A devastating spell of fast bowling from Brett Lee at Lord’s on Saturday helped Australia to a seven wicket win and an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match one-day series against England.
Lee claimed five for 49 from nine overs to restrict England to just 220 all out from 46.3 overs after they had won the toss in good batting conditions on a sunny morning. It was the ninth time Lee had taken five wickets in a one-day international.
Captain Andrew Strauss continued his good form over the English summer with a top score of 63 in 75 deliveries, but he was the only England player to craft any substantial innings.
PHOTO: AFP
Australia reached 221-3 in reply, with 6.2 overs remaining.
Michael Clarke, who stood in as captain in the first three matches when Ricky Ponting took a break in Australia, finished the match with an unbeaten 62, while opener Tim Paine made 51 and Ponting stroked 48.
While Australia will be seeking a 7-0 whitewash after losing the Ashes series 2-1, England need to regain credibility and confidence before the ICC Champions Trophy begins in South Africa later this month.
Lee, who missed the entire Ashes series through injury, made the initial breakthrough when he had Joe Denly caught at first slip for 11. He later bowled Matt Prior (29), Luke Wright (12), Adil Rashid (4) and Stuart Broad (2) with dipping, swinging yorkers in excess of 145km an hour.
England lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs in 22 balls. Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz claimed two for 23 from 10 accurate overs that strangled the England run rate.
■SRI LANKA V INDIA
REUTERS, COLOMBO
Sri Lanka’s promising all-rounder Angelo Mathews produced a career-best six for 20 to subject India to a humiliating 139 run defeat in the third Tri-series match on Saturday.
Sanath Jayasuriya (98) and Thilina Kandamby (91 not out) took Sri Lanka to 307 for six then India succumbed for 168 from 37.2 overs.
India clearly felt the strain of playing back-to-back night matches as their bowlers allowed Sri Lanka the luxury of 10 wides and their batsmen then capitulated against the moving ball.
Both teams have qualified for today’s final. New Zealand were eliminated after losing their two matches.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
In April last year, Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying finally opened up about her future in the sport in which she had competed professionally since 2009. “My plan is to retire after the end of next year’s season. Even if I’m still able to compete, I would prefer not to,” she said at a promotional event. If true, the Paris Olympics would be her last stab at an Olympic gold medal, a prize some might think a player who has topped the rankings in women’s singles for a record total of 214 weeks — between December 2016 and September 2022 — should
Vivian Kong on Saturday won Hong Kong’s third ever Olympic gold medal, disappointing the home crowd as she beat France’s Auriane Mallo-Breton 13-12 in sudden death in the women’s epee final. Kong wiped away tears after she clinched the title, having held her nerve when she trailed 7-1 in the second period and with a passionate home crowd, including French President Emmanuel Macron, urging Mallo-Breton on. Her gold emulates that of fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long in the men’s foil in Tokyo three years ago and sailor Lee Lai-shan who won the women’s sailboard title at Atlanta in 1996. “I just thought it was
POLYNESIAN FOCUS: The separate opening event welcomed visitors with Tahitian dancing, while athletes participated in rituals to mark the occasion Tahitian dancers in palm-leaf skirts mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games commenced in French Polynesia on Friday, about 16,000km from the main ceremony in Paris. “The people of Tahiti, we are all enchanted to have these Olympics Games here and to welcome all our friends from all over the world,” French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson told reporters. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. All the world is looking at us for this mighty wave.” Just steps from the ocean and set against the lush green mountains of Tahiti, the event was heavily