TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017 SPORTS

CYCLING Wiggins slams marginal gains as ‘a load of rubbish’

LONDON: Bradley Wiggins has labelled known as the ‘Secret Squirrel Club’ head- gold medallist, who won several golds whether you’ve slept on a certain pillow footballer) Roy Keane would say: it’s the marginal gains philosophy said to ed up by former Olympic champion when Brailsford was in charge of the or mattress.” utter nonsense.” underpin much of British Cycling’s Chris Boardman that looked for legal British Cycling team. He also won the Pendleton, who won cycling golds at The Telegraph said Wiggins was not recent success as “a load of rubbish”. improvements in bike design and rider 2012 Tour de France for the Team Sky both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and four asked at the event about the ongoing In comments reported by the Daily equipment. outfit headed up by the celebrated years later in London, has spoken of how investigation into whether he had bro- Telegraph on Monday, Wiggins was It all became known as part of the coach. “At the end of the day, chimp the- Peters helped her career. ken anti-doping rules at the 2011 equally dismissive of the “chimp para- search for “marginal gains” but Wiggins, ories and marginal gains and all these But Wiggins said: “Vicky’s a bit of a Criterium du Dauphine race. dox” theory for dealing with pressure in what the Telegraph said were remarks buzzwords-a lot of the time, I just think milkshake (mixed up) anyway. You can Last week Wiggins told Sky Sports he promoted by sports psychologist Dr made at a corporate event in the City of you have got to get the fundamentals over-analyse things but at the end of the would have a “lot to say” and “shock a Steve Peters and said former British track London, was unimpressed. right: go ride your bike, put the work in, day, it’s about your ability and whether few people” when he finally comments team-mate and fellow Olympic gold “A lot of people made a lot of money and you’re either good or you’re not you’re a better athlete than the other in details on the allegations which cen- medallist Victoria Pendleton was a “bit of out of it and David Brailsford used it con- good. “Sometimes in life or in sport, person or not. tre on whether he was given a legal a milkshake”. stantly as his calling card, but I always whatever, you’re either good at some- “Whether you’ve come to grips with decongestant or received an unautho- Britain was seen to gain a technologi- thought it was a load of rubbish,” said thing or you’re not. That’s what makes this other person living inside you, it’s all rised injection of the powerful corticos- cal advantage over its rivals thanks to Wiggins. “It’s a bit like the whole chimp you a better athlete: your physical ability a bit... well, each to his own. That may teroid Triamcinolone without an official research carried out under what became thing,” added the five-times Olympic and whether you’ve trained enough-not work with some people, but as (former medical exemption. — AFP

Record-equalling Williamson ton puts New Zealand on top

HAMILTON: A record-equalling Test centu- and that’s us,” he said. ry by yesterday put New Zealand in charge of the third Test against PATIENT RAVAL South Africa and had them talking of victo- Latham progressed from his overnight ry in Hamilton. At stumps on the third day, 42 to 50 before he was caught behind by a New Zealand were 321 for four, leading diving Quinton de Kock off Morkel. South Africa by seven runs with It was another 58 overs before a second Williamson-who equalled Martin Crowe’s fell as Williamson and Raval dictated record of 17 Test centuries for the Black terms to a bowling attack toiling on a flat Caps- on 148 with Mitchell Santner track. Williamson worked the ball to all on 13. It was a remarkable fightback by a parts of the ground including a six off side completely outclassed in the second Keshav Maharaj over the bowler’s head. Test when they were beaten by eight wick- He followed up with two more off ets inside three days. Opener Jeet Raval, Vernon Philander and Morkel over the who put on a 190-run partnership with square leg boundary-three sixes in one Williamson, said New Zealand were eyeing innings from a batsman who only had nine a 200 first innings lead. “We’d love to get from his previous 60 Tests. 500. We’re in a good position and we’ve still The six off Philander made him the sixth got six in the shed,” said Raval. and fastest New Zealander to reach 5,000 “If we can get a couple of hundred-run Test runs, seven innings quicker than the lead and then put South Africa under pres- previous record set by Crowe. When sure with the new ball it puts us right in the Williamson smacked part-timer Dean Elgar game. “It’s about putting us in a position to the boundary for his hundred, he had where we can win this game and draw the equalled Crowe’s New Zealand record of 17 series.” New Zealand, battling to square the centuries in 16 fewer Tests. series which South Africa lead 1-0, enjoyed While Williamson punished the bowling, a solid start from Raval and Tom Latham Raval was impressively patient as he picked with an 83-run opening partnership before up ones and twos off the pace attack of Williamson took control. Philander, Morkel and Kagiso Rabada. “I felt like bit of a clown batting with the He batted for 390 minutes before get- master at the other end. Just to watch him ting an inside edge to Morkel to give de bat was unbelievable,” added Raval, whose Kock his second catch. 88 came from 254 balls while Williamson Rabada then accounted for Neil Broom has faced 216 deliveries for his 148. South (12) and Henry Nicholls (nought) in succes- African quick Morne Morkel, who took the sive balls before Santner joined Williamson wickets of Latham and Raval, described to guide New Zealand through to stumps. Williamson’s performance as “exceptional”. For South Africa, Morkel has two for 74 “There’s only one team under pressure now and Rabada two for 83. — AFP DHARAMSALA: India’s Umesh Yadav (R) celebrates the wicket of Australia’s Nathan Lyon with teammates during the third day of the fourth and last Test match between India and Australia at The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala yesterday. —AFP SCOREBOARD CRICKET HAMILTON, New Zealand: Scoreboard at stumps on day three of the third and final Test between New Zealand and South Africa at Seddon Park in Hamilton yesterday. South Africa first innings 314(Q. de Kock 90. F. Extras: (lb3, nb7) 10 India set for victory after du Plessis 53, H. Amla 50; Henry 4-93, Wagner 3- Total (4 wickets, 104 overs) 321 104) Fall of wickets: 1-83 (Latham), 2-273 (Raval), 3-293 New Zealand 1st innings (overnight 67-0) (Broom), 4-293 (Nicholls) T. Latham c de Kock b Morkel 50 To bat: BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme, Jeetan Australian batting collapse J. Raval c de Kock b Morkel 88 Patel, Matt Henry, Neil Wagner. K. Williamson not out 148 Bowling: Philander 25-6-59-0 (2nb), Morkel 24-5- N. Broom lbw Rabada 12 74-2, Rabada 21-1-83-2 (1nb), Maharaj 29-2-71-0, DHARAMSALA: All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja before Glenn Maxwell put on 56 for the fourth help India post 332 and swing the momentum H. Nicholls c de Kock b Rabada 0 Duminy 4-0-18-0, Elgar 1-0-13-0. starred with both bat and ball on the third day of wicket with Peter Handscomb to steady the ship their way. “You couldn’t have asked for more. M. Santner not out 13 Series: South Africa lead 1-0 the fourth Test yesterday to put India on course briefly. But Handscomb was brilliantly caught by Jadeja and Saha batted really well. This morning for a series-clinching victory against Australia in India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane off was really special. The way they batted was fan- Dharamsala. Ashwin while Jadeja dismissed Shaun Marsh for tastic,” said Ashwin. The left-hander top-scored with 63 to help one. Jadeja had played a crucial knock with the “I told Jadeja there was a hundred for the tak- India surpass Australia’s first-innings total of 300 bat earlier in the day, starring in a seventh-wick- ing. He is a very talented batsman: if he puts his and then snared three wickets with his spin et stand of 96 with Wriddhiman Saha (31) to head down, he can get that hundred.” — AFP bowling as the visitors crumbled. India’s pacemen did the early damage, with Umesh Yadav picking up two wickets and SCOREBOARD Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissing the in-form Australian skipper Steve Smith for 17 to leave DHARAMSALA, India: Scoreboard at stumps on the third day of the fourth and final Test between India and the Aussies reeling on 31-3 inside 10 overs. Australia in Dharamsala yesterday. A short ball from Kumar hit the bottom edge Australia 1st innings: 300 (Smith 111, Wade 57, Warner P. Handscomb c Rahane b Ashwin 18 of Smith’s bat before crashing onto the stumps 56; K. Yadav 4-68) G. Maxwell lbw b Ashwin 45 in spectacular fashion. India 1st innings (overnight 248-6): S. Marsh c Pujara b Jadeja 1 Smith ended the four-Test series with 499 L. Rahul c Warner b Cummins 60 M. Wade not out 25 M. Vijay c Wade b Hazlewood 11 P. Cummins c Rahane b Jadeja 12 runs including three centuries, only the sixth vis- C. Pujara c Handscomb b Lyon 57 S. O’Keefe c Pujara b Jadeja 0 iting batsman to have scored so many hundreds A. Rahane c Smith b Lyon 46 N. Lyon c Vijay b U. Yadav 0 in a series in India. K. Nair c Wade b Lyon 5 J. Hazlewood lbw b Ashwin 0 The spinners then got down to business on a R. Ashwin lbw b Lyon 30 Extras (b4, lb1) 5 lively track that offered plenty of bounce, with W. Saha c Smith b Cummins 31 Total (all out; 53.5 overs) 137 Ravichandran Ashwin also grabbing three wick- R. Jadeja b Cummins 63 Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Warner), 2-31 (Smith), 3-31 ets to help his side skittle out Australia for just B. Kumar c Smith b O’Keefe 0 (Renshaw), 4-87 (Handscomb), 5-92 (Marsh), 6-106 137 in the final session. K. Yadav c Hazlewood b Lyon 7 (Maxwell), 7-121 (Cummins), 8-121 (O’Keefe), 9-122 At stumps the top-ranked home side were U. Yadav not out 2 (Lyon), 10-137 (Hazlewood). Extras (b4, lb11, w5) 20 Bowling: B. Kumar 7-1-27-1, U. Yadav 10-3-29-3, K. Yadav 19-0, needing 87 more to win the match and Total (all out; 118.1 overs) 332 5-0-23-0, Jadeja 18-7-24-3, Ashwin 13.5-4-29-3. clinch the Border-Gavaskar trophy with a 2-1 Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Vijay), 2-108 (Rahul), 3-157 (Pujara), HAMILTON: Kane Williamson of New Zealand (R) bats as South Africa’s Quinton de series scoreline. Kock (L) looks on during day three of the third match between New 4-167 (Nair), 5-216 (Rahane), 6-221 (Ashwin), 7-317 India 2nd innings: With two days of play remaining and all their (Jadeja), 8-318 (Kumar), 9-318 (Saha), 10-332 (K. Yadav). L. Rahul not out 13 Zealand and South Africa at Seddon Park in Hamilton yesterday.—AFP wickets intact, India appear all set to seal a mem- Bowling: Hazlewood 25-8-51-1, Cummins 30-8-94-3, M. Vijay not out 6 orable win, capping weeks of controversies and Lyon 34.1-5-92-5, O’Keefe 27-4-75-1, Maxwell 2-0-5-0. Extras (0) 0 verbal volleys between the top sides. Day three Total (for no loss, 6 overs) 19 also had its share of drama when Murali Vijay Australia 2nd innings: To bat: Pujara, Rahane, Nair, Ashwin, Saha, Jadeja, Kumar, Bangladesh eye rare claimed a catch off Josh Hazlewood at the fag M. Renshaw c Saha b U. Yadav 8 K. Yadav, U. Yadav D. Warner c Saha b U. Yadav 6 Bowling: Cummins 3-1-14-0, Hazlewood 2-0-5-0, O’Keefe end of the Australian innings. Replays however S. Smith b Kumar 17 1-1-0-0. away glory in S Lanka showed the ball had spilled onto the grass. CATCH DRAMA DAMBULLA: Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe series. But at home they have enjoyed a TV cameras then showed Smith fuming in the Mortaza said yesterday he’s confident his fine run of form lately, winning five consec- dressing room and appearing to mumble angrily side can secure a rare series win away from utive series in the past two years before at Vijay’s attempt to claim the catch. Australia batting coach home when they face Sri Lanka in the sec- narrowly losing to England in October. Australian batting coach Graeme Hick sought ond this week. They failed to win a single match in their to play down the incident after the day’s play. The tourists lead 1-0 going into today’s most recent away series in New Zealand defends misfiring Warner “We were watching it on our own little pads and contest at Dambulla and know that victory however, although Mortaza said his team- the ball definitely touched the ground,” Hick would secure their third ever series win mates had learnt from the disappointment. DHARAMSALA: Australia opener David pressure to do so, only he can answer that. said. “Having fielded in slips myself, sometimes away from Bangladeshi soil. “New Zealand was difficult for us but Warner will assess his performance after fail- “He will reflect on it, as champions do, and you’re not 100 per cent sure. He would have felt Bangladesh dominated Sri Lanka with that experience will work for us here,” he ing yet again to improve his poor away feel and assess it himself. But without a that go into his fingers and felt it was a clean bat and ball during the opening game said. Sri Lanka, who are staring at a fifth record in the test series against India, batting doubt, he is one of our major players and you catch. “At times this series has been heated but Saturday of the three-match series to clinch consecutive ODI series loss against a Test coach Graeme Hick said yesterday. would have hoped for a little bit more from this game has been played in very good spirit.” a crushing 90-run win against their more nation, added fast bowlers Nuwan Warner averages nearly 60 at home but him...” Warner scored 56 in the first innings India got their first breakthrough when Yadav illustrious opponents. Kulasekera and Nuwan Pradeep to their the number drops below 35 when the 30- and six in the second and has struggled had David Warner caught behind cheaply for six, A win on Tuesday would see them take squad due to fitness concerns over Suranga year-old left-hander is batting abroad. against the Indian spinners Ravichandran just after the opener had been dropped in the an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. “I am Lakmal. Team manager Asanka Gurusinha Fourteen of his 18 centuries came on Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. slips by Karun Nair. fully confident we will play our best. It will said Lakmal was likely to play though and home soil and the opener managed just one “It is tough up front (with) Jadeja bowling Nair had also dropped the same batsman in give us a good chance (of victory),” said warned Bangladesh that his side were hurt- fifty in his eight innings in India. “Obviously into the rough and Ashwin bowls really well the first innings. Warner ended the four-Test Mortaza. “They will try very hard too since ing from the humiliation of Saturday’s David will be very disappointed with his at him. (They) certainly questioned him,” Hick series with an average of 24.12 — his lowest in a they are 1-0 behind. They will try to push us defeat. “(The) team is really pumped up aggregate on tour,” Hick told reporters after said. “That’s the beauty of the game, it puts series of four or more matches, and his third low- from the start. They know how to play after losing the first game. We know the the third day’s play in the fourth and final test these challenges up between great players est overall. aggressive cricket. We have to execute our pressure is on us because we don’t have at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and makes it very interesting to watch. David The Indian fast bowlers exploited the pace plans properly and start anew,” he added. any more chances,” he said. Stadium. “He was desperate to have a very big will obviously be very disappointed with the offered by the wicket to put relentless pressure Bangladesh have only ever beaten fellow- “It’s like a main final for us. We are pretty tour and to have a very big influence here. way things have gone,” added the former on the batsmen. strugglers Zimbabwe and an under confident that we can play much better Whether he put himself under a bit too much England Test batsman. — Reuters Yadav also accounted for Matt Renshaw strength West Indies team in an away than we did,” Gurusinha added. — AFP