FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 4 NNBABA | Page 5 Messi deals Nuggets with Madrid put end to again as Warriors’ Barca excel win streak Monday, December 25, 2017 CRICKET Rabia II 7, 1439 AH Ashes gone, GULF TIMES pride at stake for wounded England SPORT Page 2 CRICKET Qatar players train ahead of their match against Iraq in Kuwait yesterday. At bottom , coach Felix Sanchez. Starc out, Bird in for Boxing Day Ashes Test AFP Melbourne ustralia pace spearhead Mitchell Starc was yester- day ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test with a heel in- Ajury and will be replaced by Jackson Bird. Starc, who is Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the series with 19, bruised his heel bowling in Austral- ia’s series-clinching third Test win in Perth last week. There wasn’t enough time for him to recover from the injury to his landing foot, with team management offi cially ruling him out two days be- fore Tuesday’s Melbourne Test. While Starc had been optimistic about his chances of playing, Aus- tralia’s selectors took a cautious approach with their star paceman ahead of a key series against South Africa early in the new year. Starc said he hoped to return for the series-ending Sydney Test on Qatar vow to January 4. Last year Starc scored 84 with “It’s never nice to miss but it the bat and took a match-sealing would be pretty selfi sh of me to go in four-wicket haul in a fi nal-day win to a game not at 100 %,” he told re- against Pakistan there. porters. Bird said he was ready for his fi rst “It’s nice that we have won the se- Test in a year. ries and we can play it a little bit safer “I’ve been ready to go for 12 now. months basically,” he told reporters. stay aggressive “I think the discussions (with se- “I had a week in the Perth nets lectors) lasted about 30 seconds... working on a few diff erent things and it gives me a good chance now to with bowling coach David Saker. have a bit of time off it over the next “It’d be unbelievable to play an few days and give me a really good Ashes Test on Boxing Day.” chance for Sydney.” Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Tim Starc’s withdrawal continues his Paine is expected to play after joining run of bad luck in the Melbourne his teammates at training on Sunday Cricket Ground showpiece. He has after initially remaining at home in in Gulf Cup played in just one Boxing Day Test Hobart after his father-in-law suf- since making his debut in 2011. fered a stroke. Next edition of Gulf Cup to be By a Correspondent Qatar scored three goals inside step-by-step to team’s win on Saturday, said: “We ar- Kuwait City the fi rst 18 minutes leaving Yemen - the end,” Hassan rived ready for this event despite the held in Qatar, AGCFF confirms known for individual brilliance from added. Mid- doubts that were hovering around the their players - in a state of shock. fi elder Ismail start (of the event). We have entered QNA In a statement, al-Rumaihi said atar coach Felix Sanchez “It was a great start. In the fi rst Mohamed, the championship strongly with this Kuwait City that recent circumstances neces- has said his team will take 18 minutes we scored three goals who played a win. We will try to maintain the inten- sitated the move of the 23rd an aggressive approach in and kept on creating chances for key role sity and we aim to defend our title we edition to Kuwait after it’s suspen- Qthe remaining two prelimi- more goals,” Sanchez in his won three years ago.” rab Gulf Cup Football sion by FIFA was lifted. nary round matches of the Gulf Cup said. “Our target He added: “In general, there is no Federation (AGCFF) It was agreed much earlier that against Iraq and Bahrain. was to start easy game and we have to enter every Secretary-General Jas- the 24th edition will be held in Qatar, the defending champions, well to show match as a fi nal. We can’t be thinking A sim al-Rumaihi has con- Qatar and this is not subject to crushed Yemen 4-0 in their opening we want about other competitors but we need firmed that the 24th edition of change or modification, al-Ru- match on Saturday, lifting the mood to win the to focus on our performances, our the Gulf Cup will be held in Qatar. maihi said. in the Al Anabi camp. game. I think strengths.” “We achieved our target (of winning in the fi rst Yemen’s Ethiopian coach Abraham the fi rst match against Yemen). Hope- 15 minutes Mebratu wore a dejected look after fully we will do the same in the next we showed the match on Saturday. “The fi rst SETBACK two matches,” Sanchez said after the that. We big challenge for us is not to con- resounding victory on Saturday. will try to do cede goals like this. We played The Spaniard added that his play- that again much better in the second half. ers are in top physical condition but but we know We still have two more matches Qatar’s Madibo out he will still wait until late today be- it will be dif- to go. We have to learn from fore fi nalising the squad for the clash fi cult. Every this match. We have to work against Iraq tomorrow. game is diff er- on our weaknesses. of tourney with injury “First we need to evaluate the play- ent. So many “We have to be ready. This ers. I have to see their physical con- things have to be match is a very good lesson. By a Correspondent rest means he will miss the remain- dition. We will play a diff erent team taken into account We have to bring the players Kuwait City der of the Gulf Cup. (against Iraq). We need to be in pos- before every game,” up and get them ready for Madibo was injured in Qatar’s fi rst session more and we know the next he said. the remainder of the tourna- game against Yemen on Saturday game will be diff erent because the Key Qatar defender Abdulkar- ment,” he explained. atar suff ered an unex- during the second half. quality will be diff erent too,” he said. eem Hassan said the young play- “The Qatari players were pected setback yesterday Ahmed Fathi replaced Madibo in “Our target is to be match-com- ers in the squad are getting “good better than us. They deserved to with the news that Assim the second half as Qatar beat Yemen petitive and we did that (in the fi rst experience”. win. The important thing from QMadibo will miss the re- 4-0. match). That’s the goal for our players, “It is a good experience for all this match is we have to play ag- maining part of the Gulf Cup due to Madibo’s absence is a huge loss for especially the youngsters,” Sanchez of us but for our young players, gressively for the first 20 minutes. a back injury. the Qatari team, which is defending said. After this (tournament), we will the Gulf Cup will be very useful In the coming match, we have to The 21-year-old midfi elder was its title at Gulf Cup. go to China for the Asian Under-23 for them,” Hassan said. “Despite see we don’t make mistakes. We taken to a local hospital for scans, the A replacement has not been an- Championship and it’s good for the having a young side, we prom- have to assess our performances Qatar Football Association said. nounced but Qatar can call in a new players who are getting good match ise to make the maximum ef- really well,” the Yemeni coach The player needs rest to stage a player according to tournament practice.” fort. These young players will go said. complete recovery. The prescribed rules. Gulf Times 2 Monday, December 25, 2017 CRICKET PREVIEW SPOTLIGHT Ashes gone, now Selection challenge pride at stake for for S Africa AFP start in what should be another Port Elizabeth lop-sided contest. Assuming captain Faf du Ples- sis is passed fi t after recovering election is likely to be from shoulder surgery, it will be South Africa’s biggest diffi cult to fi t Bavuma into the challenge ahead of their batting line-up, while Phehluk- wounded England Sone-off day-night Test wayo’s medium-pace is unlikely against Zimbabwe, starting at St to be required when there are George’s Park tomorrow. four world-class fast bowlers in England succumbed to heavy defeats in the first three Tests of the series Zimbabwe are unlikely to the squad. stretch the home side but South Zimbabwe had a disappoint- Africa, ranked second in Test ing warm-up when they were cricket, will want to establish beaten by a largely unheralded their best XI in this four-day Test Invitation team in Paarl, but ahead of a three-match series they were able to gain some ex- against India, starting in Cape perience with a pink ball under Town on January 5. floodlights. With the return of AB de Vil- It is the fi rst day-night Test to liers and Dale Steyn after long be played in South Africa. When absences from Test cricket, and the hosts held their fi rst practice with all South Africa’s front-line under lights on Friday they found fast bowlers fi t for the fi rst time the ball helped the seam bowl- in more than a year, coach Ottis ers more at night than during the Gibson described the selection day, which has been a pattern in issue as “a good nightmare”.