Cricket, Rugby and Football National teams will resume training from 1 June as per the new health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Sports together with the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Sports released guidelines with eight key points to follow when sports resumes training.

All the details of the national pool members should be submitted to the Ministry of Sports as well as the Institute of Sports and Medicine.

Sri Lanka Cricket requested permission from the Ministry of Sports authorities last week with the intention of starting training by conducting bio secure residential training camps.

However, the health authorities through the Ministry of Sports officials have advised the main three sports in the country, Cricket, Rugby and Football to commence their training from 1 June.

All sports in the country were suspended due to the outbreak of Covid-19 from mid-March.

The eight-point guideline issued by the Ministry of Sports and Institute of Sports and Medicine reads:

Athletes allowed to go out of the training camp, if highly necessary, should get permission from the Director General, Minister of Sports or officials from Institute of Sports and Medicine.

Strictly follow quarantine law in Sri Lanka primarily governed under Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance No. 03 of 1897 (QPDO). The ordinance was introduced (inter-alia) to prevent the introduction of plague and all contagious or infection diseases to Sri Lanka and the spread of such diseases in and outside Sri Lanka.Outsiders, parents or friends strictly not allowed inside premises of the training camp.

During the training camp, accommodation and medical items given by the authorities and no outside stuff allowed.

Apart from Quarantine law, all athletes should follow the general rules set by the Ministry of Sports and respective national association in the past.

Coaches and other officials of the national pool also need to follow the guidelines.

LONDON, Thursday - International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach says the Tokyo Games would have to be scrapped if the event cannot be held next year due to the COVID-19 crisis.

In March, the IOC and Japanese government took the unprecedented decision to delay the Games, which had been due to start in July, for a year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the multi-sports event cannot take place in 2021 unless the virus is contained and Bach said he understood his position.The novel coronavirus has infected more than 17,100 people in Japan, causing 797 deaths.

“Quite frankly, I have some understanding for this, because you can’t forever employ 3,000 or 5,000 people in an Organising Committee,” Bach told the BBC.“You can’t every year change the entire sports schedule worldwide of all the major federations. You can’t have the athletes being in uncertainty.”Bach said the IOC was committed to holding the Games next year though it had to be prepared for various scenarios including quarantining athletes.“What could this mean for the life in an Olympic Village?” he said.

“All these different scenarios are under consideration and this is why I’m saying it’s a mammoth task, because there are so many different options that it’s not easy to address them (now).

– Agencies

New Pakistan ODI captain Babar Azam wants to adopt the captaincy style of Imran Khan, who led the country to the 1992 World Cup title.

Having been recently handed the reins of the ODI side in addition to T20I leadership, which he took over in later 2019, Azam has already set himself targets. Top on his priority list is to help Pakistan scale back up the ODI charts after they slipped to No.6 in the annual update to the MRF Tyres ICC Team Rankings.

"I've captained the U19 as well as the T20I team in the past," Azam reflected during a media interaction. "When I look at our rankings in the formats, it is not acceptable for me and my task is to bring that up to the top three. PCB thought I was ready (for the job) and they gave it to me. I'm ready."

Azam said that he wants to evolve into an attacking captain in the mould of Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to ICC Men's Cricket World Cup glory in 1992. "When you are captaining, you need to have a bit of a cool mind, you've to carry your team along, you've to be methodical with your plans against the opposition to get them out," he said.

"You have to be a little controlled, inside you may feel angry but you have to be in control. I learnt this in under-19 [cricket]. In the ground, you may have to tone down the aggression and give the players confidence. If you back your players 110%, they'll do that well. I want to be an attacking captain. I want to adopt the Imran Khan style."

The 25-year-old is the No.1 ranked batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batting, sits at No.3 position in ODIs and No.5 in Tests. Azam is confident that the added responsibility of captaincy will not have an effect on his batting performance.

"I'm a fan of challenges," he said. "Captaincy and batting are a little different. When you are batting, you are just focussing on batting and not thinking about captaincy. It's only when you are done with batting that you start thinking about team performance. My aim is to continue performing the same way even as captain."

NEW DELHI, Thursday - The Pakistan Cricket Board is hoping for the best and preparing for the worst as it seeks to mitigate financial setbacks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, its chief executive, Wasim Khan, has said.

On the face of it, the disruption caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak could not have come at a worse time, striking in mid-March when the Pakistan Super League (PSL), worth about $300 million to the governing body, was about to enter the knockout stage.

Bangladesh were also moved to postpone the final leg of their Pakistan tour, which included the second and final test and a one-off ODI — still rare fixtures in a country which has hosted almost no international cricket for a decade.

Khan, though, thinks the damage could have been a lot worse.

“It was a small setback, not a huge one,” the 49-year-old said in a telephone interview.

“I say that because we have successfully brought test cricket back in Pakistan ... we had the MCC tour, and obviously the PSL itself was a resounding success.

“We are fortunate in many ways, that we don’t have a home series now until November.”

The board has already identified new windows in November-December for the remaining PSL matches, Khan said, and still hoped to complete the Bangladesh fixtures in 2021.

These are not the only potential losses for the board, however, with the fate of the Asia Cup, which Pakistan was to host in September, in limbo and uncertainty still hanging over this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.

“We have been working out contingency plans, so that we can understand what the landscape may look like for us in 12 months time,” he said.

“The scenario planning is based on no Asia Cup happening in September, no World Cup happening in October.

“We’re trying to understand what the full impact of that is, and we’ll know that in the next couple of weeks.”

NEW BROADCAST DEAL

The PCB is also in the process of selling its broadcast rights for the 2020-23 period.

The absence of a bilateral series against India, thanks to the soured relations between the neighbours, is certain to undermine its value though.

But Khan said home fixtures against South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and England over the next couple of years would offer “decent value” to broadcasters.

He conceded the key would be to get England and Australia to tour Pakistan itself, rather than continue to force their “home” matches be played in the United Arab Emirates for security reasons.

Pakistan’s two-match series against Sri Lanka in December was the first test action in the country since the deadly 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan touring party.

“The progress that we’ve made, there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn’t be touring in 2022,” he added.

“We’ll continue to work with those cricket boards, as we will be with New Zealand and South Africa, to ensure we provide the security provision that they expect.”

Khan felt the 40-odd international cricketers who played in the PSL could help convince teams to tour Pakistan.

“We want these players to go back and tell their countrymen this is now what is it like in Pakistan,” he said. “It’s as safe as anywhere in the world.”With the same conviction, the PCB has ambitions to host ICC events in the 2023-31 cycle.

“By 2023, we’ll be further down the line and mature further in how we run large-scale events,” Khan said. “We will be doing everything we possibly can with a strong case for to host those events from 2023.”

– Agencies

MANCHESTER, Thursday - George Best was arguably the finest footballer never to have played in a World Cup yet his absence from the biggest stage did little to harm his international fame.

A remarkably gifted forward, the Northern Irishman broke new ground by also becoming a celebrity whose off-field behaviour generated as many column inches as his ability on the pitch.

Best’s talent emerged at the perfect moment for a footballer to enter pop culture - in the late 1960s, when British music was a major global influence.

But like many of those musicians, Best followed the path from glamour, freshness and excitement in the “Swinging Sixties” to become, in the 1970s, a troubled figure battling addiction.

While it was alcohol and not drugs that was Best’s downfall, there was a similar waste of talent to those rock stars who prematurely lost the energy and verve of their heyday but still appeared in the papers alongside model girlfriends.

Although Best had been thrilling English fans for several years already, winning league titles with Manchester United in 1965 and 1967, he emerged as a global star in 1968.

Best scored the brilliant second goal in Manchester United’s 4-1 extra time victory over Benfica in the European Cup final at Wembley as they became the first English team to win the competition.

In the same year, still only 22, he won England’s Footballer of the Year and the Ballon d’Or awards.

Yet rather than be a launching pad for a career that would put Best in the same category as Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff, 1968 turned out to be the peak of his achievements.

Best never won another major trophy and within six years of that victory he had left United who were on their way to relegation to the second division in 1974.

ALCOHOL PROBLEMS

He was only 27 and had he been fit and well could have looked forward to another eight years or so of top-level football but instead his alcohol problems intensified.

After a spell with Fulham in England’s second division, where his skills were still evident, Best spent the rest of his career in the United States, interrupted by a less than stellar stint with Hibernian in Scotland and his final years featured the odd game in Hong Kong and Australia.

In today’s era, with players able to switch clubs almost on demand, Best may well have taken a different path and one of his contemporaries, Chelsea’s Alan Hudson, believes he wanted to switch to join the London side.

“He hinted very strongly, he couldn’t really say it in the press, he never asked for a transfer. His way of asking for a transfer was disappearing to Spain with a blonde,” Hudson said during “The Alan Hudson Football Podcast” on You Tube.

“In the modern game I think he would have played for Chelsea because he would have said ‘I want to go there’ and they would have done the deal,” Hudson added.

That remains in the realm of alternative-history thought experiments but what Hudson is sure of is that Best was hurt by never playing at a World Cup.

“Every four years it broke his heart that he couldn’t go to a World Cup and play on the biggest stage,” Hudson said.

“He was the greatest player at that time and he was seeing inferior players playing in the World Cup.”

Best’s drinking led to a liver transplant and he died in November, 2005 aged 59. – Agencies

The Sri Lankan Cricketers Association (SLCA) in collaboration with the 1996 World Cup winning cricket team members, hereby wish to inform all current 1st class cricketers, Umpires and Scorers, who are un-employed and need assistance during this difficult period, to please get in touch with the SLCA office on tel. numbers 0772 541 197 and 0777 280 749 or via Email slca@sltnet.lk for the SLCA office to make the necessary arrangement of relief, as soon as possible, to be given to individuals who are eligible.

If any person or organization wishes to contribute towards this worthy cause, please do get in touch with the Honorary Secretary of SLCA –mobile #0722 404 857, as we have initiated this program with the limited resources we currently have.

Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes were amongst those booked in for individualised training sessions on Thursday as England’s players officially began their preparation for July’s Test series versus West Indies.

Under the guidelines set out by the ECB for a safe return to practice, the onus is on individuals to book their own time slots with their appointed physios.

Broad, England’s second most prolific Test bowler behind current new-ball partner James Anderson, was due at Trent Bridge and Woakes at Edgbaston for what was expected to be 45-minute workouts.

A group of 18 bowlers have been invited to a safe return first ahead of the batsmen and wicketkeepers, who are scheduled to join in from June 1.

This week, players have been advised to take part in up to two sessions, although they have been given grace to start next Monday should they so wish and some like Warwickshire’s Olly Stone might not begin until a later date as they contend injury niggles.

Initial training - which takes place after players turn up at venues in full kit - will incorporate shuttle runs and other aerobic activity with very little focus on bowling.

The balls that individuals do bowl will be delivered alone in a net and are to be retrieved by the players themselves under the Covid-19 protocols which prevent contact with others.

Players have been told to maintain regular washing of hands and a two-metre social distance, clean equipment and mobile phones regularly with disinfectant wipes, and not to impart sweat or saliva on balls even though they have been personally assigned. Next week, they will step up to a minimum of three, slightly longer sessions. These sessions will see both a coach and a physio in attendance.

That should coincide with the ECB announcing its schedule and venues for England’s 2020 summer. The Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford are set to be confirmed as its new behind-closed-doors centres barring any last-minute hitches.

Counties who paid staging fees touching £1million apiece to be hosts on the original 2020 itinerary will then have their deposits returned soon afterwards. They will retain all money from ticket sales until the ECB reclaim it via their insurance at a later date.

Sportsmail understands that all newly-arranged fixtures will be ‘cost neutral’ meaning that hosts will neither make or lose money from them.

A staging handout of around £100,000 will cover any administrative expenses incurred by Hampshire and Lancashire, the clubs in question. However, there is likely to be a healthy profit in the fees paid for exclusive use of the two site’s hotels - an essential component of the bio-secure cricket the ECB are committed to delivering.

– Daily Mail

The Professional Sports Journalists together with Anna-Marie Ondaatje Foundation has come forward to help former Olympian marathon runner Wimalasena Perera.

The PSJASL coordinated with 'A Quint Ondaatje Foundation' to fund Perera’s nutrition and rehabilitation needs for six months with a follow up.

Director/goodwill ambassador, Anna-Marie Ondaatje, happily obliged to contribute to this cause. "We are all equal and here for a purpose", said Anna-Marie.

“I am ambitious to focus on human rights, basic needs,(food, clothing and shelter), creating change in areas of health and safety, education, gender equality, foster, abuse, women, disaster response, refugee, sports development, arts, culture and heritage, rural transformation and urban renewal," she said.

When asked why she chose to be involved in this area of humanitarian work Anna-Marie said, "When I looked back at my Ondaatje family history, I learnt that many of my ancestors have contributed to my mother country in many different ways. This inspired me to follow in the humanitarian path, showing me how much of an impact I can make. By doing this I hope to make a difference. In order to really understand where you are going, you must understand where you are coming from."

Anna-Marie is only 19, but her athletic legacy is already secure: as the first Rhythmic gymnast to represent Sri Lanka on the international stage. Ondaatje is already both pioneer and ambassador for her sport.

Born on 30 May 1945 in Kelaniya, Wimalasena Perera is the 4th oldest Olympian residing in Sri Lanka after Sumith Liyanage, Ernest Fernando and W Wimaladasa.

At the age of 19, in 1964, his exceptional athletic records helped him join the Army. The army was instrumental in him representing the country at the Olympics. He was placed 2nd in the 1964 Olympic selections so he couldn’t represent the country. Perera trained hard and won the all-island marathon race in 1966 where he broke the national record established by Linz Dias, who represented Sri Lanka in the 1960 Olympics. Wimalasena held this record for 25 long years, till 1991.

His first international experience was in the Commonwealth Games held in Jamaica in August 1966. A shoulder injury at the 11th mile forced him to abandon the race. He took part in the 1500m, 5000m and the 10,000m events too.

Later in the Singapore National Games held in 1967 he won 2 silver medals in the 5000m and the 10,000m events. These performances together with winning the trials helped him to take part in the 1968 Jamaica Olympics.

This is not the first time the Sports Journalists Association have joined hands with the 'A Quint Ondaatje Foundation' to support noble causes of this sort. In April this year, they came together to donate complete personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to front-line journalists and medical officers, to help them cover corona related news safely.

NEW DELHI, Friday - India’s cricket board will not push for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia to be postponed but would consider staging the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October/November slot if it becomes available, a senior BCCI official said.

This year’s IPL, which is worth almost $530 million to the BCCI, has been indefinitely postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic while the World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 18, is also in jeopardy.

Reports in Australian media have suggested India’s influential board may look to push for the World Cup to be postponed to open up a window for the IPL. World Cup contingency plans are on the agenda at next week’s International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting but BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said India would not be recommending it be pushed back.

“Why should the BCCI suggest postponing the Twenty20 World Cup?” Dhumal said by telephone.

“We’ll discuss it in the meeting and whatever is appropriate, (the ICC) will take a call. “If the Australia government announces that the tournament will happen and Cricket Australia is confident they can handle it, it will be their call. BCCI would not suggest anything.”

While Australia has seen new infections of the novel coronavirus slow to a trickle and is gradually easing travel curbs and social distancing restrictions, hosting a 16-team World Cup would be a Herculean task for Cricket Australia. Dhumal questioned whether the tournament should go ahead if it had to be played without spectators and said the Australian government would play a key role in any decision.

“It all depends on what the Australian government says on this - whether they’d allow so may teams to come and play the tournament,” he added.

“Will it make sense to play games without spectators? Will it make sense for CA to stage such a tournament like that? It’s their call.”

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts was guarded about the prospects of staging the tournament as scheduled on Friday.

“We don’t have clarity on that one, yet. But as the situation continues to improve, you never know what might be possible,” he said. “It’s ultimately a decision for the ICC.”

The ICC has said it was unlikely to make a final call on the fate of the World Cup until August but some boards are in the process of making contingency plans in the event of a postponement.

While the BCCI recognised an open October-November window would suit the IPL, Dhumal said there was no point in making plans until there was some certainty about the World Cup.

“If we have the window available, and depending on what all can be organised, we’ll decide accordingly,” he added. “We can’t presume that it’s not happening and go on planning.”

– Agencies

Prince and Princess of Wales’ Colleges Moratuwa was founded by one of the then greatest philanthropist of our country devout Anglican and a former Thomian Charles Henry de Soysa in 1876. A keen cricket lover Mr. De Soysa did not forget to give the students of both schools a picturesque ground which runs parallel to the Galle Road in front of the Principal’s bungalow. The same year he introduced cricket to the school.

Upto 1896 the Males of the Academic and non Academic Staffs of the College played friendly cricket matches. Undoubtedly Mr. De Soysa could be called as the, “Father of Moratuwa Cricket” which is a cricket crazy town. With his sudden demise in 1890 the two schools were managed by the “De Soysa Trust” with the blessings and the guidance of the Anglican Church, Holy Emmanuel in Rawatawatte, Moratuwa and in 1896 the then Principal, his son-in-law J. G. C. Mendis organized cricket the same year. Three inter-school matches were played against Royal, S. Thomas’ and Wesley College and to-date they are traditional fixtures annually.

It was almost 59 years ago a formidable Thomian first eleven cricket team under the captaincy of Keith Labrooy travelled down to Moratuwa to take on the Cambrians on their fiery matting wicket. During this period the matches commenced at 12 noon and went upto 6 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. In 1961/62 the Cambrians were captained by gloveman and opening bat Hayasti Aponso with a star studded side including several allrounders such as T. Munasinghe, Ryle de Mel, D.S. de Silva (later Sri Lankan Test and ODI player), Merl Mendis, Raja Peiris, Sarath de Silva, Nimal Cooray (former Air Force all-rounder), Shanthilal de Silva and Priyananda Perera and Dilwin Mendis who was a reserve member of the cricket pool.

The Cambrians with an innings victory against formidable Royal College in the previous weekend at the same venue and Aponso in fine form with a century under his belt against them must have thought they could repeat the same performance against the mighty Thomians.

Batting first the Cambrians piled up 262 with Aponso and Ryle de Mel scoring 64 and 67 runs respectively. Aponso and his deputy Munasinghe put on 55 runs for the first wicket. W. Fernando claimed 5 for 73. In reply the Thomians lost openers Randy Morrel for 11 runs and I. Abeysekera for 19. Then A. Medonza who represented his alma-mater in two Big Matches in 1961 and 1962 went on to complete a brilliant chanceless 102 to pull his side out of trouble. Along with F. Selvathurai (49) he put on a valuable seventh wicket partnership of 66 runs and Thomians were all out for 251 runs giving a slender lead of 11 runs to the host.

In their second essay the Cambrians made a quick declaration in the hope of getting the visitors out soon and declared at 125 for 3 wickets with D. S. de Silva and Aponso scoring an unbeaten 47 and 57 runs respectively and putting on an unfinished 97 runs for the third wicket. Set to make 137 runs for an outright victory the Thomians were 45 for 3 with R. Fernando unbeaten on 27.  

SYDNEY, Friday - Eight-time Grand Slam-winning tennis player Ashley Cooper has died aged 83, Tennis Australia announced Friday.

The former Australian, Wimbledon and US singles titleholder, was part of the golden era of Australian men's tennis in the 1950s, winning four Grand Slams singles titles and four in doubles.

Competing against fellow Australian greats Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall and Neale Fraser, Cooper won three of those singles Slams in 1958, when he triumphed at Wimbledon and the Australian and USA championships.

Tennis Australia said Cooper would be remembered as "a giant of the game both as a brilliant player and an astute administrator."

"Ashley was also the most humble of champions and a great family man," said Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley.

"Our hearts go out to his wife Helen and his family, along with his wide and international circle of friends, including so many of our tennis family."

Eleven-time singles Slam winner Laver led the tributes following the death of  man he described as a friend.

"So sad to hear of Ashley’s passing. He was a wonderful champion, on and off the court. And what a backhand! So many cherished memories. Farewell my friend," Laver wrote on Twitter.

Current women's world number one and Queensland native Ashleigh Barty was among the current generation to hail Cooper's impact on the sport.

– AFP

International renowned bodybuilders and Sri Lanka Bodybuilding and Fitness Sports stakes holders have requested the Government to recommend gyms in Sri Lanka with health guidance.

Speaking at the press conference held at Ragama on Thursday, former president of Sri Lanka Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation and current secretary of Ja-ela Urban Council Kapila Kumara stated that nearly 5000 gym were not operating and their owners and coaches were suffering economically due to this pandemic. He further said if government allowed them to open the gym with strict guidelines it could help them to do their business.

He further stated the Sri Lanka Fitness Federation president Aravinda Wijeyamanna gave a request letter to the President Task Force fighting against Covid19 and Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Director General of Health Services stating 21 valid key points to recommence the gym activities in Sri Lanka.

"The Government will assess the situation and announce the progressive reopening of gym operations at an appropriate time," said Wijeyamanna.

Despite the uncertainty, many gyms are thinking ahead and setting up safe distancing protocols according to the government guidelines of their premises.

"We believe the government will adopt a more phase-like approach and gyms may be one of the last few businesses to reopen, so we are mentally prepared for that," he said.

Sri Lankan Body Builder Lucian Pushparaj who got into the Top 5 performers of 2020 Arnold Classic Amateur, Super Heavy Weight competition said, there is evidence that too much intense and heavy exercise can reduce immunity.

“But Cardio, Aerobics and Zumba were much needed exercises to maintain body weight and balance as athletes like us. Government think the word gym is only for heavy weight exercises,” said Pushparaj. “Even other countries are also considering reopening their gyms with strict guidelines. Maintaining healthy bodies avoids a person from virus infections,” he said.

Niranjan Kumara Asian gold medalist in the 70 kg also shared Pushparaj’s views and said, “I don’t own any gyms but as a bodybuilder I am responsible to stand with the industries stake holders.

I kindly request the government and health officials to take into consideration gym owners in the country.”

MELBOURNE, Friday - Australia are a “nine out of 10” chance to host India for a test series in the home summer and could also tour England for limited overs series beforehand, Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts said.

Cricket has been shut down since March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak and while travel curbs remain Australia has begun easing social distancing restrictions after infections slowed to a trickle.

“I guess there’s no such thing as certainty in today’s world so I can’t say 10 (out of 10), but I’m going to say nine out of 10,” Roberts told a roundtable held by Australia’s News Corp when asked about the prospects of India touring.

“I’d be really surprised if we can’t get the Indian tour away. But I wouldn’t, hand on heart, suggest we’ll have full crowds from the start.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how that goes.”

Australia had planned to tour England in July for one-day and Twenty20 series before the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the international schedule into doubt.

England are looking at hosting the West Indies and Pakistan in July and August.

Roberts said he had spoken to the England and Wales Cricket Board on Wednesday and there was “some chance” Australia could tour England after the West Indies and Pakistan tours.

“Obviously we won’t jeopardise the safety of the players, but the best test of that is that the West Indian and Pakistan tours ... go off without a hitch,” he said.

Roberts was less optimistic about Australia’s chances of hosting the Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled to start in October, given the logistical challenge of bringing in 15 teams.

“We don’t have clarity on that one, yet. But as the situation continues to improve, you never know what might be possible,” he said.

“It’s ultimately a decision for the ICC (International Cricket Council).”

– Agencies

Rodney So'oialo, former New Zealand player, who is the present Trinity College rugby coach, leaves tomorrow Sunday to his country. He will be back when the Trinitians starts practice in August.

A classy coach, he was a member of the coaching team for Tawa Rugby Club, in his home city of Wellington. Previously, he had been a stalwart for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition, making 101 appearances for the franchise. He also made 62 test appearances for the All Blacks between 2002 and 2009 in his usual position at number eight.

CAPE TOWN, Thursday - South Africa are optimistic about hosting India for three lucrative Twenty20 Internationals in late August, but are trying to find new dates for their proposed tour to the West Indies.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has already had to postpone a limited overs series in Sri Lanka, but has earmarked the visit by India to raise much-needed revenue.

CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith says the body is in constant contact with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“We have been talking to them and the commitment is there to get the three T20s done,” Smith said at a news conference on Thursday. “There is an element of guesswork, no-one knows what things will be like at the end of August.

“But we believe we are a socially-distanced sport and that we can play behind closed doors.”

The Proteas were due to tour the West Indies in late July for two test matches and five Twenty20 internationals, and Smith confirmed they are looking at all options for those matches, including playing at neutral venues or in South Africa.

“We are exploring all options. Sport has to think like a business now and not just an events company. We need to get together and work out how to get cricket up and running,” he said.

“We are trying to understand things like quarantine regulations. There are so many things up in the air, but the key is to be ready (for when play returns).”

– Agencies

MELBOURNE, Friday - Three of John Newcombe’s countrymen have won more Grand Slam singles titles but any doubts about his standing in Australian tennis are put to rest at the sport’s annual awards night.

The Newcombe Medal, awarded to the country’s best player each year, stands as a perennial tribute to the man with the handlebar moustache who won Wimbledon three times and was the last in a golden era of Australian men’s champions.

With a thumping serve and fierce forehand, Newcombe won the Australian Open and U.S. Open twice along with 17 Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1960s and 70s.

He also helped Australia win five Davis Cups.

But the man nicknamed “Newk” is much more than the breadth of his trophy cabinet to a country not short on sporting success.

To many Australians he remains the essence of what a sportsman should be: ultra-competitive, classy, and partial to a cold beer after a hard slog on court.

Emerging from the shadows of compatriots Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle, a clean-shaven Newcombe started slowly in the sepia-toned amateur era but burst into the spotlight by winning Wimbledon in 1967 in the year of its first colour broadcast.

Months later he had his second major when he beat Clark Graebner at the 1967 U.S. Nationals. – Agencies

WELLINGTON, Friday - It has been described as New Zealand cricket's darkest day, the 1955 Test against England when the Black Caps were skittled for just 26, a record low that still stands today.

Even 65 years later, the embarrassing score still rankles with New Zealand fans, who are always on alert during a major Test collapse and death-ride the batting team hoping the record falls.

"Frankly, as a New Zealand fan we'd be grateful for anyone to take this record away from us," Paul Ford, co-founder of Kiwi cricket supporters' group The Beige Brigade, told AFP.

"It's ignominious, it's shameful. It would be great if someone came along and scored 25 or fewer."

The Test cricket landscape in 1955 was vastly different to today.

India had recorded their first Test victory only three years before, Pakistan debuted in the five-day game barely two years previously and Sri Lanka were still 27 years away from gaining Test status.

Australia and England were the undisputed heavyweights of the era with South Africa, the West Indies and New Zealand, who had not yet won a Test, in supporting roles.

England arrived in New Zealand for two Tests full of confidence after their first Ashes series win in Australia for 22 years.

The New Zealand Test team had been out of action for more than a year and had been unsettled by inconsistent selection.

Even so, they made England toil for an eight-wicket victory in the opening Test in Dunedin and were reasonably placed midway through the second match in Auckland, having conceded a first-innings deficit of 46 runs.

But the gulf in class proved telling on a deteriorating pitch in the second innings when only one batsman, Bert Sutcliffe, reached double figures.

Five players ended the session with ducks and Sutcliffe lamented: "It seemed hardly fair that we should have been so humiliated after putting up so stout-hearted a performance for two-and-a-half days."

Reaction in New Zealand was ferocious, although captain Geoff Rabone continued to defend his side.

"It was many things, that batting display, but it was never disgraceful," he later wrote.

"Everyone gave their all and we were outgunned on the day. Everyone tried as hard as they could -- how could that be seen as disgraceful?"

The setback was only temporary. The Black Caps recorded their maiden win, in their 45th Test, a year later against the West Indies.

Since 1955, New Zealand's unwanted record has almost fallen on several occasions.

Ford said the most tantalising was in 2018, when New Zealand in a day-night Test had the chance to bundle out England in Auckland, offering a rare opportunity for sporting symmetry at the scene of the Black Caps' 1955 humbling.

England were teetering on the brink at 23-8 when Moeen Ali was bowled by Tim Southee for one of five ducks in the innings.

But Craig Overton's unbeaten 33 took England to 58 all out as the tourists avoided the record books but fell to an innings and 49-run defeat.

"We were watching every ball and hoping that maybe that record could be consigned elsewhere, so it could be a rock under someone else's towel," Ford said.

"But it just wasn't to be."

Ford said the result was now part of the tapestry of cricket in New Zealand.

"It's such a fundamental part of New Zealand cricket history that if it wasn't there the game here would be poorer for it.

"People who follow cricket in New Zealand are generally not there for the winning, they're there to enjoy the game and sometimes results like that are part of it, painful though that may be."– AFP

Taufeeq Umar, the Pakistan opener of the mid-2000s, has tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the second cricketer from the country to have contracted the virus. After deciding to get himself checked after complaining of symptoms associated with the Coronavirus, the results came out positive and Umar has since kept himself isolated.

Umar is the second cricketer from Pakistan, after former First-Class cricketer Zafar Sarfaraz to have tested positive for Covid-19. Sarfaraz unfortunately could not recover from the virus and died last month.

“I got myself tested last night after feeling a little sick last night, and the result came positive. My symptoms are not at all severe. I have isolated myself at home. I appeal to everyone to pray for my swift recovery,” Umar told Geo News. Umar, who represented Pakistan in 44 Tests and 22 ODIs, last played for the country in November 2014 – against New Zealand in a Test match in Dubai. He made his Test debut with a century against Bangladesh, becoming the eighth Pakistan batsman to do so. In October 2011, Umar peeled off his maiden Test double-century against Sri Lanka, which made him the seventh batsman from Pakistan to score a Test double.

After a semi-impressive first run between 2001 and 2006, Umar was recalled into the side after nearly four years for a Test series against South Africa in 2010 and scored 137 runs from two matches.

In the subsequent series, Umar managed 136 runs in two Tests against New Zealand and 165 runs against West Indies, also a two-Test affair. Against Sri Lanka, Umar scored 324 runs in a three Test series including a century, which Pakistan won 1-0.

However, following a string of low scores, he was dropped from the squad after Pakistan’s three Test series in Sri Lanka in June of 2012. He has since played just one more Test.

SYDNEY, Sunday - Former Australia cricket captain Mark Taylor has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make a decision this week on whether the men’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup will go ahead in October.

The ICC board is due to meet on May 28 to discuss a number of issues related to the novel coronavirus outbreak and Taylor said he thought they should also address the World Cup, which is due to be held in Australia from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15. “It would probably be good (if a decision is made)” Taylor, who is also a Cricket Australia director, told the Nine Network on Sunday. “Because then everyone can start planning and we can stop sitting here and saying ‘well ifs, buts or maybes’.

“My feeling is the World T20 won’t go ahead in Australia in October as planned.

“Is it going to be viable to have a world tournament in October or November? The answer to that is probably no.”

The ICC had previously said a decision on the World Cup would probably not be made until at least August.

The decision has been complicated by suggestions that administrators are also keen to reschedule the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) for later this year after it was indefinitely postponed in April.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said it would not look to reschedule the tournament until after the dates of the T20 World Cup have been decided.

Taylor, however, felt the financial clout of the BCCI and the scale of salaries that players can earn for their stints in the tournament could sway decision makers.

The IPL is worth about $530 million to the BCCI and players can potentially earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for about six weeks work.

– Agencies

CAPE TOWN, Saturday - Cricket South Africa (CSA) plan to isolate players and support staff in a “bio-bubble” to minimise their exposure to COVID-19 and hasten a return to play.

CSA has studied the best practises used by the German Bundesliga, which resumed last weekend, and hope to implement them when India are scheduled to visit for three lucrative Twenty20 Internationals in late August.

But the tour remains in doubt as government models suggest the virus could peak in South Africa during August or September.

It poses the question of how to minimise exposure for players, coaches and support staff.

Team doctor Shuaib Manjra said they have worked on a plan, having also liaised with the cricket boards in England and Australia.

“The bio-bubble would be a sanitised cricket biosphere with strict entry standards and limited movement out of this cordon,” he told reporters via a teleconference.

“This will require regular testing of all of those within the bubble.

“We want to create a sanitised cricket eco-system that will ensure we account for the entire chain of operations that are sanitised and grant protection to all role-players.

“We have drawn from our colleagues in England and Australia, and we have learned from (soccer’s) La Liga and the Bundesliga.”

Manjra said they are facing unknown risk factors, including what effect COVID-19 has on the health of infected athletes once they have recovered.

– Agencies