WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 SPORTS Storm return to top of the NRL standings Roosters edge Dragons SYDNEY: Melbourne returned to the top of against Samoa next month. The eighth the National standings with round yielded two other results decided on 20-14 comeback win over the New Zealand late kicks. On Friday, Manly edged the Warriors in the last game of the eighth Canberra Raiders 20-18 in golden point round. Josh Addo-Carr and Felice Kaufusi extra time when center Dylan Walker land- both scored tries in the last 14 minutes as ed a penalty from the 40-meter line and the Storm won for the seventh time in the Brisbane Broncos held off South eight games to move to 14 competition Sydney 25-24 with Anthony Milford’s 78th points - two clear over St George-Illawarra minute field goal. and , which played the Walker missed an earlier chance to win annual Anzac Day clash earlier in Sydney. the match for Manly when he skewed his Halfback Mitchell Pearce kicked a field conversion attempt wide after Tom goal four minutes into golden point extra Trbojevic crossed for an equalizer in the time to lift the Roosters to a 13-12 win over 76th minute. He got another chance when the Dragons, ending his run of 18 missed Raiders lock was penalized attempts at a field goal. Pearce also scored for an illegal strip on Martin Taupau four an earlier try as the Roosters posted 12 minutes into extra time and converted it unanswered points after trailing 6-0 at half- despite his penalty attempt hitting the time. The Roosters were on the verge of cross bar. In other weekend matches, winning in regulation time but Dragons Parramatta beat Penrith 18-12, Wests Tigers winger Nene MacDonald barged through beat the Canterbury Bulldogs 18-12 and four tacklers to score a strong try and Josh the North Cowboys had a 24- Dugan landed a last-minute touchline con- 12 win over Newcastle. The Gold Coast version to level the score and force the Titans scored two tries in the last 13 min- extra time. utes to register their second win of the sea- The Dragons played most of the match son, a 16-12 upset over the reigning cham- without their English playmaker Gareth pion Cronulla Sharks. Jarryd Hayne had one Widdop, who injured his left knee and is of his best games since joining the Titans likely to be ruled of ’s test match following his return from the NFL.— AP KINGSTON: West Indies’ captain Jason Holder plays a shot on the final day of the first Test match between West Indies and Pakistan at the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica yesterday. — AFP Pakistan on course for Champion Selby eases into last 8 victory as Shah shines KINGSTON: Yasir Shah ripped through the top LONDON: Defending world snooker cham- 13-6 with ’s 2006 champion order of the West Indies second innings in the SCOREBOARD pion eased into this year’s quar- . Hawkins, who turned 38 on final session of another long day to put Pakistan ter-finals after a 13-6 victory over ’s Sunday, like Selby wasted little time in on course for victory at the end of the fourth day KINGSTON, Jamaica: Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth day of the first Test between the West Indies and in Sheffield. The 33-year-old bringing his game to a close, winning the of the first Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Monday. Englishman rattled off the three frames he three frames he required. “You want to fin- Monday. After captain Misbah ul Haq became needed right at the start of the session. “I ish off as quick as you can because it’s a just the sixth batsman in Test history to be left West Indies 1st Innings - 286 (2nb), J. Holder 30-7-65-1 (4nb), D. Bishoo 33-2-106-1 played a really solid game. I didn’t make long tournament,” said Hawkins, who will stranded on 99 not out as Pakistan were dis- Pakistan 1st Innings (overnight 201 for 4) (1w), R. Chase 8.4-1-37-1, K. Brathwaite 7-1-22-0. too many mistakes and put him under play Dott’s compatriot in missed for 407 in their first innings, the hosts, A. Ali c wkpr Dowrich b Joseph 15 A. Shehzad lbw Holder 31 West Indies 2nd Innings pressure. And when he made mistakes I the last eight. “Over the years I have had trailing by 121 runs, were reduced to 93 for four B. Azam b Gabriel 72 K. Brathwaite b Shah 14 capitalized,” Selby told the BBC. Selby, who some unbelievably gruelling matches and at stumps with Shah taking all four wickets. They Y. Khan c Brathwaite b Gabriel 58 K. Powell c Younis Khan b Shah 49 has recorded just one so far it takes it out of you.”—AFP go into the final day needing another 28 runs to Misbah ul Haq not out 99 S. Hetmyer b Shah 20 in the tournament, said he felt confident he erase the first innings deficit with the pair of A. Shafiq c wkpr Dowrich b Gabriel 22 S. Hope lbw Shah 6 had something in reserve. nightwatchman, Devendra Bishoo and debutant S. Ahmed b Bishoo 54 D. Bishoo not out 0 “I feel like my game has not been fan- Vishaul Singh, expected to be under immense M. Amir c wkpr Dowrich b Joseph 11 V. Singh not out 0 W. Riaz b Joseph 9 tastic,” he told the BBC. “But it’s not been pressure, especially from the rampant leg-spin- Extras (lb-4) 4 Y. Shah run out 8 poor. I am happy with that going into the ner, when play gets underway on a wearing Total (4 wkts, 28 overs) 93 M. Abbas lbw Chase 1 quarter-finals. “My opponent will know that pitch on the final morning. Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Brathwaite), 2-72 (Hetmyer), 3-84 Extras (b-4, lb-10, nb-12, w-1) 27 when they play against me they will be in Shah struck with his very first delivery, Total (all out, 138.4 overs) 407 (Hope), 4-89 (Powell) for a battle. I never give in and that has bowling Kraigg Brathwaite with a ball that Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Ali), 2-54 (Shehzad), 3-185 (Khan), To bat: R. Chase, S. Dowrich, J. Holder, A. Joseph, S. always been my philosophy.” skidded through on the opening batsman. He 4-186 (Azam), 5-236 (Shafiq), 6-324 (Ahmed), 7-341 Gabriel In the quarter-final Selby will play Hong quickly added the scalps of newcomer (Amir), 8-355 (Riaz), 9-373 (Shah), 10-407 (Abbas) Bowling: M. Amir 9-2-11-0, M. Abbas 6-0-21-0, Y. Shah 9- Kong’s world number eight , who Shimron Hetmayer and Shai Hope before fin- Bowling: S. Gabriel 29-6-92-3 (6nb), A. Joseph 31-8-71-3 0-33-4, W. Riaz 4-0-24-0. edged past 2010 champion ishing off with the important wicket of Kieran of Australia 13-11 in an nervy battle to Powell, the opener taken at slip by Younis Khan on in the morning session by Alzarri Joseph run- emerged from the listless indifference of the first reach his fourth quarter-final. Fu lost the for a well-played 49. That late drama was in ning back at mid-off to the bowling of leg-spin- session to finally get among the wickets. first two frames of the final session to trail contrast to the pedestrian progress through ner Bishoo. It was Bishoo who eventually broke 10-8, but a 115 break leveled at 10-10. As the first two sessions of the day as Misbah an 88-run sixth-wicket stand between Misbah DETERMINATION AND DISCIPLINE the pressure mounted Robertson took a worked his team into a dominant position and Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper batsman Joseph removed Mohammad Amir and scrappy 21st frame on the black before Fu despite being left one run short of an 11th Test playing in his usual pugnacious manner in get- Wahab Riaz in quick succession to finish with regained his composure to secure the next century. Last man and debutant Mohammad ting to 54 before he was bowled around his legs three wickets in the innings, the same as fellow three and victory. “It was very tough. I had Abbas was trapped leg-before by Roston attempting a sweep shot just after lunch.”I just opening bowler Gabriel. When substitute field- so many chances and missed so many Chase on the stroke of the tea interval. wanted to upset the fast bowlers’ line by doing a er Jermaine Blackwood ran out Shah, Misbah chances,” the 39-year-old Fu told the BBC. In his usual phlegmatic manner, Misbah few unorthodox things because they were bowl- was on 68 with the score at 373 for nine. “It was one of those matches that neither of ensured Pakistan constructed their position of ing very well,” Ahmed explained at the end of However, Abbas displayed determination and us deserved to win. For fighting spirit I was dominance via a succession of partnerships after the day. “It’s all part of my game to be positive discipline in surviving with his captain for 45 a 10 out of 10, but for snooker it was four they resumed on the fourth morning at 201 for and today it came off.” During the course of his minutes while Misbah controlled most of the out of 10.” four and facing the threat of the second new innings, Ahmed went past 2,000 runs in his Test strike and edged towards the coveted century. A disappointed Robertson labeled his ball. Yet it was a far from a flawless effort as the career. Misbah achieved a milestone of his own Just one run away, though, he was denied when display as “garbage”. “I played awful snook- SHEFFIELD: Defending champion, West Indies extended their season of woe in the when he notched his 5,000th Test career run Chase trapped the newcomer in front. Misbah’s er,” said the Australian. “It wasn’t good to England’s Mark Selby plays a shot in his field, allowing the opposing skipper to escape before reaching the half-century mark and innings spanned nine minutes short of six watch. I was awful in my first match too.” quarter final against ’s Marco Fu when he should have first been taken at short- began to play an increasingly important role hours, during which he faced 223 deliveries, Selby and Fu were joined in the last eight during the World Snooker Championship leg by Singh off Shannon Gabriel and then later through the afternoon session as the West Indies striking three sixes and five fours.— AFP by England’s 2013 finalist , at the in Sheffield, north- who closed out his second round match ern England yesterday. —AFP ATHLETICS Murray set to work overtime Bekele was not wearing in Barcelona to stay at on top BARCELONA: World number one Andy new surfaces playing naturally against the ‘Breaking2 shoes’: Nike Murray returns to the Barcelona clay courts best players in the world,” he said. that launched his career this week as he Stepping back out on the Barcelona LONDON: The running shoes that Olympic champion Bekele was wearing puts in some overtime ahead of the French clay for the first time since 2012 is also Kenenisa Bekele blamed for his struggles Nike’s new Zoom Vaporfly Elite shoes, Open. Murray, who played and lost his first something of a trip down memory lane for in Sunday’s London Marathon were not which will be worn by Eliud Kipchoge, professional match as a 17-year-old at the Murray. “I have great memories, not only the revolutionary new model designed for Lelisa Desisa and Zersenay Tadese in their tournament in 2005, against Jan Hernych, from training and living here, but also use in the Breaking2 attempt on a sub-two attempt to run a sub-two-hour marathon in took a late entry into the Barcelona Open because I played my first professional hour marathon, manufacturers Nike said Italy next month. However, Nike said yes- after an early defeat to Spain’s Albert match on one of these courts and I yesterday. Track superstar Bekele was on terday that Bekele was wearing their Zoom Ramos-Vinolas in Monte Carlo last week. remember it well,” he said. “The last time I world record pace and looking strong at Vaporfly 4% shoes and that the Vaporfly While giving him some crucial match time came here I hadn’t won a claycourt tourna- halfway during Sunday’s race but then Elite were being used only by the three on a surface he has grown to love, it also ment, nor been in big finals, nor beaten dropped back dramatically before staging Breaking2 athletes. “As he has done in pre- offers the 29-year-old the chance to con- some of the best players on this surface. a superb recovery to finish second behind vious marathons, Bekele ran in the Zoom solidate his position at the top of the ATP But in the past few years I’ve had great Kenya’s Daniel Wanjiru. He later said that Vaporfly 4%, in which he set an Ethiopian rankings. wins against Rafa (Nadal) and Novak his problems had been caused by blister- record and the second-fastest time in histo- Murray accumulated a barrel-load of (Djokovic).” The top seed will face ing from new shoes and that he had to ry on a record-eligible course in Berlin,” a ranking points during last season’s clay- Australian Bernard Tomic today.—Reuters change his running style to enable him to spokesman said yesterday. “We are working court swing, winning the Rome pick up his pace. closely with Bekele to understand what and reaching the French Open final, where It was thought at the time that triple happened.”— Reuters he lost to Novak Djokovic. With those points to defend and the effects of an elbow injury still lingering, Murray knows GOLF the pressure is on to keep the number one ranking he secured in November. “I hope to stay there for a long time, but it’s hard,” Rulemakers change to Murray, who spent two years at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona as a junior, told the ATP’s website. prevent a ‘Lexi’ repeat “It took me 12 years to get there, and WASHINGTON: The Royal and Ancient exactly what wording or what form the the physical and mental effort it took to do and US Golf Association will announce a “Lexi Rule” would take but the target would it last year was enormous. It’s not easy to rules change to ensure what cost Lexi be to prevent future action on infractions stay there, but I hope I can. “It’s always hard Thompson an LPGA major title does not spotted by TV viewers. The move is expect- to maintain your ranking at the top of the happen again, Golfweek reported on ed to be imposed instantly rather than wait game. A lot of the young ones are starting Monday. Thompson, a 22-year-old for the update and evaluation of The Rules to play better and better, so it’s going to be American, incurred a four-stroke penalty a of Golf expected for 2019. tough.” Surprisingly, Murray’s first ATP title day after the error after a viewer spotted a Thompson was found to have incorrect- on the red dirt did not arrive until 2015 in violation in a slow-motion television ly replaced her ball after marking it on the Munich. He quickly followed that by beat- replay and e-mailed the LPGA during the 17th green during the third round, a viola- ing king of clay Rafael Nadal in the Madrid ANA Inspiration earlier this month. tion only spotted clearly by a zoom lens final. Last year was even better, and he won Golf’s governing bodies met the follow- and slow motion video. After reviewing the 18 of his 21 matches during the European ing week at the Masters and discussed the evidence, Thompson was issued a two- claycourt season. The transition from the issue, and the magazine website, citing stroke penalty for incorrectly replacing her hardcourts to the clay can still be tricky unnamed sources, said a new rule will take ball and another two-stroke penalty for LONDON: Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele runs during the though, even for a player now so at home effect immediately to ensure no repeat of signing an incorrect scorecard at the end of Men’s elite race at the London marathon on April 23, on the surface. “The best way to adapt to Andy Murray the situation. There was no indication of the third round. —AFP 2017. — AFP