stand of ring his match-winning knock Australian pacer Andrew 126. Imam hit the winning runs against Royal Challengers Tye (20 wickets) and Afghan as grey clouds threatening rain Bangalore, Rohit has failed to teenaged spinner Mujeeb- hung over Malahide. live up to the expectations this ur-Rahman (14 wickets) have Victory was a good way for Pa- season. The Pandya brothers - been brilliant. kistan to prepare for the fi rst of a Hardik and Krunal - will also Pacer Ankit Rajpoot (eight two-Test series against England need to dish out something wickets), off -spinner Ravi- at Lord’s starting on May 24. special if they are to stand any chandran Ashwin (six wick- “Batting is very diffi cult here chance of making it to the fi nal ets) and medium-pacer Mohit so a great knock from Imam and four. In the bowling depart- Sharma (six wickets) need to Babar,” said Pakistan captain Pakistan players celebrate with the trophy after beating Ireland on the final day of Ireland’s debut Test at Malahide cricket club in Dublin yesterday. (AFP) ment, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik raise the bar against Mumbai, Sarfraz Ahmed at the presenta- and left-arm pacer Mitch- after going wicketless against tion ceremony. As for the Eng- SCOREBOARD A crestfallen O’Brien bowed ell McClenaghan will have to Bangalore. land series the wicket-keeper his head in frustration and added: “We need this kind of Pakistan 1st Innings 310-9 dec (Rankin), 10-339 (Kane) dropped his bat as he trudged performance, so in’shallah we Ireland 1st Innings 130 Bowling: Amir 29.2-9-63-3; Abbas 28.3-10-66-5 off the fi eld. But the 34-year- India aims for women’s IPL in three years are ready for that tour.” Ireland 2nd Innings (following-on, overnight: (1nb); Rahat 23-3-75-0 (2w); Faheem 18-3-51-0 (1nb, old had every reason to be proud Ireland captain William Por- 319-7) 1w); Shadab 30.4-7-63-1 of an innings that spanned fi ve India aims to launch a women’s version of its hugely popular terfi eld was proud of his side’s E. Joyce run out (Faheem Ashraf) ...... 43 Pakistan 2nd Innings (target: 160) hours, 44 minutes and saw him Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament in the next second innings resilience, partic- W. Porterfield c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohamed Amir 32 Azhar Ali c Stirling b Murtagh ...... 2 face 217 balls with 12 fours. three years, a senior off icial said yesterday. As part of the ularly after they were dismissed A. Balbirnie lbw b Mohamed Abbas ...... 0 Imam-ul-Haq not out ...... 74 His exit was the start of a build-up, top international women players will take part in a for 130 in their fi rst innings. N. O’Brien b Mohamed Amir ...... 18 Haris Sohail c Joyce b Rankin ...... 7 three-wicket burst from Abbas, Twenty20 game at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium next week. “We had a hell of a lot of good P. Stirling lbw b Mohamed Abbas ...... 11 Asad Shafiq b Murtagh ...... 1 who wrapped up the innings on “We are planning to get a women’s IPL in place in two to three things coming out of the game,” K. O’Brien c Haris Sohail b Mohamed Abbas ...... 118 Babar Azam run out (Balbirnie/Thompson) ...... 59 his way to fi gures of fi ve for 66 years,” Board of Control for Cricket in India administrator Vinod he said. “I couldn’t have asked G. Wilson c Haris Sohail b Mohamed Amir ...... 12 Sarfraz Ahmed lbw b Thompson ...... 8 in 28.3 overs “I think a slightly Rai told AFP. No firm details of the new league have yet been any more of the bowlers, we’d S. Thompson b Shadab Khan ...... 53 Shadab Khan not out ...... 4 better morning for us and we revealed, but pressure for a women’s IPL has been building have liked to have the opportuni- T. Kane b Mohamed Abbas ...... 14 Extras (nb5) ...... 5 could have pushed Pakistan even since India reached the final of the women’s World Cup in Eng- ty to bat that fi rst innings again, B. Rankin b Mohamed Abbas ...... 6 Total (5 wkts, 45 overs, 199 mins) ...... 160 harder,” said O’Brien. land last year. England’s Danni Wyatt, Australian all-rounder but we showed character, and T. Murtagh not out ...... 5 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Azhar), 2-13 (Haris), 3-14 “I struggled the most this Ellyse Perry and New Zealand captain Suzie Bates are some of brought that into our fi rst Test.” Extras (b1, lb20, nb2, w4) ...... 27 (Shafiq), 4-140 (Babar), 5-152 (Sarfraz) morning trying to forget about the names confirmed for the May 22 exhibition game. Just four balls into their chase, Total (all out, 129.3 overs, 579 mins) ...... 339 Bowling: Murtagh 16-3-55-2; Rankin 12-1-57-1 (3nb); yesterday, it was mentally drain- Top Indians including national skipper Mithali Raj, Jhulan Pakistan saw Azhar Ali edge Tim Fall of wickets: 1-69 (Joyce), 2-69 (Balbirnie), 3-94 Thompson 11-4-31-1 (2nb); Kane 6-1-17-0; ing. I just played the situation Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur will compete in an Indian Murtagh to Paul Stirling at fi rst (N O’Brien), 4-95 (Porterfield), 5-127 (Stirling), 6-157 Result: Pakistan won by five wickets where we needed to stick in and team under IPL rules in the exhibition. “The match to be played slip. (Wilson), 7-271 (Thompson), 8-321 (K O’Brien), 9-332 Man-of-the-match: Kevin O’Brien (IRL) dig around. I’m renowned for between a BCCI XI and IPL XI will take place ahead of the first Haris Sohail (seven) fell next, slogging the ball into the stands (men’s IPL) playoff at the Wankhede Stadium,” Rai said. caught in the gully by Ed Joyce but I reined myself in a little bit!” Also signed up are wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy, Megan off towering fast bowler Boyd for one. At that point Ireland Imam, having cover driven a Monday became the fi rst Ireland Ireland’s performance in giv- Schutt and Beth Mooney from Australia, and Kiwi batter Sophie Rankin as Ireland’s two former looked capable of becoming only four off Rankin, completed a 61- batsman to score a Test hundred, ing Pakistan a scare was put into Devine, who holds the record for the fastest half-century in England internationals com- the fourth team in the 141-year ball fi fty with seven boundaries. fell to his fi rst ball on Tuesday contest by the fact only one team women’s T20Is. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said: “Even as the bined. And 13 for two became 14 history of Test Cricket to win But with Pakistan 20 runs shy as Mohammad Abbas had him had ever won their fi rst Test IPL continues to roll like a well-oiled machine, over the last for three in 4.3 overs when Mid- after following on. They needed of victory, a mix-up saw Babar caught by Haris at slip for 118 match – and that was when Aus- couple of weeks eff orts were made to put in place a similar dlesex paceman Murtagh pro- to grasp every chance but Babar run out. Earlier, Ireland were after the batsman edged an at- tralia beat England by 45 runs in structure for women cricketers. “We were in talks with several duced a superb delivery to bowl was dropped on nine in the slips dismissed for 339 in their second tempted slashing drive off a wide the inaugural Test at Melbourne boards and I am pleased with the outcome.” Asad Shafi q between bat and pad by Andrew Balbirnie. innings. Kevin O’Brien, who on half-volley from Abbas. back in 1877.

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE KKR edge closer to playoff s with win over Royals IANS Kohli the same day. vam Mavi (1/44) to the cleaners. Kolkata KKR showed their intent from While Tripathi hit Krishna for a the word go with Sunil Narine (7b; six and a hat-trick of fours, Buttler 21, 2x4, 2x6) taking off -spinner K. smashed Mavi to plunder 28 runs in olkata Knight Riders Gowtham for 21 runs that included the third over. (KKR) sharpened their 6-4-6-4 in the fi rst four balls. Tripathi was dropped off the rstfi chances of a playoff berth The mystery spinner-turned ball of the match by Rana at wide with a convincing six- opener was dismissed by Royals’ slip-off Mavi, who leaked only two Kwicket win over Rajasthan Roy- best bowler (3/15) in the runs in the opening over. Mavi’s als (RR) in a crucial Indian Premier next over but that hardly made a dif- second over over was the season’s League (IPL) clash at the Eden ference. joint-most expensive one, with Gardens yesterday. Lynn fi rst joined hands with Nit- the U-19 World Cup winning pacer (4/20) starred for ish Rana (17b; 21, 2x4, 1x6)) for a 33- conceding 28 against Shreyas Iyer the two-time champions as Royals run third wicket stand and combined versus Delhi Daredevils as well. were bowled out for 142 in 19 overs with Karthik for a 48-run partner- KKR bled 46 runs in 10 balls as despite an early blitz from the visit- ship for the fourth wicket before the pair brought up their 50-run ing team openers. Chasing a mod- Stokes got his back. Karthik, in the stand in 20 balls. est target, KKR rode Chris Lynn’s 45 company of Andre Russell 11 not out), Tripathi fell to Russell in the West (42b; 5x4, 1x6) and captain Dinesh fi nished the job with minimum fuss. Indian’s fi rst over and the match’s Karthik’s unbeaten 41 (31b, 4x5, 1x6) Earlier, in-form English wick- fi fth, stitching together a 63-run to ease past the line by posting 145/4 etkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler (22 opening wicket partnership off 29 with two overs to spare. balls; 39, 5x4, 2x6) and Maharash- deliveries. The men in purple, thus, tra’s Rahul Tripathi (15b; 27, 4x4, After six overs, Royals were 68/1 stretched their winning run to two 1x6) toyed with the KKR pacers to with 58 runs coming in boundaries games while Royals lost for the fi rst race to 49/0 after three overs before (10 fours and three sixes). But once time in four matches. Russell (2/13) got the wicket of Tri- Kuldeep castled out-of-form vis- KKR (14 points from 13 games), pathi and it was all downhill from iting skipper Rahane, Royals could who moved to third spot, will now there on. never recover. need to win their last engagement Kuldeep (4/20) saw off skipper with already-qualifi ed Sunrisers Ajinkya Rahane (11), Buttler, Stuart Brief scores: Hyderabad on May 19 to secure a Binny (1), and Ben Stokes (11) to rack 145/4 in 18 overs (Chris Lynn 45; knockout slot. up his best fi gures of the season as Dinesh Karthik 41 not out; Ben Royals (fourth spot, 12 points Royals’ batters paid the price for Stokes 3/15) beat Rajasthan Royals from 13 games), meanwhile, will poor shot selection. 142 all out in 19 overs (Jos Buttler have to depend on other results and The visitors got off to a dream 39; Kuldeep Yadav 4/20; Andre triumph against resurgent Royal start with Tripathi and Buttler tak- Russell 2/13; Prasidh Krishna 2/35) Kolkata Knight Riders’ Kuldeep Yadav (second left) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Rajasthan Royals’ Ben Stokes Challengers Bangalore led by Virat ing Prasidh Krishna (2/35) and Shi- by six wickets. during their Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium in Kolkata yesterday. (AFP) Gulf Times Wednesday, May 16, 2018 7 SPORT

CYCLING / GIRO D’ITALIA SPOTLIGHT Russia qualify for Rugby WC aft er Mohoric sprints Romania, Belgium, Spain are penalised

Reuters appeal within 14 days and yester- to stage 10 win as day’s announcement is unlikely London to be the fi nal word.

ussia have qualifi ed REJECTED APPEAL for the 2019 Rugby Spain’s initial appeal to replay World Cup after Ro- their match against Belgium, mania — who had ini- when a Romanian referee was in tiallyR secured the slot — Spain charge and Spain’s shock defeat Yates extends lead and Belgium were docked points sent Romania through at their for repeatedly using ineligible expense, was rejected, despite players during the qualifying the sport’s governing body sup- Yates extended his overall lead over defending champion Dumoulin to 41 seconds competition, World Rugby said porting it. yesterday. “Having considered all the After a “remodelling” of the evidence, including submis- qualifi cation process, Russia sions from World Rugby, Rugby emerged top to advance to next Europe, Spain and Belgium, the year’s tournament in Japan. It will independent committee refused be their second appearance fol- the request made by World Rug- lowing 2011 in New Zealand when by and Spain to set aside the re- they lost all four pool games. sult of the match and determined Germany, who have never been that the match should not be re- in a World Cup, now have anoth- played,” the committee said in a er chance as they are promoted to statement. face Portugal in a playoff , though In reference to the entire in- the winners face a daunting fi nal vestigation, the committee step with a two-legged playoff added: “Although mistakes were against Samoa. made by Rugby Europe and par- The winner on aggregate will ticipating unions, they had not qualify for Japan 2019 in Pool acted in bad faith. The committee A, alongside the hosts, Ire- also recommended that World land, Scotland and Russia. The Rugby re-emphasise the impor- loser will still have a chance of tance and sanctity of Regulation progress via the Repechage com- 8 (eligibility) and any other steps petition in November. that will prevent a repeat of these Yesterday’s announcement circumstances.” is the latest twist to a compli- The Spanish Rugby Federation cated and controversial series of said they were very disappointed matches as, following an investi- by the decisions, having sought gation by the independent Judi- clearance for Belie and Fuster cial and Disputes committee, the from their French counterparts, three nations were docked fi ve and were considering an appeal. match points for each ineligible “It should be recognised that player used. the (eligibility) rule is confusing Belgium were found to have and World Rugby should have fi elded fi ve ineligible players created a procedure and created and were docked 30 points along a system to avoid these type of with a suspended fi ne of 125,000 undesirable situations from hap- pounds ($168,988). pening,” the federation said in a Spain used Mathieu Belie and statement. Bastien Fuster, who have both Eligibility for international previously played for France rugby is a notoriously compli- Under-20s, in eight qualifi cation cated aff air, with countries often matches, leading to a 40-point nominating their own choice of deduction and a 50,000 pounds “capture” level team that en- suspended fi ne. sures a player cannot then switch Romania had only one ineligi- nationalities. ble player, Sione Faka’osilea, who Recognising this, the inde- previously played for Tonga Sev- pendent committee added in ens. They were given a 100,000 its report: “World Rugby might Slovenian rider Matej Mohoric sprints to win the 10th stage of the 101st Giro d’Italia, in Gualdo Tadino, Italy, yesterday. (Below) British rider Simon Yates. (AFP) pounds suspended fi ne and their want to consider whether to 30 docked points overturned maintain a database showing Reuters Yates’ Mitchelton-Scott team mate I need to go for more bonus seconds.” their World Cup qualifi cation. players who have been captured Bengaluru Esteban Chaves had started the day ahead All the decisions are subject to by Unions.” of Dumoulin in second place overall, but STAGE 10 RESULTS (top 10) was badly off the pace, with the Colom- 1. Matej Mohoric (BAH) 6hr 04min 52sec lovenian rider Matej Mohoric bian losing time on the fi rst climb and 2. Nico Denz (ALM) same time sprinted to victory in the 10th slipping down the leaderboard into 39th 3. Sam Bennett (BOR) at 34sec De Jager out of South Africa Tests stage of the Giro d’Italia yester- place. 4. Enrico Battaglin (LNL) s.t. against Wales, England day, while there was no change “Chaves just had a bad moment on the 5. Davide Ballerini (AND) s.t. inS the general classifi cation, with Simon fi rst climb of the day. Straight after the 6. Mads Schmidt (KAT) s.t. South Africa lock Lood de last season. Yates retaining the pink jersey. rest day, you don’t know how the body 7. Francesco Gavazzi (AND) s.t. Jager will miss June Tests A further blow for the Spring- Bahrain-Merida rider Mohoric held responds. I’m very disappointed for him 8. Jarlinson Pantano (TRE) s.t. against Wales and England boks is the absence of hooker off a strong challenge from German Nico because he’s worked hard for this Giro,” 9. Gianluca Brambilla (TRE) s.t. after tearing a chest muscle Malcolm Marx, who sustained Denz, who rides for AG2R La Mondi- Yates said. 10. Jose Goncalves (KAT) s.t. in a Super Rugby match last a hamstring injury playing for ale, after the duo made a late break on Yates took a bonus three seconds after OVERALL STANDINGS (top 10) weekend. Golden Lions in Super Rugby. 239-kilometre route from Penne to Gual- winning an intermediate sprint earlier 1. Simon Yates (MIT) 43hr 42min 38sec The 36-cap forward suff ered South Africa face Wales in do Tadino, the longest stage of the race. in the stage to strengthen his grip on the 2. Tom Dumoulin (SUN) at 41sec the injury playing for Northern Washington on June 2 and “I was not confi dent to beat Nico Denz. to 41 seconds, with another Frenchman maglia rosa, and indicated he might have 3. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) 46 Bulls against Coastal Sharks England on the following three That’s why I tried to attack him before,” Thibaut Pinot a further fi ve seconds back hit upon a strategy that might continue to 4. Domenico Pozzovivo (BAH) 1:00 in Pretoria and a club off icial Saturdays in Johannesburg, an elated Mohoric said after his gruelling in third place. pay dividends. 5. Richard Carapaz (MOV) 1:23 said he will be sidelined until Bloemfontein and Cape Town. ride. “When I saw that he was not pass- Team Sky’s Chris Froome’s struggles “I was going to go for the bonus sprint 6. George Bennett (LNL) 1:36 September. The Springboks are hoping for ing, I gave it my all.” continued, with Britain’s four-time Tour because I need to gain time on Tom Du- 7. Rohan Dennis (BMC) 2:08 De Jager was voted 2016 South better results under new coach British rider Yates extended his lead in de France champion now two minutes moulin but, when I saw Thibaut Pinot get- 8. Pello Bilbao (AST) 2:08 African Rugby Player of the Johan “Rassie” Erasmus after the general classifi cation over Dutchman and 30 seconds behind the leader in 10th ting a lead out, I went past him,” he said. “I 9. Michael Woods (EFD) 2:28 Year and has been outstanding two largely disastrous seasons Tom Dumoulin, the defending champion, place. need as many seconds as I can get so maybe 10. Chris Froome (SKY) 2:30 for the resurgent Bulls this sea- with Allister Coetzee in charge. son under former New Zealand Coetzee lost 12 of 25 Tests, coach John Mitchell. including two thrashings by FORMULA 1 Fellow lock Eben Etzebeth greatest rivals New Zealand, has also been ruled out of the leading to his sacking with June Tests as he is recovering former Test loose forward Bottas believes he is meeting targets from a knee injury sustained Erasmus taking over. TENNIS Reuters Bottas won the 2017 season-ending London Grand Prix, after an uneven fi rst year at Mercedes following his move from Williams to replace retired 2016 Cornet escapes ban ith three second places from world champion Nico Rosberg. Hamilton fi ve races, Valtteri Bottas be- won nine races to Bottas’s three in 2017. lieves he is hitting his targets He started the year with a crash in for three doping test for the Formula One season qualifying in Australia, collecting a fi ve Weven if victory has so far escaped him. place grid penalty for an unscheduled The Finn, Mercedes team mate to four- gearbox change that left him 15th on the no shows times world champion Lewis Hamilton, grid. He fi nished eighth. would have been a winner in Azerbaijan The Finn bounced back by outquali- AFP Anti-Doping Agency have an- last month but for suff ering a puncture fying Hamilton in Bahrain and China, Paris other 21 days to appeal if they so three laps from the end while leading. fi nishing second in both races, and was wish. In Spain on Sunday he followed race runner-up again on Sunday in a race the Gramblat said Cornet, 28, was winner Hamilton in the team’s fi rst one- champion dominated. rench tennis player Al- “delighted” and will be able to two fi nish of the campaign, albeit 22 Had he not drawn a blank in Baku, ize Cornet has escaped a play in the Strasbourg tourna- seconds adrift on very worn tyres after a the 28-year-old would be a lot closer to possible ban for missing ment next week and, above all, at massive 47 lap stint on a single set. Hamilton than the current 37 points. three doping tests, the the French Open, which starts on “I think this year I’ve been meeting more He has had some criticism too, with InternationalF Tennis Federation May 27. or less my targets with the performance for Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo — among (ITF) confi rmed yesterday. He explained that when the the beginning of the year,” Bottas, whose those most likely to replace him — saying One of Cornet’s lawyers, tester rang the bell at Cornet’s future beyond 2018 remains uncertain, told after Bahrain that he would have tried to Alexis Gramblat, had earlier told block of fl ats in Cannes on Octo- reporters after Sunday’s race. pass Ferrari’s race winner Sebastian Vet- AFP that an independent tribu- ber 24, “Alize could hear nothing “I think I’ve been able to really contin- tel rather than settling for second. nal “found that on the third oc- because her intercom was broken”. ue good performance since the very end “I think there’s been quite mixed races casion, the tester had not made Gramblat said the tester wait- of last year. There’s been no weekends and the end results haven’t been really every reasonable eff ort to find ed and when other residents that I’ve been really way off the pace, like I feel sometimes quite there, that I feel her”. emerged she could have found there was a few last year. So I think I’ve would have been possible with the pace The information was con- out which was Cornet’s door, learned from those. we have,” declared Bottas. fi rmed by an ITF press release. gone in and knocked on it and “I just need to continue my develop- “The gap to Lewis was huge (in Barce- Mercedes’ driver Valtteri Bottas (left) congratulates teammate Lewis Hamilton on his The ITF has 21 days to appeal. that not doing so represented a ment, there’s never things that you can’t lona), but there were many things that af- victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, on the out- After that the World Anti-Dop- failure to “make every reasonable learn more.” fected that.” skirts of Barcelona, on Sunday. (AFP) ing Agency (WADA) and French eff ort to contact the player”.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018 GULF TIMES SPORT

FOCUS SPOTLIGHT QCFL ‘perfect’ to Aspire Academy’s bring communities together through football Tri-Series season he Qatar Community ers meet and bond over a game of Football League (QCFL) football. There have been many is the ideal vehicle for situations where strangers from ‘...allows them to test themselves social inclusion, com- diff erent continents have come Tmunity spirit and grassroots together in the same team and against diff erent playing styles, football development, according fi nished the season as friends.” to one of the popular amateur The pyramid league, built on a philosophies and models’ competition’s organisers. two-team promotion and relega- concludes The competition, founded by tion model, was founded as a 24- Supreme Committee for Deliver team tournament in 2016 as part By Sports Reporter and Legacy (SC), came to a con- of the SC’s commitment to grow Doha clusion at Aspire Dome on Friday the grassroots game across Qatar. evening, with ALYSJ FC defeat- In addition to the three tiers, ing MTM in front of more than the 2017/18 edition of the QCFL ast week, the fi nal round of the 300 spectators. Following its also featured a knockout cup year-long Tri-Series football launch in 2016, the QCFL con- competition, with teams across tournament for the 2017-18 sea- cluded its second season with the three divisions participating. son concluded with Aspire Acad- more than 1,500 registered play- Another draw for grassroots Lemy’s football teams facing the U14 and ers, in 36 teams across three divi- players across Qatar has been the U16 Tunisian and Iranian national youth sions. tournament’s access to Aspire’s teams in the same age-groups. Omar Saad, from the SC’s world-class facilities, which As many as 1,200 footballers from across tournament delivery partner were praised by cup winners Asia, Africa, Europe and South America Evolution Sports, said the QCFL ALYSJ SC and Premier League took part in the global competition. provided the perfect platform for champions Nakheel Landscapes. “Aspire Academy’s main goal from this people from all walks of life to “My players are so excited at tournament is the long-term develop- play organised amateur football winning the cup. Competing in ment of its individual football players. on a regular basis. such amazing surroundings has Playing is, of course, the most important “The biggest gain from the boosted their confi dence no end. learning approach for our players and we QCFL is that it has brought to- Many of them are workers from try to give them as much playing time as gether players from diff erent developing nations and though possible,” Edorta Murua, Technical Foot- cultures, nationalities and back- immensely talented footballers ball Director at Aspire Academy, said. grounds,” he said. they have had no previous access “The Tri-Series exposes them on a reg- Saad, a former coach at the to such facilities before the QCFL ular basis to international opponents and Liverpool FC Academy, contin- came along. I have to thank the allows them to test themselves against ued: “It has been fantastic to SC and Aspire for everything they diff erent playing styles, philosophies and watch workers and bank manag- have given my team.” (SC.qa) models from all over the world. It is one piece of the puzzle that should help our Glimpses from the 2017-18 season of the Aspire Academy Tri-Series football competitions. players develop a deeper understanding of the sport, because it is important that players are fl exible and can think outside the box. No matter what challenges they face, they should be able to adapt and overcome these obstacles. “What diff erentiates our players from others is the way they look at situations and the decisions they make and how they are able to make a successful transi- tion from youth to professional football. To reach that goal, the Tri-Series is a val- uable tool that teaches them a lot about decision making.” The football programme of Aspire Acad- emy is recognised as one of in the world in terms of detection and selec- tion of talent, as well as training, compe- tition and evaluation of each player. The nurturing of players starts years before they reach the age to join the Academy as high school student-athletes. Aspire Academy has installed ‘Foot- ball Skills Development Centres’ (FSDC) throughout Doha for boys between 6 and 11 years of age. From the age of 8, the most promising boys are identifi ed to join the ‘Aspire Feeder Groups’ in which they are prepared to join the Academy. The training philosophy of the Acad- ALYSJ coach Lazar Pavlovic (in blue) celebrates with his players after emy is tailored to the capabilities, talents their win in the Qatar Community Football League at Aspire Dome. and goals of Qatar as a footballing nation and follows a strategy that is geared to- wards the development of the individual player, who should be able to know what petitions. When we started four years The games create moments of respon- Vigo, Aspire-owned Cultural y Deportiva Qatar to open Asian Men’s Junior the game demands in any given situation. ago, it was challenging to get the clubs to sibility, of pressure, of decision making, Leonesa, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, Ger- Stephan Hildebrandt, Manager of participate, now we have a waiting list. preparing our boys in all aspects — psy- man club Eintracht Frankfurt, English Handball campaign against Syria Football Operations at Aspire Acad- Some of the biggest clubs in the world chologically, technically, tactically and club Leeds United FC, Abuel Cyprus, emy, said, “Football is an instrument to reach out to us regularly asking to be in- physically.” Greek club Apoel F.C. Ecuadorian club The Asian Handball Federa- ment against Syria on July 17 develop football personalities beyond vited so it’s growing in popularity.” This year’s competitions saw partici- C.S.D. Independiente del Valle, Pakistani tion announced the match before locking horns against cultural and religious diff erences. Qatar He added that: “By confronting the pation of local, regional and international club Karachi United as well as Japanese schedule for the 2018 Asian Palestine and conclude their and especially Aspire Academy is a place big teams regularly, the Tri-Series tour- clubs from African, European, Asian clubs Ventforet Kofu and Shonan Bell- Men’s Junior Handball participation against Iraq. The where kids regardless of their cultural or nament has helped our student-athletes and South American countries. Some of mare. The tournament also welcomed Championship which will take championship also serves as a religious background come together and not to be intimidated by any big names. these include Tunisian national youth national team players across various age- place in Salalah, Oman. Qatar qualifying tournament for the compete on the same level, through vari- We have succeeded in creating a spirit of team players, as well as football cub Étoile groups from Tunisia, Malaysia, Lebanon team will begin its campaign IHF Junior World Champion- ous occasion such as the Tri-Series com- confi dence among our boys in this way. Sportive du Sahel, Spanish club Celta de and Iran. in the prestigious tourna- ship 2019.

BOTTOMLINE Are we in danger of being seduced by a Woods fairytale?

By Ewan Murray this comeback. What can his body do? fi rmly in the tournament mix. From The Guardian What can his new golf game do?” there he played a gettable closing The Golf Channel analyst added: stretch in plus one. In the fi nal round “Having had the opportunity to speak another fast start – he was six under on here is a recurring danger to him about it, we were all in a hurry the 13th tee – was off set by the playing of sporting dreams blurring to judge what was going on. I sat up of holes 14 to 18 in three over. It seems reality. The hype around Tiger here and said: ‘Let’s give him the starts, reasonable to infer that, when Woods Woods was once justifi ed but let’s give him the summer, let’s give tries to press for victory – and he has Tthe reality of recent months applies him the year, let’s see if he can gain to, having not been the man to catch at context often missing in the giddy some of the freedom he needs.’ any event on this comeback – short- analysis. Woods has performed bril- “Well, it looked to me this week comings appear. The same happened liantly simply to be competitive again that he regained that freedom. I at the Arnold Palmer, where Woods after physical trouble so acute he watched the body pass the club pulled a tee shot into a back garden, struggled to sit down for dinner. But through the downswing, watched three holes from home. there, for now, the story ends. him maintain his spine angle through “He’ll win sometime soon enough,” Woods’ latest outing at the Players that process. He hit some monster tee said Jordan Spieth, who partnered Championship had him fi nish seven shots, incredible iron shots and the Woods on Sunday. “He’s certainly – almost two shots per round – adrift freedom with which he did that we playing well enough to do so. His game, of the winner Webb Simpson. The just hadn’t seen. if I compare it to other guys I’m play- 42-year-old tied 55th the previous “I still want to give him more events ing with day to day who are winning weekend in Charlotte, 32nd at the but what I saw this weekend makes me tournaments, is right up there.” Masters and trailed the victorious Rory excited it could be incredibly close and Woods begins this week having leapt McIlroy by eight at the conclusion of that must make him excited. I hope he to 80th in the world rankings, with a the Arnold Palmer Invitational. plays sooner rather than later. I hope new name on top. Justin Thomas’ out- Woods’ share of second at the he doesn’t go home and just hit golf performing of Dustin Johnson at the Valspar Championship in early March balls. I want to see him play rounds Players means the US PGA champion is was impressive but the fact Paul Casey under tournament conditions and the world No 1 for the fi rst time. could swat him aside on the Sunday expose himself exactly like he did this “It’s not something where I just means we are in danger of being se- weekend. Because he did that and he want to do it once,” Thomas said. “I duced by a fairytale. performed.” want to do it for a really long time. I And still, excitement fl ows. “It is To an extent, that is. From the posi- want to have it for a really long time incredibly close,” the former world tion of making the Sawgrass cut by a because that means I’m playing better No 1 David Duval said. “We’ve all stroke, Woods raced to eight under than everybody else for an extended questioned what is the top for him in par after 12 third-round holes. He was period.”