NZ dislodge India from top spot in ICC Test team rankings
Dubai, June 13: New Zealand on Sunday dislodged India from the top spot in the ICC Test team rankings after their series-clinching win over England in Birmingham. The Kiwis beat England by eight wickets to win the two-match Test series 1-0 ahead of the World Test Championships final against India in Southampton from June 18. New Zealand, who were second behind India in the previous ICC team rankings update, jumped to top spot by gaining three rating points. The Kane Williamson-led side now have 123 rating points against India’s 121 in the latest rankings. New Zealand, however, have lesser overall points of 2593 from 21 matches as compared to India’s 2914 from 24 matches. Australia are third with 108 rating points while England (107) and Pakistan (94) are fourth and fifth respectively. India were the number one Test side after the annual update of the ICC team rankings last month. (PTI)
Mankad among 10 ICC Hall of Fame special inductees
Dubai, June 13: The ICC on Sunday inducted 10 icons of the game, including India’s Vinoo Mankad, into its illustrious Hall of Fame with two players each from five eras, dating back to cricket’s early days, making it to the list. The announcement has been coincided with the inaugural World Test Championship final, to be played between India and New Zealand from June 18 in Southampton. “The 10 legends of the game to be inducted have all made a significant contribution to the history of Test cricket, and join an illustrious list of ICC Hall of Famers, taking the total number to 103 as a result of this intake,” the ICC said in a statement. The inductees are Aubrey Faulkner of South Africa and Monty Noble of Australia for the early era (pre-1918), Sir Learie Constantine of West Indies and Stan McCabe of Australia for the inter-war Era (1918-1945), Ted Dexter of England and Vinoo Mankad of India for the post-war Era (1946-1970). Desmond Haynes of the West Indies and Bob Willis of England were inducted from the ODI era (1971-1995) while Andy Flower of Zimbabwe and Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka were from the modern era (1996-2016). Considered one of India’s greatest-ever all-rounders, Mankad played 44 Tests, scored 2,109 runs at 31.47, took 162 wickets at 32.32. (PTI)
Chile’s Alexis Sánchez out of Copa America group stage with injury
SANTIAGO, (Chile), June 13: Striker Alexis Sánchez will not travel to Brazil with the rest of the Chile squad and will miss at least the group stage of Copa America due to a calf injury. Chile’s national team said in a statement on Saturday that 32-year-old Sánchez felt muscular soreness in a calf after a training session. It did not give more details. “The recovery time goes beyond the Copa America group stage, so the athlete will remain in Chile with the medical staff of the national team,” the statement said. Chile’s first match in the tournament will be on Monday against Argentina at the Nilton Santos stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil and Venezuela will open Copa America on Sunday at the Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia. There will be no fans attending due to the country’s alarming COVID-19 figures — more than 480,000 people have died of the disease in Brazil. (AP)
Kock dedicates century against WI to rhino conservation
Gros Islet (St Lucia), June 13: After India cricketer Rohit Sharma, South African batsman Quinton de Kock has joined the list of people making a strong pitch for the conservation of rhinos, some species of which are critically endangered. De Kock, who scored an unbeaten 141 against the West Indies in the opening match of the two-Test series to guide the visitors to an innings and 63-run win here on Saturday, said he was dedicating his sixth Test ton to rhino conservation in South Africa. The South African cricketer celebrated his fifty and century on the opening day of the Test on June 10 by holding his bat lengthwise to show the name “Rockwood”, an organisation fighting to save the rhinos. “It’s just a friend group I have back home. A couple (of) people know I am doing this initiative with the rhino thing. I am doing Rockwood and the Rhino conservation and it’s a whole group of us.” (IANS)
French Open defends ‘pragmatic’ stance in Osaka situation
Paris, June 13: French Open organizers said they took a “pragmatic” approach in their dealings with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka earlier in the tournament, insisting they tried to engage with her several times before she decided to withdraw from the clay-court Grand Slam. Osaka withdrew from Roland Garros after she was fined USD 15,000 for skipping the postmatch news conference after her first-round victory at the French Open. She said she experienced anxiety and bouts of depression. “We really tried to engage with Naomi several times, several ways, including on the practice courts, including in writing,” said Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French tennis federation director general. Oudea-Castera said organizers had also written to Osaka before all four Grand Slam tournaments threatened her with possible extra punishment including disqualification or suspension to explain to her the possible consequences of her intention of not speaking with journalists. (AP)