THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016 SPORTS Ex-Scotland scrum-half Sri Lanka’s line-up faces Luca Toni retires at end of Cusiter hangs up boots ‘huge mental challenge’ ‘terrible’ Verona season LONDON: Former Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter announced his retirement from COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s rookie batting line-up faces a “huge mental MILAN: Veteran Italian striker Luca Toni will hang up his boots after a final Serie A professional rugby yesterday with immediate effect. Cusiter, 33, joined English game with Verona against Juventus on Sunday, after announcing his retirement challenge” in adapting to English conditions as they bid to pull off a Premiership side Sale after previous stints with Glasgow, Border Reivers and from football yesterday. The 2006 World Cup winner has scored a total of 156 Serie repeat of their historic series win over their hosts, coach Graham Ford Perpignan, with whom he won the French Top 14 championship in 2009. A goals for eight different clubs throughout a storied career that said yesterday. Sri Lanka are returning to England for the first time He won 70 caps for Scotland between 2004 and 2014 and toured also saw him star for Bayern Munich and become the since 2014 when they posted their first away series victory over Alistair New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions in 2005. “This is the Bundesliga’s top scorer in the 2007-2008 season. Last season right time to hang up my boots and move on to the next chal- Cook’s side in Test cricket and then won an ODI series and a one-off Toni, at 38 years old, became the oldest player to win Serie A’s lenge,” said Cusiter in a statement released by Sale. “Playing for T20 international. But their line-up has been severely weakened in the top scorer (Capocannoniere) award-an accolade he shared Scotland 70 times was more than I could have dreamed of grow- interim by the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela with Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi when both finished on ing up learning how to play rugby at Robert Gordon’s College Jayawardene, arguably the two greatest batsmen that Sri Lanka have 22 goals. Verona were relegated from Serie A last week having in Aberdeen. “The memories of playing for Scotland ever produced. Speaking ahead of their departure to London, Ford was spent most of the season at the foot of the table and Toni and touring New Zealand with the British and Irish “quietly confident” his squad would acclimatize to the conditions admitted the north-eastern club’s troubles this Lions will be with me forever, and I am grateful for awaiting them at the start of the English summer but acknowledged it season had prompted his decision. “After so all the incredible experiences I have been afforded would be a steep learning curve. “As far as our batting goes, having lost through rugby.” Cusiter’s next venture will be the many years of playing football, 22 in the pro- a couple of senior players (Sangakkara and Jayawardene), obviously fessional ranks, I think the time has arrived establishment of an alcohol retail business sell- young players have come in,” said Ford, who is overseeing his first Test ing Scotch whisky in Los Angeles.— AFP for me to say goodbye,” Toni told a press series since returning for a second spell as coach. — AFP conference. —AFP White Sox cool off Boston Red Sox Moore struggles, Rays fall to Dodgers 10-5 CHICAGO: Jose Quintana pitched eight crisp innings opportunities after Hector Neris struck out the side in DODGERS 10, RAYS 5 BREWERS 5, ANGELS 4 for his third straight win, and the AL-leading Chicago the eighth inning. Nola (2-2) allowed two hits and struck Trayce Thompson, Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig Chris Carter hit two long home runs and drove in White Sox cooled off the Boston Red Sox with a 4-1 vic- out seven in an 111-pitch stint. He has a string of 20 con- homered as Los Angeles pulled out of an offensive funk three, Junior Guerra won his first career major league tory on Tuesday night. Jose Abreu had two hits and secutive scoreless innings dating to April 22. Nola, who with a victory over Tampa Bay. Howie Kendrick had four start, and Milwaukee rallied from an early four-run deficit three RBIs as Chicago ran its record to 19-8 with its retired the last 10 batters, has given up one run or fewer hits, including a two-run double that broke a fifth-inning to beat Los Angeles. With the Brewers trailing 4-0, third straight win. It has won nine of 11 overall to keep in four of six starts this season. Howard, a St Louis native, tie, to help left-hander Scott Kazmir (2-2) get his 100th Carter’s two-run homer in the third caromed off the up with the major league-leading Cubs, revving up the drilled a first-pitch offering from Michael Wacha (2-2) win. The RBIs were the first of the season for Kendrick, black batter’s backdrop in center. His solo shot in a anticipation for an intriguing summer in the Windy over the wall in right in the sixth inning. He has 22 coming in his 59th at-bat. Only Tampa Bay’s Logan three-run fifth to deep left-center off starter Nick City. Hanley Ramirez’s one-out homer in the fifth halted homers in 66 games against St. Louis and has 12 homers Morrison has more at-bats (64) this season without driv- Tropeano (1-1) put Milwaukee up for good. Guerra (1-0), Quintana’s scoreless streak at 20 1/3 innings, but the in 36 games at Busch Stadium. ing in a run. Thompson hit a two-run homer in the sec- who was called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs this left-hander bounced back by retiring Travis Shaw and ond inning and added a two-run single off Matt Moore Chris Young on a pair of grounders. Quintana (4-1) ASTROS 6, TWINS 4 (1-3) to finish a four-run fifth. Pederson hit a solo shot allowed four hits, struck out five and walked none Jason Castro and George Springer hit homers and with two outs in the second, and Puig added a three-run while lowering his ERA to 1.40. David Robertson fin- Houston held on for a victory. Castro hit his first homer homer off Ryan Webb in the ninth. ished for his ninth save in 10 chances. of the year to lead off the three-run third inning, and Springer hit a shot that bounced off the railroad tracks in GIANTS 3, REDS 1 CUBS 7, PIRATES 1 left field and out of the stadium to cap the three-run Jeff Samardzija went eight innings to win his third Jake Arrieta dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates yet fourth. Castro’s home run was knocked down by a fan straight start - a career first - and San Francisco rallied again, scattering two hits in seven shutout innings as and never made it over the wall into the Crawford Boxes, for two runs in the eighth inning against Cincinnati’s Chicago defeated Pittsburgh. Seven months after shut- but it was called a homer, and after a lengthy review, it historically bad bullpen. Cincinnati’s bullpen gave up ting the Pirates down in the NL wild card playoff, Arrieta was confirmed. Jose Altuve and Springer walked after at least one run for the 21st consecutive game, sur- allowed only singles to Sean Rodriguez in the second Castro’s blast before Carlos Correa knocked an RBI dou- passing the 2013 Colorado Rockies for the major and Francisco Cervelli in the seventh. Arrieta (6-0) struck ble and Alex Meyer (0-1) uncorked a wild pitch to score league record, according to information provided by out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 0.84. Springer and give the Astros a 3-2 lead. the Reds from the Elias Sports Bureau. With the game He became the second six-game winner in the major tied 1-1, Kelby Tomlinson drove in the go-ahead run leagues after Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox. Kris ORIOLES 4, YANKEES 1 with an infield single off Caleb Cotham (0-1). Gregor Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, who have won seven Mark Trumbo hit two home runs, Chris Tillman scat- Blanco followed with another run-scoring single, put- of eight and moved five games ahead of Pittsburgh in tered five hits over seven innings and Baltimore extend- ting the Giants in position for their fifth straight win at the NL Central. Jon Niese (3-1) gave up six runs and nine ed New York’s losing streak to six games. Trumbo hit a Great American Ball Park. Samardzija (4-1) had been 0- hits over five innings while losing for the first time since solo shot in the second inning and his eighth of the sea- 5 in his last nine starts against the Reds, but limited the Pirates acquired him from the New York Mets in an son with a runner on in the fifth. Both homers were off them to three hits - including Adam Duvall’s homer - offseason trade. Luis Severino (0-4), who yielded only two long balls in to end the slump. his previous four starts. Tillman (3-1) allowed one run, ROYALS 7, NATIONALS 6 matched his career high with nine strikeouts and walked MARLINS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 4 Lorenzo Cain capped a three-run ninth inning with a four.