WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 , 2013 SPORTS Race 4 victory saves Oracle’s Cup chances SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle Team USA’s two young boys. the America’s Cup for his role in illegally One of the keys so far has been being heart-stopping victory in Race 4 of the “The more people we can get behind modifying boats in warmup regattas last the first cat to round the first mark in a America’s Cup may have saved the event us, the more good energy they can send year and earlier this year. sprint across the wind just inside the as well as the syndicate’s chances to retain our way. It affects the guys on board and it Attorney Terry Anderlini, a former com- Golden Gate Bridge. That helps it control the oldest trophy in international sports. lifts them. We want to keep the Cup here. modore of the St. Francis Yacht Club, said the race from there. Skipper Jimmy Spithill aggressively We want to keep it on the bay. These guys he believes the ISAF constitution trumps Team New Zealand got there first in sailed Oracle’s 72-foot catamaran to an 8- don’t,” he said, referring to skipper Dean the America’s Cup protocol, which forbids both races Saturday and Oracle got their second victory against Emirates Team New Barker and the rest of the New Zealand appeals of jury decisions. first in both races Sunday. The fourth race Zealand in the fog, wind and salt spray on team. “They want to take it all the way “The rights of these sailors are more result “doesn’t change anything for us,” San Francisco Bay on Sunday. down to New Zealand, which is a long way important than the America’s Cup,” Barker said. “We certainly knew coming Oracle Team USA, owned by software away. So we need to use that advantage. Anderlini said. “You can’t just rush this into this event that it was going to be billionaire Larry Ellison, hopes the victory We need all the people from San Francisco thing along because you’ve got an event very, very close. To predict that you’d helps swing the momentum and allows it and the U.S. to get behind us.” going on and you want a decision before make it through either way to zero, I think, to learn a thing or two about what it’s The Race 4 victory came after Oracle - the gun goes off. You just can’t take their would be a bit cold. We know that we’ve going to take to defeat a strong Kiwi team. which has only two Americans on its 11- livelihood away like this without justice got to be on our game to keep winning One of those things is home-water advan- man crew - let the Kiwis come from and fairness.” races. We’ve got to win a lot more points. tage. behind to win Race 3. Monday was a lay day. Oracle was out There are certainly things we need to do The finish line of the five-leg course is Oracle trails the best-of-17 series 3 to on the bay working on improving its per- better.” just a few hundred yards off America’s Cup minus-1. The syndicate was docked two formance upwind, where Team New Being winless in four races would have Park on Pier 27-29 on the Embarcadero. points in the biggest cheating scandal in Zealand has shown better boat speed. been a massive setback for Oracle. This The end of the pier is packed with fans the regatta’s history. “It was good to get out there and work regatta has already been blemished by the on race days, many of them waving New That means Oracle needs to win 10 on a couple of things,” said Oracle Team death of British sailor Andrew Simpson in Zealand and American flags. On Saturday, more races to keep the Auld Mug. Team USA CEO Russell Coutts, who won the first Artemis Racing’s capsize on May 9, only police closed off access to the area when New Zealand needs to win six more to two of his four America’s Cups as skipper three teams being entered in the chal- the crowd reached about 3,500. sweep the trophy away to the Royal New of Team New Zealand in 1995 and 2000. lenger series and the cheating scandal in Spithill wants the fans to know that the Zealand Yacht Squadron, which held it “We’ve got to improve our upwind per- which Oracle was caught illegally modify- sailors can hear them cheering as the from 1995-2003. Races 5 and 6 are sched- formance. We were out there working on a ing boats in warmup regattas last year and races end and the boats fly across the line uled for late yesterday. bit of that and our tacking. We made some earlier this year. on hydrofoils. On Monday, an attorney for banished progress.” The win in Race 4 was “huge,” Spithill “There’s something about the home Oracle wing sail trimmer Dirk de Ridder The Kiwis showed better speed upwind said. “A lesser team probably would have court advantage, and it’s very hard to put filed an appeal with the review board of in winning Saturday’s first two races. crumbled in the fourth race,” he said. “This SAN FRANCISCO: Emirates Team New Zealand skip- a value on, but it makes a difference,” said the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Oracle sailed better upwind in Race 4, in team is very, very good under pressure pered Dean Barker (left) and Oracle Team USA skip- Spithill, an Australian who lives in San seeking to have his client reinstated. An part by engaging Team New Zealand less and they will just fight the whole way to pered James Spithill (right) in action during race three Diego with his American wife and their international jury banned de Ridder from and protecting the favored side. the end.”—AP of the Americaís Cup finals. —AFP Zimbabwe stumble against Pakistan HARARE: Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor shared a century partnership before Zimbabwe suf- fered a collapse on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club yesterday. Zimbabwe were 237 for eight at the close of play. Masakadza (75) and Taylor (51) put on 110 for the third wicket but the rest of the bat- ting crumbled on a pitch which had cracks that caused several deliver- ies to keep low. Masakadza’s dismissal, caught at slip off a Saeed Ajmal ‘doosra’, was the first of six wickets that fell for 94 runs before the close of play. Masakadza and Taylor came together after Zimbabwe lost their first two wickets for 31 runs. Graeme Smith Tina Mawoyo was caught behind off Junaid Khan without Smith back for Pakistan series scoring off the second ball of the match after Taylor won the toss and CAPE TOWN: Graeme Smith has been tially prolong his career. decided to bat. Vusi Sibanda bat- included in South Africa’s touring party for There were no new caps in the test tled to 14 off 44 balls before drag- the series against Pakistan in the United squad, though middle-order batsman JP ging an attempted pull against HARARE: Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza ducks a short delivery during the first day of the sec- Arab Emirates starting next month, but Duminy returns for the first time since pick- Rahat Ali onto his stumps. ond Test match between Pakistan and hosts Zimbabwe. —AFP must still confirm his full recovery from an ing up an Achilles injury in the away series Masakadza, who captained the ankle injury that has kept him out since against Australia last November. team in the first Test when Taylor bowled by a delivery which barely match of the series being played at affected. There were only two non- May. Vernon Philander has been included in withdrew because of the birth of rose off the turf after hitting a the same venue as part of a cost- playing days between Tests, and Smith is pencilled in to captain the 15- the one-day selection having made known his first child, batted solidly as he crack. cutting exercise by Zimbabwe Taylor said at the toss that he did man test squad for the two-match series his desire to play limited-overs cricket. reached a half-century off 98 balls, Pakistan won the first Test by Cricket, there was concern that not want to bat last after having and has also been named in the one-day The South African selectors have been taking advantage of any loose 221 runs. With the second and final pitch preparation might have been had a look at the pitch.—AFP selection, though Proteas convener of hesitant to pick the swing bowler in the deliveries to hit eight fours and a selectors Andrew Hudson said they would past, preferring he concentrate on the six. Taylor, by contrast, looked out take a cautious approach with the 32-year- longer version of the game. of touch early in his innings and SCOREBOARD old. “We want to give Vernon the chance to was given a torrid time by left-arm “We should have a definite picture on show us what he can do,” Hudson said. “He pace bowler Junaid. He scored only HARARE: Close of play scores on the first day of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Pakistan at Harare the status of Graeme’s recovery from sur- and Wayne (Parnell) are both good lower- seven runs as the partnership Sports Club yesterday: gery within the next two weeks,” Hudson order all-rounders and have the ability to became worth 50 but he played Zimbabwe, first innings Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Mawoyo), 2-31 (Sibanda), 3-141 said in CSA statement released yesterday.