TENNIS
Taiwanese make semis
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals at the LTA Rothesay Classic Birmingham. Hsieh and Mertens defeated British pair Samantha Murray Sharan and Eden Silva 6-0, 6-4 in their quarter-final at the US$267,082 grass-court tournament at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, England. Meanwhile, at the Am Rothenbaum Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in Berlin, Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 10-8 to advance to the last four at the WTA Bett1Open.
CRICKET
Zimbabwe name new coach
Zimbabwe Cricket on Wednesday said that it had appointed South African Justin Sammons as its new men’s head coach. Sammons was a former batting coach with his home country’s national team, the Proteas. Dave Houghton resigned as Zimbabwe’s head coach last year after they failed to qualify for the ongoing T20 World Cup in the US and the West Indies. Sammons is to lead Zimbabwe for the first time in a five-match T20 series against India in Zimbabwe beginning on July 6 in Harare, where all the T20s are to be played. Dion Ebrahim, a former Zimbabwe batter, is Sammons’ assistant coach. Ebrahim represented Zimbabwe in 29 Tests and 82 ODIs between 2001 and 2005, and has been a part of the coaching staff with the New Zealand senior men’s team. “We are delighted to confirm Justin as head coach of the Zimbabwe senior men’s national team. He brings a wealth of coaching experience and a reputation of identifying, nurturing and developing some of the best young talent in South Africa,” Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said in a statement.
RUGBY UNION
Jamie George expects tricks
England captain Jamie George yesterday said that he expects Eddie Jones to have a few more tricks up his sleeve when they face a much-changed Japan in Tokyo tomorrow. Former England head coach Jones is to lead Japan out against his old team in his first game in charge of the Brave Blossoms since returning to the job for a second stint at the start of the year. The Australian, who took England to the 2019 World Cup final, has named an inexperienced Japan lineup featuring four new caps — including a university fullback — for the game at Tokyo’s National Stadium. George said that England were used to Jones making “bold statements” and would not take Japan lightly before the visitors head to New Zealand for two Tests against the All Blacks. “Eddie wouldn’t have made that decision if he didn’t have every confidence that he was able to go out there and play the sort of game that he wanted to play,” George said. “We probably had an idea of the lineup that he might pick, but it’s not exactly what we thought. That’s probably Eddie’s way at times,” said George, who played under Jones. George said that there was “an element of the unknown” about Japan’s team, with only three starting players retained from their previous game, against Argentina at last year’s World Cup. Conditions are also likely to test England, with temperatures forecast to reach 30°C during the match.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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