England’s Sonny Baker (3rd L), celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra. Photo: AFP LONDON: Tom Blundell hit New Zealand’s first fifty of the series and Glenn Phillips posted an unbeaten 49 as the tourists fought back against England on an intriguing opening day of the second Test at the Oval on Wednesday. The…
Annerie Dercksen counterattacked after an early wicket. Photo: ICC Captain Fatima Sana’s heroic all-round act involving 55 not out with the bat and 3-16 with the ball went in vain as South Africa edged past Pakistan by a mere two wickets chasing the 127-run target with 19 balls to spare in Match 11 of the…
ARLINGTON: Harry Kane scored twice in the first half as England eventually saw off Croatia 4-2 to launch their World Cup title assault in Texas on Wednesday. Jude Bellingham, immediately after half-time, and substitute Marcus Rashford with five minutes to go ensured a winning start for Thomas Tuchel’s side after Croatia had fought back to…
KANSAS CITY: Bukayo Saka says England have the “talent, passion and confidence” to finally win the World Cup after a series of agonising near-misses in major tournaments. The Arsenal winger was part of Gareth Southgate’s team that twice fell at the final hurdle in the European Championship and reached the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar in 2022. That…
Argentina forward Lionel Messi celebrates scoring against Algeria in Kansas City. Photo: AFP KANSAS CITY: Lionel Messi scored a dazzling hat-trick for Argentina on Tuesday to equal Miroslav Klose’s all-time record of 16 goals at World Cups as the defending champions swept Algeria aside 3-0. On a night for the ages in Kansas City, the…
Ayyoub Bouaddi (L) looked at home in the Morocco midfield on his World Cup debut against five-time champions Brazil. Photo: AFP NEW YORK: Less than three months ago, Ayyoub Bouaddi was captaining France’s Under-21 side in a European Championship qualifier. Now, he is a central figure underpinning Morocco’s World Cup ambitions. The 18-year-old turned in an eye-catching display…
Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. celebrates with the Claret Jug trophy after winning The 153rd Open Championship. Photo: REUTERS SOUTHAMTON: While top-ranked Scottie Scheffler chases a career Grand Slam at this week’s US Open, European golfers can achieve an unprecedented treble if one of them wins the title at Shinnecock. The year’s third major tournament begins Thursday over…
LONDON: Holders New Zealand are in danger of being eliminated from the Women’s T20 World Cup after a surprise five-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The White Ferns lost against the West Indies in their first match and Sri Lanka condemned them to a second loss with two balls to spare in Southampton. New…
Spain failed to find back of the net against spirited Cape Verde. Photo: AFP LONDON: Mikel Merino said Spain have to react to the “grief” of failing to beat debutants Cape Verde in their World Cup opener, but is confident the European champions are still contenders to win the competition. It was a familiar story…
LONDON: Former Germany players have hit out at Jurgen Klopp for comments he made about national coach Julian Nagelsmannwhile working as a pundit covering the 2026 World Cup. Former Liverpool manager Klopp has been employed as a TV pundit alongside former Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Thomas Mueller for the duration of the tournament. In the lead-up to Germany’s opener against…