No evidence of Ashes match-fixing, says ICC

LONDON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday that it had found no evidence of match fixing in the third Ashes test between Australia and England last year.

An investigation was launched following allegations in The Sun newspaper that underground bookmakers from India had offered to sell undercover reporters information about spot-fixing ahead of the game in Perth.

Spot-fixing occurs when corrupt players agree to manipulate part of a match by, for example, bowling a wide on a particular delivery or ensuring a particular run rate.

“We have carried out an extensive global investigation with anti-corruption colleagues from Member countries based on the allegations in The Sun and the material they shared with us,” said Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit in a statement on Thursday.

“I am satisfied that there is no evidence to suggest any match has been corrupted by the individuals in the investigation nor is there any indication that any international players, administrators or coaches have been in contact with the alleged fixers.”

source: news agency

India, Australia chase 4th ICC U-19 World Cup title

In a repeat of the 2012 edition, three-time champions India and Australia will aim to outplay each other when they face off in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup at the Bay Oval here on Saturday.


Fresh from a 203-run thrashing of Pakistan in the semi-final, India set their date with Australia, who had comfortably defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in the battle of the last four.

While both sides have been impressive throughout the tournament, India will believe they have edge, being the only unbeaten side in the competition.

Furthermore, Australia's only defeat -- by 100 runs -- came against India in their tournament opener.

The Group B fixture saw India's top-order batting fire excellently, with openers Prithvi Shaw (94) and Manjot Khalra (86) putting on an opening stand of 180.

India made an imposing 328/7 from their 50 overs before their bowlers dismissed the Australians for 228 to secure a 100-run win.

Since then, Australia have been ruthless, beating Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, England and Afghanistan, with their bowling attack taking the full 10 wickets in each match.

Along with beating Australia in the first game, India have defeated Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Going into the final on Saturday, all eyes will be on India's stellar batting line-up led by the skipper Prithvi and the likes of Shubhman Gill, who has been the most consistent batsman in the tournament averaging 170.

Shubman blasted 102 from 94 balls to bat Pakistan out in the semi-final and add to his scores of 63, 90 not out and 86.

In the bowling department, fast bowlers Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Ishan Porel will have their work cut out against a strong Australian batting line-up.

Abhishek Sharma is another important player in the squad and he will, along with other spinners, look to aggravate Australian batsmen's weaknesses against spin.

Abhishek is also a hard-hitting lower middle order batsman, who can score some quick runs at the end of the innings.

On the other hand, Australia can boast of leg-spinner Lloyd Pope, who took 8/35 -- the best U19 World Cup figures of all time -- to hand the team a brilliant win over England en-route the semi-finals.

Australia's batting will revolve around the likes of skipper Jason Sangha, Jack Edwards and Nathan McSweeney. India previously won the Cup in 2000, 2008 (under Virat Kohli, now the captain of the senior team) and 2012.

Squads:

Australia: Jason Sangha (Captain), Will Sutherland, Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Edwards, Zak Evans, Jarrod Freeman, Ryan Hadley, Baxter Holt, Nathan McSweeney, Jonathan Merlo, Lloyd Pope, Jason Ralston, Param Uppal, Austin Waugh.

India: Prithvi Shaw (Captain), Shubman Gill, Aryan Juyal, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Harvik Desai, Manjot Kalra, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pankaj Yadav, Riyan Parag, Ishan Porel, Himanshu Rana, Anukul Roy, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh.

source: news agency

Injured Finch out of fourth ODI vs England

Adelaide: In a massive jolt to Australia's chances of registering their first win in the five-match ODI series, in-form opener Aaron Finch was ruled out with a hamstring strain from Friday's fourth one-dayer against England here.

The right-hander scored centuries in each of the first two games and top-scored for Australia again in Sunday's loss in Sydney.

Finch, who posted 107 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the series opener, and added 106 in the second game before hammering 62 in the third game, will be assessed in the coming days before a decision on his availability for Sunday's fifth ODI in Perth is made.

Finch's absence will likely lead to the return of Travis Head, who was dropped for the third game at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Head and David Warner shared a record-breaking opening stand in the Australia Day clash last year and could resume that partnership exactly 12 months later on Friday.

The form of Finch has been a rare bright spot for the Australians in what has been a horror series so far, with England holding an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match rubber.

England, on the other hand will hope to continue their winning run and bank on their top order's batting prowess to come good in the fourth match.

Squads:

Australia: Steve Smith (Captain), David Warner (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Cameron White, Adam Zampa.

England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.


Source: News Agency

Australian team for Pyeongchang Winter Olympics named

Pyeongchang: Australia has revealed its team for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games that will compete in South Korea.

More than 40 Australians will compete in a total of 16 events at the games, which will begin on February 9.

These events include bobsleigh, alpine skiing, speed skating and luge, reports Xinhua news agency.

Ian Chesterman, Chef de Mission of the Australian team, said it was the most accomplished Winter Olympics team in Australia's history with the athletes having won 54 World Cup medals between them.

The team also boasts two current world champions; Britt Cox in mogul skiing and Scotty James in the half pipe snowboard.

"Pyeongchang is ready, our athletes are excited and the focus is on the final days of preparation before the Team starts to arrive in South Korea next week," Chesterman said in an Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) media release on Thursday.

Chesterman says that the team is "a great cross-section of sports on the winter program", something the AOC values quite highly.

"Having taken a really young team to Sochi there are a number of returning Olympians that will benefit from that experience, while there are also a number of Olympic debutants that are the future of their sports, which is also great to see," Chesterman said.

Chesterman also said that the team shows that winter sport in Australia "is in really good shape".

For Lydia Lassila, a two-time Olympic medalist in aerial freestyle skiing, the games in Pyeongchang will be her fifth Winter Olympics.

"I never dreamed of going to five Olympics or having a career this long," the 36-year-old mother-of-two said.

Source: News Agency

Maxwell back in Australia ODI squad as cover for Finch

SYDNEY: Batsman Glenn Maxwell has been recalled to the Australian squad as cover for Aaron Finch, who was ruled out of Friday's fourth one-day international against England in Adelaide with a hamstring injury.

Maxwell, who has played 80 ODIs for his country and can be one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket on his day, was surprisingly left out when the squad was announced earlier this month.

Captain Steve Smith and chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns had said at the time he needed to be more consistent at the international level to get back into the team.

The 29-year-old last played for the one-day side on the tour of India last September.

Finch will be assessed ahead of the fifth ODI in Perth on Sunday. England have an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

Source: News Agency

Uncle Toni still 'more than anything' for Nadal

MELBOURNE: World number one Rafael Nadal embarks on a new era without his coach and uncle in the players' box at the Australian Open but the Spaniard said he would always welcome advice from his lifelong mentor with open arms.

Nadal returns to Melbourne Park, where he lost a thrilling five-set final to long-time rival Roger Federer last year, hoping to continue his progress under new coach Carlos Moya.

Former world number one Moya will lead the Mallorcan's team, having helped him back to the grand slam winner's table in 2017 after a barren three years while preparing for Toni Nadal's retirement.

Toni has departed to focus on his nephew's tennis academy but Nadal said their relationship remained intimate and "easy".

"He participates as much as he wants to participate. He's my uncle," Nadal told reporters at Melbourne Park on Saturday.

"He's more than anything else. That's it. Everything that he wants to do with me, I am happy with, no? It's not about my decision. He has enough confidence with me, or I have enough confidence with him, to talk about anything I have to talk.

"It's difficult to explain. But it's part of my family ... He loves me. I love him. It's not about, you know, a professional relationship. It's a familial relationship.

"In terms of professional things, I spoke to him few days ago, speaking about how the life is going, how the tennis is going.

"If I have something to ask, I ask him. If he has something to tell me, he calls me and tells me. No, it's not a difficult situation. It's a very easy situation."

Nadal's preparations have added to a sense of a journey into the unknown at Melbourne Park for the 31-year-old great.

He heads into his first round match against Dominican journeyman Victor Estrella Burgos without a competitive match since he pulled out of the ATP Tour Finals with a knee injury in November.

He missed warmup events in Abu Dhabi and Brisbane but had an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic and another practice match with Dominic Thiem at Melbourne Park on Friday, complete with ball boys and a chair umpire.

The 16-times grand slam champion showed no sign of discomfort in defeating fifth seed Thiem and said he felt "good" and was "more or less" playing well.


A 17th grand slam title would bring him within striking distance of the record 19 held by Federer but Nadal said he had no extra need for motivation at Melbourne Park.

"It's impossible to be more motivated than last year or any year," said Nadal, who can only face second seed Federer in another final if they progress that far.

Source: News Agency

Stan Wawrinka feared for career during long layoff

MELBOURNE: Stan Wawrinka feared his debilitating knee injury might be the end of a glittering tennis career boasting three grand slam titles and said he had only been cleared to play the Australian Open two days before the tournament.

The 32-year-old Swiss also spoke on Saturday of his former coach Magnus Norman’s decision to end their partnership while he was injured, another sting in the tail during his battle through rehab.

The 2014 champion will bid for his second title at Melbourne Park but goes in with low expectations, having only decided he was fit enough to play after training on Saturday.

While not taking pain-killing injections, he said the knee was still painful and admitted he was far from his best level of tennis ahead of his first round match against unseeded Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis on Tuesday.

Stan Wawrinka

However, being cleared to play still felt like a “victory”, said Wawrinka, given personal doubts about his future following his knee surgery.

“For sure I was worrying a lot because I had eight weeks on crutches,” Wawrinka told reporters at Melbourne Park.

”I started my first fitness by just walking. The thing is, it’s always complicated when you’re like at that level before, you get (an) injury, you can get through pain mentally also, (you‘re) feeling lonely, not feeling good.

”It’s tough to explain because some people will always

think, ‘C‘mon, you have an amazing life, why do you

complain, why do you complain about feeling not great?'”

His former mentor Norman, who helped transform Wawrinka into a grand slam-winning force, ended their four-year partnership in October, citing personal reasons in another major blow.

“For sure, it was already a tough, tough, tough moment for myself, to be out, to get surgery, to know that it will take at least six months to be back at a place where I can play tennis again,” said Wawrinka, who has not played a competitive match since being knocked out of the first round at Wimbledon.

”When you are in a tough place like that as an athlete, you want the people who know you the best to stay around you, to stick with you.

”You want your team, your family to be here.

“For me, Magnus, he was my coach, but he was a friend, even closer than a friend. It was tough to know that he will not be here to start again with me. I was more sad than angry at him.”

Wawrinka, seeded ninth in Melbourne, said he had practised for more hours in the week leading into the grand slam than he had in months but still needed to be “careful” about his knee.

“I practised with Rafa (Nadal), I practised with Novak (Djokovic), with (Tomas) Berdych, with (Gael) Monfils, with (Grigor) Dimitrov,” he said.

Source: News Agency

ICC approves Perth Stadium to host all international formats

Perth Stadium is set to take over hosting duties from the historic WACA ground after the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the newly-built venue to host all international formats, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Thursday.

The 50,000-seater stadium will now become the main venue for cricket in Western Australia, and the fifth one-day international between Australia and England on Jan. 28 will be the first major sporting event held at the ground.

“The stadium is a magnificent asset for the state of WA and its sports fan,” said Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland. “We very much look forward to bringing this big Australia-England one-day match to Perth to the Stadium on 28 January.”

The state-of-the-art stadium will also host matches from the domestic Big Bash League, Australian rules football and soccer.

ICC match referee Richie Richardson said the stadium was “world class” after an inspection.

“The new Perth Stadium is a wonderful, refreshing, world class stadium, and I have no hesitation in recommending that the venue is approved for staging all three formats of international cricket,” he added.

The ODI between Australia and England will be the fifth and final match of the series, which begins on Jan. 14. It follows the home side’s dominant 4-0 Ashes test series win.

The WACA, which has hosted cricket matches since the early 1890s, will be turned into a boutique ground with a capacity of 10,000-15,000 by the local board.


Source: News Agencies

Australia recall Cameron White to replace Chris Lynn for England ODIs

Cameron White will fancy playing his first one-day international in three years after replacing the injured Chris Lynn in the Australia squad for the five-match series against England beginning on Sunday.

A calf injury to explosive batsman Lynn opened an unlikely door for 34-year-old White, who played the last of his 88 ODIs in 2015 and has since been critical of a pro-youth policy he felt did not reward the performance of senior players.

“Cameron’s in very good form, as his figures demonstrate. He’s playing very well,” selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement on Thursday, referring to White’s impressive displays for Melbourne Renegades in this year’s Big Bash League.

“He’s one of the leading run-scorers in this season’s BBL, he’s experienced, he’s a very smart cricketer and he’s a good fielder. He ticks all the boxes for what we need at this stage.”

White’s unexpected selection ahead of Glenn Maxwell follows Tim Paine’s shock and inspired inclusion in Australia’s Ashes-winning team despite the wicketkeeper not even being Tasmania’s number one choice.

Melbourne hosts the first one-dayer between the Ashes rivals, before the series moves on to Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth.

Source: News Agencies