Sport

LAHORE, Pakistan: Former captain Younis Khan has stepped down as Pakistan's batting coach before their coming tours of England and the West Indies, the country's cricket board said on Tuesday. His departure leaves Pakistan without a batting coach for their limited-overs matches in England in July, but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it would bring in a replacement for the matches in the West Indies in July and August. Younis was appointed last November on a two-year contract that ran until the T20 World Cup in Australia next year. "It is sad to lose an expert of the stature and experience of Younis Khan," PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said in a statement, without saying why Younis was leaving the post. "Following a series of discussions, we both have reluctantly but mutually and amicably agreed that it was time to move in different directions." He said he was hopeful Younis would be available for similar stints in the future. The team will leave for ... » Learn More about Cricket-Younis Khan steps down as Pakistan batting coach

REUTERS: Sale Sharks centre Manu Tuilagi has withdrawn from the England squad for the summer series against the United States and Canada due to injury, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Tuesday. Tuilagi, who was named in coach Eddie Jones's revised 36-man squad on Sunday, picked up the injury in Sale's 40-30 defeat by the Exeter Chiefs in Saturday's Premiership semi-final. The 30-year-old has played three times since returning from an Achilles tendon injury sustained in September. He will be replaced by Fraser Dingwall of Northampton Saints in the squad, RFU said. An England A side will kick off a summer series against their Scotland counterparts on June 27 followed by tests against the U.S. (July 4) and Canada (July 10). (Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) ... » Learn More about Rugby-Tuilagi pulls out of England squad due to injury

REUTERS: Li Tie will continue to lead China's national team after steering his side into the final round of Asia's preliminaries for the 2022 World Cup, the president of the Chinese Football Association confirmed on Tuesday. The former Everton midfielder, who took over as head coach following Marcello Lippi's resignation, led the Chinese to four straight wins this month to secure a berth in the next round of qualifying for Qatar. "We evaluate the coaching staff every year and as long as the team is making progress, the coaching staff will stay as they are," CFA president Chen Xuyuan told state news agency Xinhua. "We won't change the coach for just losing a game or two. "Li is now focusing on the team's preparations for the final round of the World Cup Asian qualifiers." China will join 11 other Asian nations in the draw on July 1 for the final phase of the continent's preliminaries, when four guaranteed places in Qatar will be at stake. A potential fifth berth is ... » Learn More about Soccer-CFA president confirms Li to remain at China’s helm

GROS ISLET, St Lucia: West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite called on Tuesday on himself and his fellow batsmen to show more fight in their next test series after his team were comfortably beaten by South Africa in Saint Lucia. South Africa won the second test by 148 runs on Monday to complete a 2-0 sweep after victory by an innings and 63 runs in the first. Both matches were played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, where West Indies failed to score more than 165 runs in any of their four innings. "Our plan was to bat better and build partnerships, have consistent partnership in between but we didn't have any. We didn't do our job as batsmen and we let the team down," Brathwaite said on Tuesday. "You cannot win them all but you still want to show fight and determination as batters, which we didn't." Roston Chase, with 62 in the first test, and Kieran Powell, with 51 in the second, were the only Windies players to score half centuries. West Indies host Pakistan in ... » Learn More about Cricket-Windies captain wants more fight from batsmen after series defeat

MADRID: Spain have pledged to store former Netherlands player Rafael van der Vaart's scathing assessment about their shaky start in Euro 2020 in their memory banks should they come up against the Dutch later in the tournament. Van der Vaart, a pundit for broadcaster NOS during the tournament, said Spain's performances so far have been "horrible" and they "only know how to pass the ball from one side to the other" after the 2008 and 2012 champions only managed to draw their first two games against Poland and Sweden. The former Real Madrid and Real Betis midfielder, who failed to stop Andres Iniesta scoring the only goal in the 2010 World Cup final, has caused a stir in the Spanish media and his comments also irked the players, who returned fire. "Van der Vaart wanted his moment of glory and he is having it," said Spain midfielder Koke on Spanish radio station Cadena COPE. "I saw him in the World Cup final, and here at our training base we have a picture of Iniesta's goal ... » Learn More about Soccer-Spain hit back after Van der Vaart’s “horrible” taunt

LONDON: Warren Gatland has included four Scottish players in the British and Irish Lions team to play Japan at Murrayfield on Saturday, the first preparation match for this year's tour of South Africa. Winger Duhan van der Merwe, props Rory Sutherland and Zander Fagerson and flanker Hamish Watson all start, while Scotland scrumhalf Ali Price is on the bench for the game that will be watched by 16,500 fans - likely to be the only sizeable crowd the Lions will see for the whole tour. The Edinburgh fans will be delighted to have so many Scots to cheer on after they have been something of a sideshow for the Lions for a long time. The last Scot to start a Lions test was prop Tom Smith in Australia 20 years ago. Tour captain Alun Wyn Jones of Wales captains the team on Saturday. The Lions have been preparing in a training camp in Jersey, though they are still without four Exeter players who will play against Harlequins in the Premiership final on Saturday. "I’m pleased with ... » Learn More about Rugby-Four Scots in team for Lions opener against Japan

MOSCOW: Russian hurdler Sergey Shubenkov has been cleared in what the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Tuesday was a "genuinely exceptional" doping case involving a diuretic prescribed to a family member. The AIU, which oversees integrity issues in global athletics, said that a low concentration of acetazolamide had been found in Shubenkov's out-of-competition sample collected in December 2020. The substance is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of prohibited diuretics and masking agents and is banned both in and out-of-competition. Shubenkov, the 2015 world champion and silver medallist at the 2019 worlds in the 110 metres hurdles, told the unit that the finding was linked to the residue of a medication taken by a family member. "After a thorough investigation of the athlete's explanation during results management process, the AIU accepted that the positive finding resulted from his unintentional ingestion of residue from medication being used to treat a ... » Learn More about Athletics-Russia’s Shubenkov cleared in ‘genuinely exceptional’ doping case – AIU

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany: Germany's Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan returned to training on Tuesday, a day before their final Euro 2020 Group F match against Hungary, while team mate Thomas Mueller's participation remained doubtful after he only did some light running alone. They had all suffered injuries in Germany's 4-2 win over Portugal last week. While defender Hummels and midfielder Gundogan trained with the team, attacking midfielder Mueller cycled to training with his knee lightly bandaged and jogged for some time with team mate Lukas Klostermann, who is recovering from an injury of his own. The three-time European champions have three points, the same as Portugal and one behind Group F leaders France. They will advance with a victory over Hungary but could also qualify with a draw if France do not lose their game against the Portuguese. The Hungarians, in last place with one point, need to win to have any chance of progressing. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; ... » Learn More about Soccer-Germany’s Hummels, Gundogan back in training, Mueller jogs alone

LONDON: Formula One has extended a partnership with sports merchandise retailer Fanatics after a U.S.-led surge in sales, the Liberty Media-owned sport said on Tuesday. Formula One said sales on its official online store had grown 40per cent globally in 2020. "This strong performance has accelerated in the first six months of 2021, with sales on the official online F1 store growing by triple digits compared to the same period in 2020," it added. The United States had become the most significant market, it added. Formula One is adding a second U.S. race in Miami next year and has gained a higher profile thanks to the popularity of the Netflix series "Drive to Survive" which is now filming its fourth season. The sport has a record 23 races scheduled for this season, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton chasing an unprecedented eighth title but locked in a thrilling battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Florida-based Fanatics operates online stores and sells products for ... » Learn More about Motor racing-Formula One extends deal with Fanatics after surge in sales

AMSTERDAM: Netherlands striker Donyell Malen would be disappointed not to start his country's last 16 match at the European Championship after bursting onto the tournament stage in the last two games, he said on Tuesday. The 22-year-old made an immediate impact after coming on in the second Group C game against Austria last Thursday and started Monday's clash against North Macedonia, being involved in the opening goal of the 3-0 win in Amsterdam. The Dutch finished top and now move onto a last 16 clash in Budapest on Sunday against an opponent yet to be decided. "I would be disappointed if I didn't play in Budapest, that would be naturally human, right?" he told a news conference on Tuesday. "But it is the coach who decides who plays. We still have enough training sessions in which to try and make it as difficult as possible for the trainer to not leave you out." Coach Frank de Boer has tried several options alongside lead attacker Memphis Depay, but Malen said he was ... » Learn More about Soccer-Malen chasing starting berth as Dutch look ahead to last 16