22 Friday, August 18, 2017 SPORTS Napoli punish nine-man Nice Ton-up Root shines bright

forBirmingham England Napoli’s Dries Mertens controls the ball oe Root led from the Paris Ligue 1 matches, and travelled front with a century as apoli took a big step towards without Mario Balotelli and new JEngland took charge against the Champions League group signing Wesley Sneijder. the West Indies on the opening Nstage with a 2-0 win over outclassed Napoli, third in Serie A and in day of the inaugural day/night nine-man Nice in their play-off, the Champions League last 16 last Test on English soil at Edgbaston first-leg in Italy on Wednesday. year, were a class above the French yesterday. The Riviera side were down punishing defensive errors in front England were 215 for two at to nine men after 79 minutes of a delighted 50,000 home fans at tea with Root, who won the toss, when Alassane Pléa was sent the San Paolo Stadium. unbeaten on 103. off for a second yellow card just Napoli took control of the game Former was after Vincent Koziello’s straight early with Mertens outwitting the closing in on a century of his own at dismissal. Nice defence and taking advantage 85 . Belgian midfielder Dries Mertens of an error by Yoan Cardinale The skippers past and present had had slotted in the opener after 13 to slot past the advancing Nice added an unbroken 176 for the third minutes with Jorginho doubling the goalkeeper. And in the 70th minute . hosts’ account with a penalty after it was again Mertens, brought down They had joined forces with 70 minutes. It was a third straight by Christophe Jallet, who earned England faltering at 39 for two after Stoneman defeat for Lucien Favre’s side who the penalty which Jorginho slotted Test debutant and and leave have lost their first two French in. (AFP) Tom Westley were both dismissed England 14 for eight. for one. But from then on the West Indies Westley, still to cement found life tough against two proven his place at number three, world-class batsmen. was then lbw on review Ronaldo leads nominations Root’s fifty was his 11th in after missing a drive successive Tests -- a new England off first-change Miguel record and just one shy of South Cummins, with replays Africa star AB de Villiers’s all-time showing the ball would leading mark of 12. have smashed into the But while his conversion rate of middle and leg stumps. fifties into hundreds has sometimes But Cook, who had been a source of frustration to Root, a lucky break when this time the Yorkshireman went on he edged West Indies to score his 13th century in 58 career captain Jason Holder Tests. through a gap in the The fifth day/night Test worldwide slips, and Root repaired saw Root win the toss under blue the damage with skies and on a good pitch. a succession of He decided to bat first, for all boundaries. the concerns about facing the pink Just before the Cristiano Ronaldo ball and the difficulties of in lunch interval Paris with Juventus, Italian goalkeeper twilight later on. left-hander eal Madrid star Cristiano Gianluigi Buffon and teammate Left-hander Stoneman’s first two Cook, England’s Ronaldo leads the nominees Paulo Dybala are also in the scoring shots in Test were all-time leading unveiledR yesterday for the Best running, alongside former Juventus both fours. Test run-scorer, FIFA Men’s Player 2017 award. player Leonardo Bonucci, who has The 30-year-old eased Kemar completed a The 32-year-old Portuguese since signed for AC Milan. Roach through the covers before 74-ball fifty captain is favourite to retain the The other nominees include clipping him off his pads. including 10 title he won last year after success Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang It was an encouraging start by fours. (AFP) in both the Champions League (Borussia Dortmund), Eden Hazard the Surrey batsman -- Cook’s 12th and La Liga. Among the 24 men’s (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann England opening partner since nominees are Ronaldo’s Real (Atlético Madrid), Zlatan retired five years ago. Madrid teammates Dani Carvajal, Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), But that was as good as it got for SCOREBOARD Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Harry Stoneman, brought in after England England 1st Innings Keylor Navas and Sergio Ramos. Kane (Tottenham), N’Golo Kante dropped following a D.A. Cook not out 85 The list also includes Barcelona (Chelsea), Robert Lewandowski run of low scores during the preceding M. Stoneman b Roach 8 rivals Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer 3-1 home Test series victory against T. Westley lbw b Cummins 8 as well as Paris Saint-Germain’s (Bayern Munich), Alexis Sanchez South Africa. J. Root not out 103 record signing Neymar. (Arsenal) and Arturo Vidal (Bayern Roach produced a superbly sharp Extras (lb8, nb1, w2) 11 Champions League finalists Munich). (AFP) that pitched on middle stump Total (2 wkts, 55 overs, 232 mins) 215 and clipped the top of off to clean bowl