CRICKET
Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions
Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as they slumped to a 22-run loss. In the second match, the Taipei Indians posted a meager 64 all out in 16.2 overs against PCCT with Mushtaq Mohammad taking three wickets, but the tiny total looked a long way off when PCCT limped to 19-4 in seven overs. The scoring rate did not increase much, but the flow of wickets ended as PCCT secured a four-wicket win after 18.2 overs. Games today are scheduled between the Raging Bulls and TCA in the morning, and the Stallions against PCCT in the afternoon.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Super 11
SOCCER
Peru defeat Uruguay
Peru on Friday won their first match in South American World Cup qualifying at the expense of coach Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. The 1-0 home win gave the hosts a boost in the 10-team round-robin competition after a long losing streak. Miguel Araujo scored the only goal of the match with a header in the 88th minute to move Peru out of last place in the South American standings. Third-place Uruguay have 15 points after nine matches, four fewer than leaders Argentina and one behind second-placed Colombia. The first six teams in the table will secure a berth in the next FIFA World Cup in 2026 in North America. Peru have six points, one more than last-placed Chile. Uruguay wasted several opportunities in the first half, with Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez and Maximiliano Araujo stopped by Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. The hosts took control of the match in the second half. “I honestly feel responsible, due to the players we had in the midfield and in the offense, for such a small proportion of goal chances we created in the second half,” Bielsa said.
RUGBY UNION
Elsom warrant issued
An international arrest warrant has been issued for former Australia captain Rocky Elsom over his conduct as president of French club Narbonne in 2015 and 2016, French media reported. The 41-year-old was found guilty of forgery, use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets by a Narbonne court on Friday, Agence France-Presse, French sports daily L’Equipe and other media reported on Friday. A powerful blindside flanker, Elsom played 75 Tests for Australia and captained the Wallabies from 2009 until just before the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He also enjoyed a successful spell with Irish province Leinster and told Britain’s Times newspaper in an interview last weekend that he was teaching in a Dublin school.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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