SPORTWednesday 10 January 2018

Serbian sport delegation

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Mathews back as SL’s limited-overs captain

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Al Gharafa look for turnaround in QSLAt

s rs

It was always going to be a difficult game against Uzbekistan as we know they are tough opponents. I think the team did a very good job today and that they performed well in every department. I feel that one of the great strengths of this group of players is that they work very hard. They have a great spirit: Qatar coach Felix Sanchez

It was a very tough game for us today, and I feel that some of my players were not able to perform to their best ability. We made too many mistakes and we must go away and see where and how we made those errors: Uzbekistan coach Ravshan Khaydarov

THE PENINSULA

CHANGZHOU: Feared striker Almoez Ali was on target yesterday as Qatar edged past Uzbekistan 1-0 in their opening clash of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

Ali, with assistance from midfielder Hashim Ali, flicked a ball from close range to score the only goal of the Group A match as Asia’s premier Olympic squad tournament kicked off with much fanfare.

Ali’s timely strike came in the 56th minute after both the sides failed to score in the first half at Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre where Dong-Jin Kim penalised three Qatari players with yellow cards.

Abdullah Al Ahrak (45), Mohammed Al Bakari (72) and goalkeeper Bassam Al Rawi were shown the yellow cards. Al Rawi was penalised late in the second half on account of time-wasting.

Uzbekistan’s Dostonbek Khamdamov was shown the yellow card in the 29th minute.

Qatar, coached by Felix Sanchez, made two changes during the game when Abdul-lah Al Ahrak (72) and Ali (85) were benched in the feisty Group A encounter.

Earlier in the eighth minute, Uzbekistan’s Zabikhillo Urinboev produced a right-footed shot from long range on the left flank but he missed the target following a cross from Khamdamov.

Thirteen minutes later, Qatar’s star mid-fielder Akram Afif fired a shot from outside the box but missed the top right corner of the net after a cross by Ahmad Moein.

In the 33rd minute, Moein - on the outside of the Uzbek box - missed with his shot after a neat pass from-team mate Ali. Five minutes from the close of the first half, Qatar’s Salem Al Hajri produced a right-footed shot into the Uzbekistan crossbar from outside the box.

Ten minutes into the second half, Qatar got on the scoreboard with Ali lunging for-ward to deflect a cross from Ali inside the Uzbek box. The ball beat Uzbekistan goal-keeper Dilshod Khamraev and crashed into the left side of the net.

Qatar, despite a series of attacks from Uzbek forwards, defended stoutly to retain their lead and to eventually pick up the first points in the 16-team tournament.

Earlier yesterday, host nation China began their AFC U23 Championship 2018 campaign in fine fashion thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over Oman at the same venue.

Goals from Yang Liyu, Li Xiaoming and Wei Shihao proved the difference on a bit-terly cold afternoon, as China laid down an impressive early marker in Group.

In what would prove to be an entertain-ing opening period, it was China who threatened first, Yang seeing his shot from 12 yards smothered by the visiting defence, and Beijing Guoan forward Wei forcing a smart save from Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini with 18 minutes gone.

With China in the ascendancy, Oman’s

defence was to be breached twice in quick succession, as first Yang expertly converted Li Shuai’s pinpoint delivery on the half hour mark, and then Li Xiaoming headed home Wei’s superb floated cross to double his side’s advantage just four minutes later.

To their credit, Oman rallied briefly after the break, but the game was effectively ended as a contest in the 53rd minute when the impressive Wei powered home a header after being found by Yao Junsheng.

Omani defender Thani Al Rushaidi saw a close-range effort scrambled off the line by Gao Zhunyi shortly after, before Wei was stretchered off in the 66th minute following a hefty challenge much to the consternation of China head coach Massimiliano Maddaloni.

In the game’s last meaningful action, sub-stitute Liu Ruofan was expertly denied by Al Mukhaini on a day when China took a signif-icant step towards reaching the knockout phase of the AFC U23 Championship for the first time.

Qatar next play Oman on January 12 fol-lowed by a game against hosts China on January 15. The last edition of the same tour-nament was a huge success when it was staged in Qatar.

Coach Sanchez hails team Qatar’s heroics THE PENINSULA

CHANGZHOU: Coach Felix Sanchez yesterday applauded the performance of his players as Qatar edged past Uzbekistan 1-0.

Tall striker Almoez Ali scored in the second half as Qatar posted a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Center in their Group A match.

“It was always going to be a difficult game against Uzbekistan as we know they are tough opponents. I think the team did a very good job today and that they per-formed well in every department,” Sanchez said after the match.

“I feel that one of the great strengths of this group of players is that they work very hard. They have a great spirit,” Sanchez added at the post-match press conference.

Ravshan Khaydarov, the Uzbekistan head coach, said on Tuesday: “It was a very tough game for us today, and I feel that some of my players were not able to per-form to their best ability.”

Khaydarov added: “The result now leaves us in a rather difficult position in what is a very difficult group. We made too many mistakes and we must go away and see where and how we made those errors.”

Ali on target as Qatar get off to a flying start

‘Hero’ Ali credits t eam work for win THE PENINSULA

CHANGZHOU: Striker Almoez Ali yesterday said team work helped Qatar edge a powerful Uzbekistan side in their opening AFC U-23 Asian Cup match.

Almoez Ali’s second half strike proved the difference as Qatar recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Uzbekistan at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centrer.

“It was a tough match in which you saw good football. But I would say our team work saw us

through,” Ali, the goal-hero, said after the match yesterday.

“Uzbekistan are a good side so we had a strategy in mind and that is to reduce their scoring oppor-tunities. That is why you saw there were no goals in the first half,” the tall striker said.

“We planned a lot for this game. We scored in the second half and then there were more attacks from them,” Ali said. “I would say we had our boys should-to-shoulder in defense. We didn’t allow any goals.

“I would say even we had opportunity to score more goals. We could have got another but they also defended well in the second half,” the Qatar hero said.

“I think it feels great that we got through 1-0 than settling for a 1-1 draw. You saw the fights. It feels good. They put us under a lot of pressure but we faced them bravely,” Ali said.

“We kept fighting until the last minute. That was the best part about our win,” he added.

Striker Almoez Ali, with assistance from midfielder Hashim Ali, flicked a ball from close range to score the only goal of the Group A match as Qatar begin their AFC U-23 Asian Cup quest with a bang.

Qatar coach Felix Sanchez celebrates

with striker Almoez Ali after the latter scored the winning goal

against Uzbekistan yesterday.

AFC U23 CHAMPIONSHIP

QATAR U23 1 - 0 UZBEKISTAN U23

VENUE: CHANGZHOU OLYMPIC SPORTS CENTREREFEREE: DONG-JIN KIM

45’ Abdullah Al Ahrak55’ Almoez Ali

72’ Abdullah Al Ahrak72’ Khaled Mohammed

72’ Mohammed Al Bakari78’ Bassam Al Rawi

85’ Hashim Ali85’ Meshaal Al Shammeri

Dostonbek Khamdamov 29’ Akramjon Komilov 53’Doniyorjon Narzullaev 53’Dostonbek Khamdamov 76’Bobir Abdixolikov 76’Azizjon Ganiev 84’Andrey Sidorov 84’

�

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: For sure, no other team will start the QNB Stars League’s second-phase campaign a trans-formed lot than Al Gharafa.

They can take the field with renewed vigour and boosted confidence for many reasons.

It is against this backdrop that seventh-placed Al Gharafa (11 points) travel to sixth-placed Al Ahli (14 points) for their Week 12 game for the 4.20pm kick off on Friday.

The Cheetahs saw many pos-itive changes during the QNB Stars League’s month-long break, which witnessed the sem-ifinals and final of QSL Cup being played and also the Gulf Cup in Kuwait.

First, Al Gharafa triumphed in the sixth edition of QSL Cup, defeating Al Rayyan in the final. Thus, they ended their long title drought, of five seasons. They had qualified for the semifinals with an unbeaten record.

Turk Bulent Uygun then replaced Jean Fernandez as coach after the Frenchman parted ways with the club by mutual consent. Uygun had a long stint with Qatar’s Umm Salal.

Al Gharafa defender Almahdi Ali admitted that the match against Al Ahli would be diffi-culty especially since it comes after a long gap and at the start of second phase of league competition.

He said it was a foregone conclusion that both mid-table sides would go all out for a win and bag full points to get them-selves a strong start to the second half of the season.

“All these factors make me admit how tough the encounter will be and no one can predict the result,” said Almahdi.

Coach Uygun familiarity with Qatar’s football scene should help him stand in good stead as Al Gharafa embark on the sec-ond half of the season with great hopes and high ambitions.

Al Gharafa could register only two wins in the first phase and Bulent straightaway got down to business by putting the

players through their paces over two sessions daily.

The friendly they played against Qatar SC gave Bulent an opportunity to try out var-ious combinations before giving a final shape to his strategy.

To top it all, Al Gharafa pulled off a coup of sorts by rop-ing in Dutch star Wesley Sneijder for one-and-a-half seasons. The 33-year-old attacking midfielder has an impressive CV in his illus-trious club as well as country career.

“It’s very difficult. The points we lost during the first phase made things tough for us. How-ever, we still hope to be among the top-four teams.

Also, we hope to beat Uzbek side Pakhtakor in the AFC Champions league play-off and qualify for the tournament proper. The QSL Cup triumph has further motivated us,”Almahdi said.

In fact, Al Gharafa and Al Ahli, both mid-table teams, are the only sides playing their first match post-break under new coaches.

Al Ahli handed the reins to youth team coach George Jorge immediately after Spaniard Joaquin Caparros quit the job because of personal reasons, dealing a blow to The Brigadiers at a time when they were on a high after doing well towards the end of first phase.

Al Ahli had registered shock wins over strong contenders Al Rayyan and Al Sailiya in the last

two rounds. They have recorded dou-ble the number of wins than Al Gharafa,

but have a goal difference of -4 as against the rivals’ -1. Although they lost to German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who were in Doha for their annual winter training camp at Aspire, by a big margin, the friendly provided Jorge with a chance to assess his players in a match sit-uation for the first time at the senior level.

Almahdi said Al Gharafa had a slight advantage over Al Ahli.

“Both teams have quality players. In my opinion, the team having more ball possession and making less mistakes will win the game. We’ve many distin-guished players in our ranks and, with more harmony and team spirit, we can achieve a positive result,” he said.

Both sides go into the game under new coaches. Al Gharafa replaced Frenchman Jean Fern-andez with Uygun, who has previously coached Umm Salal for long, while Al Ahli now rely on their youth team coach Jorge following the resignation of fel-low-Spaniard Joaquin Caparros due to personal reasons.

Almahdi pointed out the fact

that, with a new coach at the helm, the players were more excited and motivated, and are ready to play to their full potential.

“We truly aim at changing the team’s image in the league and improving our position in the table,” he said.

The player gave his takes on Al Gharafa’s performance in the first phase and his expectations from the second.

“Definitely, there’s a huge difference between the first and second phase mainly because of the weather factor. We’re very keen to improve our seventh place, which belittles Al Ghara-fa’s reputation and history,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that he’s a big star with huge experience and credentials. I believe Al Gharafa needed such a big name in the team. It’s also a great opportunity for young players to benefit from his expertise. I’m lucky to be playing alongside a player of huge repute such as Sneijder,” he said about the Dutchman joining the QNB Stars League side,

30 WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018SPORT

We hope to be among the top-four teams. We also hope to beat Uzbek side Pakhtakor in the AFC Champions league play-off and qualify for the tournament proper. The QSL Cup triumph has further motivated us: Al Gharafa defender Almahdi

Sneijder-powered Al Gharafa look for turnaround in QSL

Qatar SC aim to pull a fast one on Al DuhailTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The match-up between Qatar SC and Al Duhail attracts attention for more reasons than one even though it may be a clash between table toppers and minnows.

The kick-off is at 6:30pm at the Qatar SC Stadium on Satur-day, January 13.

Al Duhail lead the QNB Stars League standings with 29 points and an unbeaten record, the only team to stay so thus far this sea-son. Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi’s wards showed no let-up after every game in the first phase despite being held twice.

The Red Knights are expected go full steam ahead in

the second phase as well and look favourites to lift the coveted league shield despite strong chal-lenge from Al Sadd and Al Rayyan.

Al Duhail’s confidence got a boost when their captain Youssef Msakni and Almoez Ali were adjudged the best players by rat-ings in overall (local and foreign professionals) and Under-23 cat-egory respectively after the first phase of action by the QNB Stars League’s football analysis and statistics provider STATS company.

Al Duhail had enhanced their preparations ahead of the sec-ond phase by having two training sessions since December 30.

The morning session included gym exercises and evening regime had outdoor sessions.

A couple of their players who represented Qatar at the recent Gulf Cup in Kuwait later joined the team training, designed in such a way that they maintain the momentum in the remain-ing part of the season.

Qatar SC played four friend-lies as part of their preparations for the second phase of QNB Stars League.

Perhaps, they are the side to have had the most number of friendly matches scheduled dur-ing the break.

They drew Al Khor goalless, defeated Umm Salal 3-0, and lost to the Iraq Olympic team by a

second-half goal and Al Gharafa 1-2. On the other hand, Al Duhail played just one friendly and beat the Tunisian national team, with attacking midfielder Msakni scoring the all-important goal.

Qatar SC are 11th with only eight points, but The Kings have shown improvement ever since Qatari coach Abdullah Mubarak replaced Argentinian Gabriel Calderon.

Performance-wise, a thick line separates the teams. Al Duhail have the most goal dif-ference (+24) among all 12 teams, while Qatar SC have the worst (-12) along with Al Kharaitiyat.

Both Al Duhail and Qatar SC have not made any changes to their squads other than that goal-keeper Amine Lecomte returned to Al Duhail after completing his loan term at Al Khor, where he played in the first phase.

Zidane named French coach of the yearAFP

PARIS: Real Madrid may have ended the year badly, but Zinedine Zidane has been named French coach of 2017 for leading the club to a Liga and Champions League double.

“I want to show that I can also be a good coach in tough circumstances,” Zidane said in an article published yes-terday in France Football magazine, which gives the award.

Real are going through a bad run. They are fourth in La Liga, 16 points behind lead-ers Barcelona, and they ended 2017 with a crushing 3-0 defeat at home in the Clasico.

On Sunday, they were held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.

“Today, yes, the danger is there, but I’m not going to change. I am aware that I have in front of me great players who listen to me. Playing football, I know how to do that. So things will sort themselves out in the end,” Zidane said.

“Some people may think that everything is always easy for me, that I do everything from instinct, but that’s not true! Whether it is as a player or as a coach, I’ve always worked,” said Zidane.

Meanwhile, Zenit Saint-Petersburg coach Roberto Mancini said yesterday he was open to taking over the vacant job as Italy national football coach. Giampiero Ventura was fired as coach last November days after Ita-ly’s shock failure to reach the World Cup final for the first time in 60 years.Finding Ven-tura’s successor has been complicated because the Ital-ian Football Federation (FIGC) has to elect a president to replace Carlo Tavecchio who was also forced to resign.

“Before choosing a new coach it seems to me that we have to choose a new FIGC president,” former Manches-ter City and Inter Milan boss Mancini told Italian talk show “Tiki Taka”.

Round 13 fixtures:Tomorrow:

Al Kharaitiyat VS Umm Salal at

Al Khor Stadium, 6.30pm

January 12: Al Ahli vs Al Gharafa at

Al Ahli Stadium, 4.20pm

Al Sailiya vs Al Arabi at

Al Ahli Stadium, 6.30pm

January 13:Al Rayyan vs Al Khor at

Al Sadd Stadium, 4.20pm

Al Sadd vs Al Markhiya at

\Al Sadd Stadium, 6.30pm

Qatar SC vs Al Duhail at

Qatar SC Stadium, 6.30pm

QNB STARS LEAGUE FIXTURES

Standings at the end of the first leg of the QSL

Al Duhail 11 9 0 2 40 16 29

Al Sadd 11 9 2 0 30 15 27

Al Rayyan 11 8 2 1 27 17 25

Al Sailiya 11 6 4 1 25 17 19

Umm Salal 11 4 3 4 17 16 16

Al Ahli 11 4 5 2 13 17 14

Al Gharafa 11 2 4 5 16 17 11

Al Khor 11 3 7 1 12 21 10

Al Arab 11 2 6 3 15 24 9

Al Kharaitiyat 11 2 6 3 14 26 9

Al Markhiya 11 1 6 4 8 19 7

QNB STARS LEAGUE STANDINGS

Al Sadd’s Morteza Mohammad scores their first goal against Qatar SC during their QNB Stars League match played at Al Sadd Stadium in this file picture of October 2017.

Al Gharafa players celebrate a goal during the QNB Stars League match in this file picture.

QFA, QSL to hold joint Match Analysis Training CourseTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Football Develop-ment Departments of the Qatar Football Association and Qatar Stars League (QSL) will jointly organise a Match Analysis Train-ing Course during the forthcoming annual Al Kass International Cup.

The course will be held at

the National Team Super Club conference room in Aspire Zone on January 25 to 28 and Febru-ary 1. There will be live tagging during the semifinals on Janu-ary 29 from 15:00 to 20:00.

The topics covered will be ‘Methodology of offensive anal-ysis’, ‘Practical usage of Match Analysis System — Videobserver software for Live tagging and

Panoramic System’, ‘STATS Technical and Physical Analy-sis reports’ and ‘Playing Methodology from two team coaches from Al Kass tournament’.

Further details can be had from Mohamed El Imam at meli-mam@qsl.com.qa, telephone 44754067 (office) and 55590252 (mobile).

31WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018 SPORT

Rugby: Qatar beat France Youth Team in friendlyQNA

DOHA: Qatar’s senior rugby team beat France’s youth team 21-14 in a friendly on the side-lines of the winter camp of the French team at Aspire Zone Stadium.

The match comes within the preparation of Qatar Rugby team (7) for future champion-ships. The French team are also in a closed camp in Doha as they prepare for the world championships.

The head of Qatar Rugby, Hockey and Cricket Federation, Youssef Al Kuwari, expressed his delight with the performance of the Qatari team during the friendly match.

Speaking after the match, Al Kuwari said it was a useful experience for the Qatari team, especially as the French team are preparing for the world championships.

He added that the federa-tion is working on preparing the

Qatari team with an eye to par-ticipate in international tournaments. Qatar has received an invitation to participate in the Asian Rugby Championship (15) in Lebanon in April, and an invi-tation to participate in Malaysia Rugby Championship (7) in the same month.

Al Kuwari stressed that the federation hasplans to participate in the Winter Olympic Committee camp through the Rugby Beach Championship, which is scheduled for January 26 in Sealine and will help in spreading the game.

Wenger eyes new recruits as Arsenal face Chelsea testAFP

LONDON: Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal flops that new recruits are on the way as the furious Gunners boss prepares for today’s League Cup semi-final against Chel-sea.

Wenger’s side suffered one of the most chastening defeats of his increasingly tarnished reign on Sun-day as second tier Nottingham Forest won 4-2 in the FA Cup third round.

It was the first time Wenger had crashed out at that stage of the com-petition since arriving at the north London club in 1996.

Wenger’s decision to make nine changes backfired, with the under-studies delivering a listless display at the City Ground.

The Frenchman prioritised the League Cup showdown with Chelsea by keeping his main men fresh for the first leg clash at Stamford Bridge means he can ill-afford a damaging defeat against Antonio Conte’s men.

But regardless of Arsenal’s League Cup fortunes, Wenger has clearly had enough of another underachieving season which sees his team in dan-ger of failing to qualify for the Champions League for a second suc-cessive year.

Wenger insists the Gunners, who last week signed Greek defender Kon-stantinos Mavropanos, will do further business during the transfer window in an effort to turn things around.

Unsettled Chile forward Alexis Sanchez could be sold to Manchester City and Wenger wants several fresh faces to arrival as soon as possible.

Asked whether there could be developments this week, Wenger said:

“Yes, because we are in the second week of January and, after that, it passes quickly.

“We signed a Greek boy (Mav-ropanos) who looks quite good in training but apart from that, we have not done anything. Will we be out there to do something? Yes we will.”

Arsenal’s last League Cup-win-ning campaign came in the pre-Wenger era in 1993, with the Frenchman’s team losing in both his final appearances in 2007 and 2011.

To return to the final, Wenger knows Arsenal need a positive result at the Bridge ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on January 24.

But the Gunners, who drew both

Premier League encounters with Chelsea this season, haven’t won at their London rivals since 2011.

Fortunately for Wenger, Chelsea are in the midst of a hectic schedule that Conte admits is stretching his squad to breaking point.

Having complained all season that Chelsea don’t have enough depth to cope with the demands of competing in four competition, Conte’s fears are coming true.

The Italian made a host of changes for Saturday’s FA Cup third round draw at second tier Norwich, but Chelsea were well below their best, prompting Conte to bemoan the demands put on his players.

“When you play every three days and you have to play many games, it

means you are facing every compe-tition,” Conte said.

“Now on Wednesday we have to play a semi-final against Arsenal. I think we deserved to reach this target.

“It’s very important in this moment of the season to have all the squad in the best physical form, because you have to play a lot of games and everyone must be ready.”

Chelsea are bidding to reach the League Cup final for the first time since they last won the tournament in 2015.

That would be a huge boost for Conte, who has found himself embroiled in a bitter feud with Man-chester United manager Jose Mourinho in recent weeks.

USA opts for youth with no FIFA World Cup in sightAFP

Los Angeles: Acting US national team coach Dave Sarachan opted for young prospects in calling upon 30 players on Monday for the Americans annual January training camp.

The session is set to open in Los Angeles with the culmination of workouts to be a January 28 friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the training camp in Carson, home of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy.

“It’s all about the future and opportunity. We clearly feel that we want to have a look at these players that have the chance to be a part of the National Team for a number of years to come,” Sarachan said.

The US team failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Russia and has eight candidates fighting for the presidency of the US Soccer Fed-eration, with Sunil Gulati to be replaced in voting next month.

So the Americans have no chance at a World Cup until 2022 in Qatar even as they bid with Mex-ico and Canada to co-host the 2026 event.

And the camp comes on the same day that reports emerged that one of their top teen pros-pects, Monterrey midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez, has opted to play for Mexico rather than the US senior-level squad after years on American jun-ior teams.

The most capped player in camp with 37 is Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Gyasi Zardes fol-lowed by New England forward Juan Agudelo with 27 and seattle forward Jordan Morris with 24.

“It’s a long journey forward, but this is the first step starting in 2018 for the program and for these players to now get experience at this level,” Sarachan said.

US goalkeeper Bill Hamid is the lone Europe-based player on the roster. He will join Danish side Midtjylland following the Bosnia and Herze-govina match.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Gonzalez, a teen mid-fielder for Mexican side Monterrey, has opted to play international football for Mexico over the United States, according to reports on Monday.

Univision and ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reported that Gonzalez will represent El Tri after playing for the United States at youth level.

That decision must receive final approval from authorities but the 18-year-old, born to Mexican parents in suburban San Francisco, has made his choice. Gonzalez’s performances for Monterrey led to him being named in the Mexican League’s Best 11.FIFA rules allow a player to make a one-time nationality change if they have not played for a senior national team in a competitive match.

If paperwork is completed in time, Gonzalez could make his debut for Mexico on January 31 when they play Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mexican coach Juan Carlos Osorio spoke to Gonzalez by telephone and a Mexican official vis-ited Gonzalez during the off-season while the player was reportedly unhappy at not receiving an explanation after being left out of the US squad for a November friendly in Portugal. The Mexi-cans are preparing for the World Cup in Russia in June, while the Americans failed to qualify.

FA Cup: Minnows cheer United glamour tieAFP

LONDON: English minnows Yeovil Town have hailed a second FA Cup clash in four seasons against Premier League giants Manchester United as a “special moment”.

The lowest-ranked side left in the competition will face Jose Mourin-ho’s side later this month at Huish Park, where the 12-time winners won 2-0 in 2015 thanks to goals from Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria.

“I don’t think I could pick anyone better to go up against in the world we live in at the moment,” boss Dar-ren Way told the club’s official website.

“It was an extraordinary achieve-ment to get to the fourth round and

to get Manchester United is a special moment for the club.”

“I want everyone to enjoy it and embrace the fantastic challenge. The players and supporters deserve it. It’s going to be a magical day.”

Fellow League Two side Newport will entertain Tottenham and Exiles manager Mike Flynn said the match would be a boost for the club’s finances.

Mansfield, another club from the fourth tier, have the carrot of wel-coming Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to Field Mill if they can overcome Cardiff at home in a replay.

There are guaranteed to be at least two all-Premier League ties, with Liverpool once more at home against West Brom and Southamp-

ton facing Watford at St Mary’s.The 1987 FA Cup winners Coven-

try’s reward for ousting Stoke in the third round is a trip to League One outfit MK Dons.

Nottingham Forest, who knocked holders Arsenal out on Sunday and announced the appointment of Aitor Karanka as their new manager cheer on Monday, visit Hull.

Meanwhile, Colombian Reinaldo Rueda has left Brazilian club Fla-mengo to take over as coach of Chile, the Chilean football federation said on Monday.

Rueda will replace Juan Antonio Pizzi, who resigned in October after the 2015 and 2016 Copa America champions failed to qualify for the World Cup finals in Russia.

“We took the necessary time to find the right alternative for our team,” president of the Chilean foot-ball federation Arturo Salah said in a statement.

“A coach with experience at inter-national level, who has qualified for World Cups and who has a trajectory at the sport’s highest level.”

Rueda, 60, has previous interna-tional experience as coach of Colombia, Honduras and Ecuador.

He joined Flamengo last year after a successful spell with Atletico Nacional, whom he led to the Copa Libertadores in 2016. His contract with Chile will run until the end of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and will be extended if the South American side make the finals.

AFP

SAN Juan de Marcona, Peru: Reign-

ing Dakar Rally motorcycle

champion Sam Sunderland has

dropped out of this year’s race with

a back injury, allowing Frenchman

Adrien Van Beveren to take the

overall lead after winning yester-

day’s fourth stage.

Sunderland, riding for domi-

nant team KTM and leading the

overall rankings coming into Tues-

day’s stage in San Juan de Marcona,

withdrew after injuring his back

while entering a jump according to

the rally organisers.

Van Beveren finished five min-

utes ahead of teammate Xavier de

Soultrait and seven minutes in front

of the Austrian KTM rider Matthias

Walkner.

The Yamaha rider takes the

lead in t the overall standings, 1

minute 55 seconds ahead of Chil-

ean Pablo Quintan i l la

(Husqvarna).

Qatar Rugby team in action in this file picture.

Bikes champion Sunderland crashes out of Dakar Rally

Toyota’s Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah and French co-driver Mathieu Baumel compete during the 2018 Dakar Rally yesterday.

Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger gestures before the English FA Cup third round football match against Nottingham Forest at The City Ground in Nottingham, central England, on Saturday.

32 WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018SPORT 33WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018 SPORT

Djokovic desperate to get back to winning ways AFP

MELBOURNE: Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic headlines a list of walking wounded at the Australian Open, with the Serb desperate to get back to winning ways after six months out injured.

The former world number one is making a tilt at a record seventh Mel-bourne Park crown, but has some serious rust to shake off if he is to make an impression.

Djokovic has been side-lined since Wimbledon in July, with a Tie Break Tens exhibition event today and the Kooyong Classic, where he is drawn to play world number five Dominic Thiem, his only chance to test his right elbow injury.

“Finally back in the land down under. I feel ready. Idemo! (let’s go),” he tweeted on Sunday, posting a video of himself hitting on Rod Laver Arena.

But after pulling out of an Abu Dhabi tournament late last month and admit-ting “I still feel the pain”, a big question mark hangs over how competitive Djok-ovic can be.

Having added mercurial former tour player Radek Stepanek to a coaching team spearheaded by Andre Agassi, Djokovic only started hitting tennis balls again in November.

He admits being sidelined has not been easy, and that missing the US Open last year, the first Slam he has not played since 2005, was particularly hard.

“It’s been a real roller-coaster ride for me for a year-and-a-half with this issue. I’ve never had surgery in my life, I’ve never had any major injuries that kept me away from the tour for such a long time,” he told Sport360 in Abu Dhabi.

“I never missed a Grand Slam in my career. It was a big decision, a big call to make. I couldn’t play anymore, there was no choice. It was like, that’s it, you can’t lift your arm.”

A decade after winning his first Melbourne Park title Djokovic has slipped to 14 in the world, his lowest in 10 years, giving him extra drive to make inroads at the sea-son-opening major.

Also coming back from injuries are 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka (knee), big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic (calf and wrist), and world number one Rafael Nadal (knee).

At least they remain in contention, unlike Scot Andy Murray (hip) and Japanese star Kei Nishikori (wrist) who both pulled out last week, depriving the tournament of some serious star power.

The mighty Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, has also decided against rushing into a come-back after giving birth to her first child in September.

One of those who is fully fit, at 36, is defending cham-pion Roger Federer, who says the injuries and pullouts are no surprise.

“A lot of the guys are just touching 30-plus, you know. Back in the day, at 30, a lot of guys were retiring -- Edberg, Sampras,” he said at the season-ending World Tour Finals in London.

“When somebody is injured at 31, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, how is this possible?’ Actually, it’s a normal thing.”

“I’ve learned a lesson because I really want to avoid getting to that stage of an injury ever in my career after this,” he said.

Aussie event impatient for a home champion

REUTERS

MELBOURNE: For a tourna-ment branded the “happy slam” by Roger Federer, the Australian Open has given little cheer to home players.

Forty years have passed since Chris O’Neil held the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup aloft as the last Austral-ian women’s champion in 1978. Add another two years for Mark Edmondson’s 1976 title on the men’s side.

The ensuing decades have seen Australia’s assembly line of grand slam winners slow to a crawl but still produce a h o s t o f w o u l d - b e contenders.

To the consternation of home fans, only a couple have shone, with most falling flat on the national stage.

Twice grand slam cham-pion Lleyton Hewitt was the last to tease, his run to the 2005 final whipping crowds into a frenzy before they were silenced by an inspired Marat Safin.

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash was also stopped at the last hurdle in the 1980s, twice in successive years by Swedes Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander.

The past decade has seen few Australian flags flapping in the second week of the tournament, however.

The country’s last grand slam champion Sam Stosur has been a maddening under-achiever, never passing the fourth round in 15 attempts.

With Stosur now 33 and long since written off as a title threat, men’s hope Nick Kyr-gios now carries the burden of Australia’s expectations.

Boasting a temper the equal of his prodigious talent, Kyrgios reached the 2015 quarter-finals, a break-through hailed by some as a milestone on the path to greatness.

His tantrum-laden sec-ond-round exit last year was less well-received, with one Australian tabloid advising him to “Nick off!” and get a coach in its front page headline.

All would be forgiven if Kyrgios flirts with a place in the second week, in what might seem a formality for a player who has beaten Fed-erer, and twice upset Novak

Djokovic and Rafa Nadal.His form is encouraging

too, having won the Brisbane title last week to start his year with a bang.

Yet few players have set themselves up to fail quite like the complicated 22-year-old.

He has spoken of his hatred of the Tour grind, cares little for training and would probably dream more of an NBA championship than raising the trophy at Wimbledon.

Along with his propensity to suddenly stop trying in matches, it is hardly a mind-set that screams success.

Kyrgios’s biggest obsta-cle may be physical rather than mental, however, the right hip that has troubled him for much of the past two seasons vulnerable in a two-week slam.

He cut short his last year’s campaign to have time to recuperate, and even said he would spend less time play-ing basketball to avoid developing new niggles.

The comments will feed into hopes that Kyrgios is just a late developer and will ulti-mately embrace the game with a Federer-like passion, rather than end up derided like his compatriot Bernard Tomic.

Many local tennis fans will remain sceptical, how-ever, particularly those put off by Kyrgios’s regular controversies.

The goodwill Kyrgios lost now envelops the nation’s top women’s contender Ashleigh Barty.

A year Kyrgios’s junior, Barty has dislodged Stosur as Australia’s number one woman after a meteoric rise.

Since winning her maiden title in Malaysia in March, the former Wimbledon girls champion has humbled some of the tour’s biggest names and will be seeded in Melbourne.

The stellar run has stunned Barty herself, given she quit the tour three years ago as a disillusioned teenager.

She spent part of her hia-tus playing elite cricket, securing one of only 14 pro-fessional contracts handed to women in her home state of Queensland.

Her new-found love for tennis put paid to the prom-ising cricket career but bodes well for her chances of mak-ing an impression at Melbourne Park.

“I love it. I love our fans. I love their passion. And I love playing for Australia,” she told local media after winning the Newcombe Medal in Novem-ber, the country’s top tennis honour.

“Of course there’s pres-sure, but pressure is a privilege.”

AFP

MELBOURNE: World number one Rafael Nadal lost his first match of the year 6-4, 7-5 to Richard Gasquet at the Kooy-ong Classic yesterday, but said he was happy after his trou-blesome knee held up “fine”.

Nadal’s knee injury ham-pered the end of his 2017 season and forced him to skip last week’s Brisbane Interna-tional, but he was able to give it a workout at the non-tour event in Melbourne.

Though he lost in straight sets, the Spaniard said he would keep working hard until the start of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.

“I’m very happy to be back in Australia,” he said. “I had a heavy year in 2017 and I started my preparation later than usual.

“But I’ve arrived in plenty of time. It’s great to get the feeling once again of playing a match.

“This was a good test for me after some good training, that’s the most important thing.”

The 16-time Grand Slam winner was far from his best in the exhibition encounter against a player he has beaten 15-0 on the ATP Tour in a rivalry dating back to junior days.

Nadal, 31, heads the entry list for the Australian Open and said he will be ready to front up for the first round.

“The knee is fine,” he said in answer to the inevitable question. “I’m here.

“If I was not feeling good I would not be here, so that’s good news.

“I’ll train hard over the next few days for the Austral-ian Open, I will be ready.”

Nadal is not playing any more matches at Kooyong, but he is also scheduled to turn out for a Tie Break Tens tourna-ment at Melbourne Park today.

Gasquet, who missed Kooyong last year through ill-ness and injury, was happy to get even an informal win over the Spaniard.

“It’s always a pleasure to play Rafa -- I hope to beat him one day on the ATP before retiring. He’s a friend of mine and it’s great to play him,” he said.

“I’m happy with how I’m playing after a test against Rafa, who along with Federer is the best in history.”

Gasquet took the opening set, relying on a single break for 5-4 before serving it out against an opponent still try-ing to shake off the rust of inactivity.

The Frenchman found himself in more of a battle in the second set despite going up a double break for 3-0.

The deficit barely bothered Nadal, who showed some of his classic form in closing the gap to 3-3.

Gasquet forced Nadal to save break points throughout as the pair stayed level-pegging.

But the Frenchman finally broke for 6-5 and claimed vic-tory with a smash winner on his first match point a game later.

Separately, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Bel-gian world number seven David Goffin 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

In the women’s competi-tion, Germany’s Andrea Petkovic rallied to defeat Aus-tralian teenager Destanee Aiava 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in windy conditions.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN INJURY LIST

NOVAK DJOKOVICSix-time Melbourne champion has been sidelined

since Wimbledon in July with a right elbow injury,

although the Serb intends to play exhibitions this

week and insists he “is ready”.

RAFAEL NADALA knee injury forced the Spanish world number one

out of the warm-up Brisbane International, but he

has arrived in Melbourne and expected to be a

leading contender.

STAN WAWRINKA The 2014 champion is returning after two operations

on a knee cartilage injury. Pulled out of Abu Dhabi

exhibition appearance late last month.

MILOS RAONIC Calf and wrist problems kept the tall Canadian out of

action since last October. Played the Brisbane

International, but was bundled out by a wildcard.

NICK KYRGIOSLeg was strapped at the Brisbane event which he

said related to fluid on the back of his left knee. It

didn’t seem to trouble Australia’s big hope, who won

the tournament.

JACK SOCKThe American retired from a match at the Hopman

Cup with an injured hip, but returned two days later

when he lost to Roger Federer.

DOMINIC THIEM The Austrian world number five pulled out of the

warm-up Qatar Open just hours before his semi-final

with flu and a fever.

JO-WILFRIED TSONGAThe 2008 Australian Open runner-up withdrew from

the Qatar Open before it started with a wrist injury.

GARBINE MUGURUZAWorld number three retired from Brisbane after

collapsing with severe leg cramps. She is playing the

Sydney International this week.

SLOANE STEPHENSThe US Open champion withdrew from Brisbane to

rest a troublesome knee and was knocked out of

Sydney in the first round. Had a remarkable 2017 after

almost a year out with a left foot injury.

JOHANNA KONTAA semi-finalist in Melbourne two years ago, the

Briton’s Brisbane campaign ended early when she

retired with a right hip injury.

CAROLINE GARCIAThe rising French star retired in tears from Brisbane

with a back injury in the opening round, saying she

could barely move.

PETRA KVITOVA The two-time Wimbledon champion pulled out of

Brisbane with a viral illness. She missed last year’s

Australian Open after being attacked with a knife

near her Czech home.

JULIA GOERGESThe German, ranked 12, withdrew from the Sydney

International just hours after beating Caroline

Wozniacki to win the Auckland Classic on Sunday,

citing a right knee injury.

AFP

AUCKLAND: Men’s tennis boss Chris Kermode yesterday pledged a shake-up in ATP rules as four players pulled out of the Auckland Classic before their opening matches, citing injury or illness.

Four lucky losers from the quali-fying tournament found themselves on centre court as Ryan Harrison, Andrey Rublev, Guido Pella and Kyle Edmund all withdrew.

By turning up in Auckland, the players became eligible for first-round prize money and avoided an ATP fine.

Kermode, executive chairman of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), warned that rules around with-drawals were under review. But he also said he believed the players’ reasons for pulling out.

“The bigger concern would be play-ers pulling out before they got here, that would be an issue,” Kermode told Fair-fax Media in Auckland.

“They make the effort to come to the event and that’s demonstrated the desire to play here.

“Tennis is such a physical sport that these things are going to happen. We are currently doing a whole review process of our business and plans for 2019.

“Ranking points, player withdraw-als and how we deal with that is something we’ve got to and are looking at.”

Harrison, who lost the Brisbane International final to Nick Kyrgios on

Sunday, said he was too tired to play after arriving in Auckland early yesterday.

Eighth seed Rublev, who lost the Qatar Open final to Gael Monfils last week, cited injury, as did Pella, a semi-finalist in Doha, and Edmund, who played in Brisbane.

All four players are on the entry list for next week’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

“A lot of it is about wording. You can withdraw through personal reasons,

fatigue and things like this,” Kermode said.

“If there is a good, concrete, obvi-ous reason, then I think fans realise that sport is live, dynamic and there are going to be withdrawals.

“When there’s the grey area at the beginning of the year, fatigue doesn’t sound that great. At the end of the year people would say, ‘OK, it’s been a long season.’

“So we’ve got to clear that up, that’s part of this whole process we’re doing.”

ATP to amend rules as four players pull out in Auckland

Nadal defeated in Kooyong return but stays positive Down Under

MENRichard Gasquet (FRA) bt Rafael Nadal

(ESP) 6-4, 7-5Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) bt David Gof-

fin (BEL) 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 WOMEN

Andrea Petkovic (GER) bt Destanee Aia-va (AUS), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

KOOYONG CLASSIC RESULTS

I’m very happy to be back in Australia. I had a heavy year in 2017 and I started my preparation later than usual. This was a good test for me after some good training, that’s the most important thing: Nadal

REUTERS

SYDNEY: Defending champion Johanna Konta suffered a reversal of last year’s final when she was bundled out in the first round of the Sydney International by Agnieszka Radwanska yesterday.

The Pole had been overpowered in 82-minutes by the Briton in the final last year, but repaid the favour on Ken Rosewall Arena at the Olympic Tennis Centre as she raced to a 6-3 7-5 victory. Neither player was able to dominate with their service games in the first set, with Konta’s second serve barely a fac-tor as she won just two of her 11 second serve points and Radwanska converted three of her five break opportunities.

Konta again had trouble holding serve in the second set but showed signs of a fight-back when she broke while trailing 4-1 in the second, but then could not push on as Rad-wanska sealed the victory in one hour, 49 minutes.

The first round loss continues some

worrying early season performances for the 26-year-old world number nine Konta.

She struggled to get going in her first two matches last week in Brisbane before she withdrew from her quarter-final with a hip injury.

She told Sydney organisers on Monday, however, that she was fit, having withdrawn from Brisbane because she could not keep playing but also had an eye on next week’s season-opening grand slam.

Radwanska, who was upset by American qualifier Sachia Vickery in the Auckland quar-ter-finals last week, will now meet another American qualifier Catherine Bellis in the sec-ond round in Sydney.

Shock exit for defending champ Konta

© GRAPHIC NEWSSource: WTA Pictures: Getty Images

2017 win-loss2017 titlesCareer titles (total)

Grand Slams

PLAYER RECORD Halep Muguruza Svitolina Williams

Ranked No.1after consistentbut unspectacular2017 – yet towin elusivefirst major

Wimbledonchampionaiming toconsolidateplace inwomen’s elite

Already a winner in2018 in Brisbane,after impressiveyear with Premiertitles in Dubai,Rome and Toronto

Back in top fiveafter resurgent2017 – runner-upin two GrandSlams and atWTA finals

Simona Halep Garbine Muguruza Elina Svitolina Venus Williams

45-17

1

15

0

47-21

2

5

2

50-13

5

10

0

38-14

0

49

7

pWomen’spreview

Australian Open: Serena Williams USA

bt Venus Williams USA

Roland Garros: Jelana Ostapenko LAT

bt Simona Halep ROM

Wimbledon: Garbine Muguruza ESP

bt Venus Williams USA

U.S. Open: Sloane Stephens USA

bt Madison Keys USA

6-4, 6-4

4-6, 6-4, 6-3

7-5, 6-0

6-3, 6-0

MAJOR BATTLEWith Serena Williams delaying herreturn following childbirth, expectationis high for another maiden champion to becrowned in Melbourne. There were sevendifferent major finalists in 2017

© GRAPHIC NEWS

2017 win-loss2017 titlesCareer titles (total)

Grand Slams

PLAYER RECORD Nadal Federer Dimitrov Zverev

Back at No.1after superb2017, winningtwo more Slams.One AustralianOpen title, in 2009

Begins defence ofAustralian Opentitle afteranother stellar2017 – he alsowon Wimbledon

Ranked career-high No.3 afterwinning ATP finals– lost epic five-setbattle to Nadal in2017 semi-final

Huge potentialbut yet to makemajor impact inGrand Slams,4th round hisbest to date

Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Grigor Dimitrov Alexander Zverev

67-11

6

75

16

52-5

7

95

19

49-19

4

8

0

55-22

5

6

0

Australian Open 2018:Men’s preview

JANUARY 15-28

Federer

Australian Open meetings:

Last meeting:

All-time meetings:Nadal v Federer

6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 Final, 2017

Nadal 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 Semi, 2014

Nadal 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 Semi, 2012

Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 Final, 2009

Federer 6-4, 6-3 Shanghai, Oct 2017

MASTER CLASSNadal and Federer start newseason holding all four Grand Slamcrowns for first time since 2010

Source: ATP Pictures: Getty Images

23 15

AFP

MELBOURNE: The prospects of an unprecedented 20th Grand Slam victory have strengthened for ageless wonder Roger Federer as his main rivals flounder ahead of the Australian Open.

The 36-year-old is coming off an extraordinary 2017, when he won a fifth Australian Open title and a record eighth at Wimble-don, and there could be yet more glory with a depleted field of top contenders in Melbourne.

Andy Murray and Japan’s Kei Nishikori are already out of the year’s opening Grand Slam with injuries, while 12-time major champion Novak Djokovic is trou-bled by an elbow complaint and hasn’t played for six months.

World number one Rafael Nadal withdrew from his first tour event of 2018, in Brisbane, with continuing knee problems, and is seeking match practice in a Mel-bourne exhibition event ahead of the January 15 start.

The 2014 winner Stan Wawrinka, who hasn’t played since last year’s Wimbledon and subsequent knee surgery, has had little warm-up work and is no longer with his four-year coach Magnus Norman.

Yet amid it all Fed-erer keeps going, winning all his matches at the m i x e d - t e a m s Hopman Cup in Perth this month

and seemingly injury-free.“I just have to pace myself all

the way up to the tournament in Melbourne, and I’ll be ready,” he said after his Hopman Cup final victory with Switzerland team-mate Belinda Bencic.

“I’m just excited going back to Melbourne where I had my fair-ytale run last year. It was crazy.

“It’s great to be the defending champion. I take it the right way. I won’t put extra pressure on myself, regardless of who’s going to play, or not play.

“For me it’s just important to be in a good mindset, well prepared, and ready to go. And I feel like I am ready.”

Nadal, who lost to Federer in five sets in a vin-tage Australian final last y e a r , has

opted to join Djokovic at the Kooyong Classic exhibition event for some match practice in the week before the Open.

Six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic pulled out of events in Abu Dhabi and Doha with elbow soreness before head-ing to Melbourne, and hasn’t hit a ball in anger since the problem

forced him to quit Wimble-d o n i n t h e

quarter-finals in July.

Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic is another with a chequered preparation after wrist

surgery last year, while A m e r i c a n world number

eight Jack Sock hurt his hip while

playing in the Hop-man Cup.

Ageless Federer eyes fresh ‘fairytale’ as rivals struggle I never missed

a Grand Slam in my career. It was a big decision, a big call to make: Djokovic

GARBWorld

collaps

Sydney

SLOAThe US

rest a t

Sydney

almost

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Briton’s

retired

CAROThe risi

with a

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citing a

ordinary 2017, when he th Australian Open title cord eighth at Wimble-there could be yet moreh a depleted field of toprs in Melbourne.Murray and Japan’s Kei

i are already out of theening Grand Slam withwhile 12-time major

n Novak Djokovic is trou-n elbow complaint and

ayed for six months.d number one Rafaelhdrew from his first tour 2018, in Brisbane, with

ng knee problems, and is match practice in a Mel-xhibition event ahead of ary 15 start.

2014 winner Stan ka, who hasn’t played

year’s Wimbledon andnt knee surgery, has hadrm-up work and is no th his four-year coach

Norman.mid it all Fed-eps going,

g all his s at the - t e a m s

Cup in s month

ytale run last year. It was crazy.“It’s great to be the defending

champion. I take it the rightway. I won’t put extra pressure on myself,regardless of who’s going to play, or not play.

“For me it’s just importantto be in a goodmindset, wellprepared, andready to go. And I feel like Iam ready.”

Nadal, wholost to Federer in five sets in a vin-tage Australian final last y e a r ,has

ball in anger since the problem forced him to quit Wimble-

d o n i n t h e quarter-finals in

July.Big-serving

Canadian MilosRaonic is another witha chequeredpreparationafter wrist

surgery lastyear, while A m e r i c a nworld number

eight Jack Sockhurt his hip while

playing in the Hop-man Cup.

MEN: 1ST ROUNDLeonardo Mayer (ARG) bt Mischa Zverev (GER x8) 7-5, 6-3

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) bt Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3WOMEN: 1ST ROUND

Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Carina Witthoeft (GER) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) bt Johanna Konta (GBR x4) 6-3, 7-5

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL RESULTS

Novak Djokovic of Serbia gets medical attention on court during the 2017 Wimbledon Championships in this file photo.

Richard Gasquet of France (left) shakes hands with Rafael Nadal

of Spain after winning their men’s singles match during the

Kooyong Classic tennis tournament in Melbourne yesterday.

the Australian Open has given little cheer to home players and 40 years have passed since Chris O’Neil held the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup aloft as the last Australian women’s champion in 1978.

34 WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018SPORT

Serbian sport delegation visits AspireTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: After a visit to Aspire Dome, the President of the Olympic Committee of Serbia (OCS), Božidar Maljkovic, has spoke of his admiration of Aspire Academy’s philosophy and opportunities it offers to young athletes.

Aspire Academy’s Director General, Ivan Bravo, welcomed President Maljkovic and mem-bers of the OCS delegation including Vice President Zecevic Zarko and Merkic Ivan, the Chairman of QCS’ International Relations Committee accompa-nied by the Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General, Jassim Rashid Al Boenin

Following the visit, President Maljkovic, who has successfully worked as a professional basket-ball coach in seven different countries and spent some time in Spain coaching clubs like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, said:

“I have worked in sports for 40 years, but I have never seen an academy like Aspire. The facilities here are second to none. I know the Academy’s Director

General Ivan Bravo very well from my time in Spain and he is a great organizer and educator. He is definitely the right man not only to develop and educate young athletes, but also set up the right team and organization around them.”

The training philosophy of the Academy is tailored to the capabilities, talents and goals of Qatar and follows a strategy that is geared towards the develop-ment of the individual athletes.

Aspire Academy’s training programs place each student-athlete at the centre of an ecosystem consisting of world-class coaching and sports science expertise supported by world-class facilities.

While at Aspire Academy, student-athletes also have the chance to develop in a compet-itive environment by playing against other youth teams from leading clubs and academies across the globe. Selected play-ers also have an opportunity to train in a professional environ-ment through short training placements with clubs in Europe organized by the Academy.

North Korea says it will send its athletes to 2018 Winter GamesAFP

SEOUL: North Korea will send its athletes to the Winter Olym-pics in the South, the rivals said yesterday after their first formal talks in more than two years following high tensions over Pyeongchang’s nuclear weap-ons programme.

The two sides also decided to hold military talks and to restore a military hotline closed since February 2016.

Seoul and Olympic organis-ers have been keen for Pyongyang - which boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in the South Korean capital -- to take part in what they repeatedly pro-claimed a “peace Olympics” in Pyeongchang next month.

But the North had given no indication it would do so until leader Kim Jong-Un’s New Year address last week, instead pur-suing its banned weapons programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions, launching missiles capable of reaching the United States and detonating its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

“The North Korean side will dispatch a National Olympic Committee delegation, athletes, cheerleaders, art performers’ squad, spectators, a taekwondo demonstration team and a press corps and the South will provide necessary amenities and facili-ties,” they said in a joint statement.

Yesterday’s talks were held in Panmunjom, the truce village in the Demilitarised Zone that splits the peninsula.

The North’s delegation walked over the Military Demar-cation Line marking the border to the Peace House venue on the southern side, just yards from where a defector ran across in a hail of bullets two months ago.

Looking businesslike, the South’s Unification minister Cho Myoung-Gyon and the North’s chief delegate Ri Son-Gwon shook hands at the entrance to the building, and again across the negotiating table.

Ri wore a badge on his left lapel bearing an image of the

country’s founding father Kim Il-Sung and his son and succes-sor Kim Jong-Il, while Cho sported one depicting the South Korean flag.

“Let’s present the people with a precious new year’s gift,” said Ri. “There is a saying that a journey taken by two lasts longer than the one travelled alone.”

The atmosphere was friend-lier than at past meetings, and Cho told Ri: “The people have a strong desire to see the North and South move toward peace and reconciliation.”

But there was no mention in the joint statement of a proposal by Seoul to resume reunions of families left divided by the Korean War, or of an offer by the North to send a high-level dele-gation to the Games.

Ri also told South Korean journalists that denuclearisation was not on the table and not an issue for the two to discuss.

“The target of all our nuclear and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs and all other sophisticated weapons is the US,” he said yesterday.

“These weapons are not aimed at our brethren.”

There were “many prob-lems” to settle between the two sides, he added, warning of “unexpected obstacles” down the road.

Even so it was a radically

different tone from the rhetoric of recent months, which have seen the North’s leader Kim and US President Donald Trump trade personal insults and threats of war. Olympic organisers wel-comed the North’s participation in Pyeongchang, just 80 kilome-tres (50 miles) south of the DMZ, and a Unification ministry offi-cial said the Games would be “a Peace Festival for all the people in the world”.

International Olympic Com-mittee president Thomas Bach said Pyongyang’s decision to take part in the Games was a “great step forward in the Olym-pic spirit”.

Only two athletes from the North have so far qualified for the Olympics, but hundreds of young female North Korean cheerleaders have created a buzz at three previous international sporting events in the South.

According to South Korean reports any high-level delega-tion accompanying the team could include Kim’s younger sis-ter Yo-Jong, who is a senior member of the ruling Workers’ Party.

According to the Unification ministry official, yesterday’s meeting “laid the foundation for restoring the severed inter-Korean ties and normalising them”.

It came after Seoul

responded to Kim’s New Year speech with an offer of high-level dialogue, and last week a civilian hotline was restored after being suspended for almost two years.

But Pyongyang has snubbed previous attempts by Seoul to set up further family reunions -- one of the most emotive legacies of the Korean War -- saying it will not do so unless several of its cit-izens are returned by the South.

It was unclear when the pro-posed military talks -- which would be the first of their kind since 2014 -- would be held.

“Having the North Korean athletes and delegations at Pyeongchang will help turn South Korean public sentiment about the North more favoura-ble,” said Lim Eul-Chul, a professor of North Korean stud-ies at Kyungnam University in Seoul. Pyongyang would then probably seek to resume lucra-tive joint economic projects, such as the suspended Kaesong indus-trial complex, he added -- although it is not clear whether that would be in com-pliance with UN sanctions.

The North “appears to be try-ing to use the improvement in ties with the South as a spring-board to resume talks with the US, which holds the key to con-trolling or possibly easing sanctions”, Lim said.

Britain sets Pyeongchang target of at least five medalsREUTERS

LONDON: Britain has set its winter athletes a “best ever” target of at least five medals at the Pyeongchang Olympics after more than doubling funding since Sochi four years ago.

With a month to go until the Games in South Korea, and several competitors yet to be selected, UK Sport is predicting a possible range of between four and 10 medals based on performances.

Britain won four medals in Sochi, the country’s best haul since 1924, and that tally looks likely to become five after Russia’s subsequent doping disqualification from the four-man bobsleigh.

UK Sport chair Katherine Grainger recognised at a presentation yesterday that Britain, second in the medal table at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics with 27 golds, was not known as a winter nation.

Attitudes have changed, however, and the amount of National Lottery and govern-ment funding for the Olympics and Paralympics has risen to more than £32m ($43m) across eight sports.

That compares to £14m for 2014 and £6m for Vancou-ver before that.

The Paralympic target is for at least seven medals, compared to six in Sochi.

“The target of a best ever Olympic Winter Games is indicative of just how far the athletes and their national governing bodies have pro-gressed over the past four years,” said Team GB Chef de Mission Mike Hay.

“It is a reflection of the growth we have seen across many of our winter sports that they have medal poten-tial on the world stage and that Britain is now viewed as a credible winter nation.”

Short track speed skater Elise Christie, a triple gold medallist at last year’s world championships, will again be one of the big hopes after bouncing back from three disqualifications in Sochi.

Curling, which has received more than £5m of funding, is predicted to pro-duce at least one medal with Eve Muirhead’s women’s team strong candidates.

IOC welcomes North Korea’s decision to be at the GamesAP

LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee says it welcomes moves by North Korea to take part in next month’s Winter Olym-pics in South Korea.

IOC president Thomas Bach says in a statement that North Korea’s decision to send a delegation to the games is “a great step forward in the Olympic spirit.”

The IOC says it’s now waiting for official details of how North Korean participation could work before it decides which athletes could compete.

It’s also unclear which flags and anthems would be used, though South Korea has suggested athletes from the two Koreas could march together during the opening and closing ceremonies at the Pyeongchang Olympics, which run from Feb. 9 through 25.

South Korea’s Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung ear-lier cited North Korean officials as saying their delegation would include officials, athletes, cheerleaders and journalists.

Emery Lehman and Brian Hansen lead a group of skaters in the Men’s Mass Start event during the Long Track Speed Skating Olympic Trials at the Pettit National Ice Center in this January 7, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, file photo. The Winter Games will be held from Feb 9 to 25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

President of the Olympic Committee of Serbia (OCS), Božidar Maljkovic, is seen with Aspire Academy’s Director General, Ivan Bravo, during a visit to the Aspire Academy.

35WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018 SPORT

Timberwolves trounce Cavs AFP

LOS ANGELES: The Minnesota

Timberwolves humbled LeBron

James and the Cleveland Cava-

liers on Monday, leading by as

many as 41 points en route to a

127-99 triumph in Minneapolis.

Andrew Wiggins scored 25

points to pace a Timberwolves

team that led from start to fin-

ish against a Cavs team that

went to the last three NBA

Finals, winning the title two

seasons ago.

Karl-Anthony Towns -- the

only Timberwolves starter to

play in the fourth quarter --

added 19 points with 12

rebounds and Wolves forward

Taj Gibson added another dou-

ble-double of 16 points and 13

rebounds.

Jimmy Butler flirted with a

triple-double, amassing 21

points with nine assists and

eight rebounds while playing a

key role in limiting four-time

NBA Most Valuable Player

James to 10 points, eight

rebounds and five assists.

James and the rest of the

Cavs starters also sat out the

fourth quarter -- although for

Isaiah Thomas that absence

came courtesy of his third-

quarter ejection.

Thomas was tossed when

he reached out toward a driv-

ing Wiggins and caught the

Minnesota forward under the

chin.

Assessed a flagrant-2 foul,

Thomas was immediately

ejected, although he said he

was merely reaching in for a

steal.

“I’ve gotten numerous

steals like that, so it just hap-

pened that I hit him in the

throat,” Thomas said.

“I apologised right away

because I knew I didn’t mean to

do that. I’m just glad he’s all right.”

Thomas was playing his

third game for the Cavs after a

hip injury had sidelined him

since he joined the team in a

pre-season trade.

In his first two games back,

the Cavs averaged 129 points

a game, but they never fired on

Monday.

“As a team, we just had no

rhythm on both ends,” Thomas

said.

“It’s tough when you’re get-

ting the shots that you want

and they’re just not falling -- it

kind of rubs off on the defen-

sive end.”

The Cavaliers fell to 26-14.

They’re third in the Eastern

Conference behind Thomas’s

former team, the Boston Celt-

ics, and the Toronto Raptors

-- who edged the Nets 114-113

in over-time in a bruising

encounter in Brooklyn.

DeMar DeRozan’s 35 points

included a three-point play with

26.1 seconds remaining in over-

time that put the Raptors up

114-113.

Spencer Dinwiddie, who led

the Nets with a career-high 31

points, had a last chance for the

hosts but missed a driving

layup in the final second.

The Raptors lost Kyle Lowry

in over-time as the guard went

down hard on a frightening fall

in which he was sandwiched

between two Nets players and

landed on a hip.

He got to his feet, but

quickly crumpled to the court

again clutching his lower back

and was finally carried off by

two teammates. He was diag-

nosed with “an acute back

spasm” the Raptors said.

Brooklyn saw guard Allen

Crabbe depart with an appar-

ent left ankle injury in the

fourth quarter.

The reigning champion

Golden State Warriors shook off

an injury scare for superstar

Stephen Curry to beat the Den-

ver Nuggets 124-114 in

Oakland, California.

Curry left the game briefly

after a hard fall, but returned

with his left knee taped to score

32 points.

Warriors forward Dray-

mond Green scored 23 points

with 10 assists and five

rebounds and guard Klay

Thompson chipped in 19 points

as Golden State again coped

admirably with the absence of

Kevin Durant, who missed his

third straight game with a

strained right calf.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic

notched a triple-double of 22

points, 12 rebounds and 11

assists.

In Los Angeles, C.J. Williams

drained the game-winning

three-pointer with 9/1 seconds

left to lift the Clippers to a 108-

107 victory over the Atlanta

Hawks.

In New Orleans, the Peli-

cans held on for a 112-109

victory over the Detroit Pistons

despite losing star forward

Anthony Davis to a sprained

right ankle in the third

quarter.

The Houston Rockets, with-

out NBA leading scorer James

Harden for a fourth straight

game, drained 20 three-point-

ers in their 116-107 victory over

the Bulls in Chicago.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns (right) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James on Monday.

Indiana 109 Milwaukee 96

Toronto 114 Brooklyn 113

Houston 116 Chicago 107

Minnesota 127 Cleveland 99

N’ Orleans 112 Detroit 109

S’ Antonio 107 Sacramento 100

G’ State 124 Denver 114

LA Clippers 108 Atlanta 107

NBA RESULTS

Fritsch banned for three months for doping REUTERS

NEW YORK: Canadian golfer Brad Fritsch (pictured) has been banned for three months after he reported himself to PGA Tour officials for violat-ing its anti-doping policy, the governing body said on Monday.

The 40-year-old, who plays on the secondary Buy.com Tour and is eligible to return to competition on Feb-ruary 28, said the banned substance was in a supple-ment he had been taking to assist weight loss.

“Mr. Fritsch self-reported this information after discov-ering that an ingredient in a supplement that he was tak-ing was on the prohibited list,” the Tour said in a statement.

“He has acknowledged his inadvertent error and accepted his suspension.”

Fritsch, in a Facebook posting, said his heart had “sank” when he realised that one of the supplements he was taking included

dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).

“That ... supplement ended up containing a sub-stance called DHEA,” he wrote.

“I’m just so upset with myself that I didn’t think to question what was in the sup-plements. But I never did. And in the program rules, it stip-ulates that a self-report is the same as a positive test.”

Fritsch has won once on the Buy.com Tour.

DHEA is a hormone pro-duced by the adrenal glands and its production peaks when someone is in their mid-20s, according to the webmd.com website. In most people, production gradually declines with age.

Fritsch joins a small list of players suspended since the PGA Tour began drug testing in 2008.

With the exception of former world number on Vijay Singh, most have been little-known journeymen.

Singh was suspended for 90 days in 2013 after saying in a magazine interview that he was using deer antler spray.

The tour banned Singh for using the spray, which con-tained an insulin-like growth factor on its banned list.

The suspension was lifted after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) concluded that the spray should be removed from its list of banned substances.

Blue Jackets storm back to beat Maple Leafs AGENCIES

NEW YORK: Artemi Panarin capped an improbable comeback with a goal at 3:11 of overtime on Monday night as the Columbus Blue Jackets swiped a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Panarin tipped Zach Weren-ski’s shot past Frederik Anderson (22-12-2) for his 11th goal of the season as Columbus (25-16-3) passed New Jersey for second place in the Metropolitan Division with its second win in just over 24 hours.

With Toronto seemingly in control, Columbus forced overtime with two goals in a 1:48 span late in the third period. Jordan Schroeder started the comeback at 15:25 with his first goal, collect-ing his own rebound and beating Andersen with a wrister.

Pierre-Luc Dubois equalised at 17:13, taking Seth Jones’ pass and pumping a 30-foot wrister by Andersen for his 10th marker of the season.

The Maple Leafs’ James van Riemsdyk initiated scoring at 11:09 of the second.

After taking the puck away behind the net, he skated in front of Sergei Bobrovsky. Roman Polak’s wrister from the right point was headed wide left until van Riemsdyk’s tip sent it off the right post and in the net for his 18th goal.

William Nylander added cush-ion at 16:02 of the second with the Blue Jackets’ Josh Anderson in the penalty box for slashing Auston Matthews. Given plenty of room in

the right circle, Nylander maneu-vered to its lower edge and beat Bobrovsky with a perfectly-placed shot to the short side, his ninth goal.

Toronto (25-16-2) seemed only to get stronger in the first 12 min-utes of the third period. It tried nine shots on net before Columbus even got one to Anderson, and had a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal at one point.

Blue Jackets players celebrate their goal against Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.

36WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2018 SPORTI told Andrew Strauss probably 12 months ago that September 2019 is

when I’m contracted to and that would see me out,

AFC U23 Championship under way in China

Dakar Rally in full swingFOOTBALL RALLYINGTrevor Bayliss reveals he

has no plans to continue as England coach after his contract expires.

Guptill blasts Kiwis to eight-wicket victory AFP

NELSON: Martin Guptill belted New Zealand to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan in a rain-shortened second one-day international in Nelson yesterday.

Guptill blasted 55 off 31 balls after the rain break to be unbeaten on 86 as New Zea-land reached their revised target of 151 in 25 overs with seven balls to spare.

Pakistan, boosted by a late run charge from Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan, made 246 for

nine in their 50 overs and New Zealand were 64 for two after 14 overs in reply when the rain set in.

Under the Duckworth-Lewis revision, New Zealand had 11 overs to make a further 87 runs when play resumed.

Guptill’s whirlwind knock included five fours and five sixes while Ross Taylor, keen to yield the strike in their 104-run stand, had only four boundaries in his 45 off 43 deliveries.

Pakistan did have early success with the ball, removing Colin Munro in the first over

without scoring and Kane Wil-liamson for 19 to have New Zealand at two for 47 in the 10th over.

But the Pakistan bowlers were not allowed to settle when the weather cleared as Guptill and Taylor pounded the boundaries.

After Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat they recov-ered from an early collapse they recovered to reach 246 on the back of half centuries by Mohammad Hafeez (60), Shadab Khan (52) and Hasan Ali (51). Mohammad Hafeez

held the first half of the innings together while Hasan and Shadab mounted a late rescue mission when Pakistan were 141 for seven.

The pair featured in a 70-run partnership off 49 deliveries for the eighth wicket which included 21 off one over by Todd Astle.

Lochie Ferguson was New Zealand’s chief wicket-taker with three for 39.

New Zealand now lead the five-match series 2-0 with game three in Dunedin on Saturday.

PakistanAzhar Ali lbw Southee ..............................................6

Imam-ul-Haq c Munro b Boult ...............................2

Babar Azam c Taylor b Ferguson .........................10

Mohammad Hafeez c Guptill b Santner ............60

Shoaib Malik c Southee b Astle ............................ 27

Sarfraz Ahmed st Latham b Astle .......................... 3

Shadab Khan c Latham b Ferguson ....................52

Faheem Ashraf c Southee b Ferguson .................. 7

Hasan Ali c Astle b Southee .................................. 51

Mohammad Amir (not out) ....................................8

Rumman Raees (not out) .......................................6

Extras: (B1, W12, NB1) .........................................14

Total: (for 9 wkts) ................................ 246Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-14, 3-39, 4-84, 5-108, 6-127,

7-141, 8-211, 9-239

Bowling: Southee 10-1-57-2 (3w), Boult 10-0-54-1

(1nb), Santner 10-1-34-1, Ferguson 10-0-39-3 (4w), Astle

7-0-50-2 (1w), Munro 3-0-11-0

New Zealand (revised target 151 in 25 overs)M Guptill (not out) .................................................. 86

C Munro c Faheem b Amir .......................................0

K Williamson c Shadab Khan b Faheem ............19

R Taylor (not out) .................................................... 45

Extras: (NB 1) ............................................................1

Total: (2 wkts; 23.5 overs) .................... 151 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-47

Bowling: Amir 5-1-18-1, Rumman Raees 4.5-0-37-0

(1nb), Faheem 5-0-30-1, Hasan 5-0-37-0, Shadab 4-0-

29-0

Result: New Zealand won by eight wickets

Series: New Zealand lead 2-0

SCOREBOARD

New Zealand’s Martin Guptill plays during

the second ODI yesterday.

Pathan suspended for failed dope test

Bayliss not to seek contract extension

AFP

NEW DELHI: India yesterday suspended former interna-tional all-rounder Yusuf Pathan for a total of five months for taking a banned stimulant.

The suspension on the 35-year-old, who last repre-sented India in 2012, was backdated so that it ends on January 14.

The Board of Control for Cricket - the governing body of the sport in India said the explosive batsman was rou-tinely tested during domestic Twenty20 compe-tition last year and a sample s h o w e d t r a c e s o f Terbutaline.

But the board said it was satisfied with Pathan’s expla-nation that the substance entered his body through medication while taking a cough syrup and “not as a performance-enhancing drug”.

Pathan, who also bowls off-spin, played 57 one-day internationals and 22 T20 games for India and has been an Indian Premier League regular. In 2014 he hit the IPL’s fastest 50 off just 15 balls.

He is only the second Indian cricketer to fail a dope test. In 2013 Delhi left-arm paceman Pradeep Sangwan was banned for 18 months.

The BCCI strongly opposes tests by India’s National Anti-Doping Agency.

It insists that as a member of the International Cricket Council -- a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency -- it already has strict anti-doping rules.

REUTERS

LONDON: Trevor Bayliss will step down as England coach when his contract expires after the home Ashes series in 2019, the Australian said yesterday.

Bayliss took the job in 2015, leading England to a home series win over Aus-tralia and to the 2016 World Twenty20 final, but he informed England cricket director Andrew Strauss a year ago that he was planning to step down.

“I told Andrew Strauss probably 12 months ago that September 2019 is when I’m contracted to and that would see me out,” Bayliss said after England’s 4-0 Ashes defeat.

“I’ve never been any-where any more than four or five years. Whether you’re going well or not I’ve always felt that round about that four-year mark is time to change. A new voice, a slightly different approach slightly reinvigorates things, so I passed that on to him 12 months ago.”

Bayliss, 55, also led Eng-land to a Test series win in South Africa and he will leave the job next year after a home summer that also includes the World Cup in England.

“I’ve got no problem working towards a long-term goal even if I’m not going to be there,” said Bayliss, a former Sri Lanka coach.

“You leave a coaching position hopefully with the team in a better place than when you started. Joe Root as the captain will still be there and there’s a base of six or seven players that will still be young and good enough to be in the team,” he added.

Mathews back as SL’s limited-overs captain REUTERS

COLOMBO: All-rounder Angelo

Mathews has been appointed

Sri Lanka’s limited-overs

skipper six months after relin-

quishing the captaincy across

all three formats.

The 30-year-old stepped

down as captain last year after

Sri Lanka’s shock home defeat

to Zimbabwe, which he

described as “one of the lowest

points” of his career. Dinesh

Chandimal was named the new

test captain, while Upul Tha-

ranga was put in charge of the

limited overs side.

Tharanga was then striped

of the captaincy after a string

of defeats and replaced by

Thisara Perera, who oversaw

the team’s 2-1 loss in India last

month, on a temporary basis.

“When I stepped down I

never thought of taking over

the captaincy again,” Mathews,

who is expected to lead the

side into the 2019 World Cup

in England and Wales said.

“I took a few a few days to

think about it, and because of

a few reasons I decided to

accept it.”

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said

Mathews was given the job “on

a long term basis” after he

agreed to board president Thi-

langa Sumathipala’s request to

shoulder the responsibility.

“We need stability running

into the World Cup,” said

Mathews, who will begin the

new phase of his captaincy in

a tri-series in Bangladesh that

also involves Zimbabwe later

this month.

“We’ve had a few captains

over the last few months

because of injuries. The other

captains did a good job, though

we didn’t get the results. But

going into the World Cup we

need that stability.”

All-rounder Angelo Mathews has

been appointed Sri Lanka’s limited-

overs skipper.

Ponting named Australia assistant coach for T20sAFP

SYDNEY: Ricky Ponting (pictured) will be an assistant coach during Australia’s Twenty20 international series against England and New Zealand next month, Cricket Australia said yesterday.

The former Australia cap-tain will work under head coach Darren Lehmann, while Troy Cooley and Matthew Mott will help out during the series.

They have been brought on board while regular support staff Graeme Hick, David Saker and Brad Haddin are in South Africa to assist in preparations for Australia’s four-Test tour from March.

Lehmann has previously said he will not seek to renew his contract when his current deal expires at the end of 2019, with Ponting seen as a poten-tial successor.

Ponting undertook the T20 role last year when he worked with the Australia squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka.

He has extensive experi-ence of the shortest form of the game, captaining his country in the first ever T20 international against New Zealand in 2005,

and then leading the side in the first two editions of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 and 2009.

“I loved working with the squad last year against Sri Lanka and I can’t wait to be working alongside Darren, Troy and Matthew this time around,” Ponting said.

“Watching the Big Bash League in my role as a com-mentator has shown me we have a wealth of talent avail-able to us in this format and a tri-series like this will give us a great chance to establish a pat-tern of play that works best for the players.”

The T20 series will involve matches against New Zealand in Sydney (February 3) and Auckland (February 16) and England in Hobart (February 7) and Melbourne (February 10).

SL cricket cleared of corruption, says board AFP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket said yesterday the sport’s global governing body had found no evidence of wrong-doing following allegations of match-fixing and other forms of corruption.

The board said the Inter-national Cricket Council had failed to uncover evidence of graft during an investigation into explosive accusations levelled by former Sri Lankan players.

SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva said ICC anti-corruption investigators vis-ited the island in September for a wide-ranging inquiry.

“They do not put out statements after an inquiry, but if there is anything adverse, they would inform us. To date, they have not told us of anything,” de Silva told reporters.

There was no immediate comment from the ICC.

The council’s announce-ment in September that it had began an inquiry followed corruption allegations by former skipper Arjuna Rana-tunga and ex-player and national selector Pramodya Wickremasinghe.