Sports News (07.05.2010)

Albie Morkel inspires South Africa win over Kiwis BRIDGETOWN: Albie Morkel's quickfire 40 helped take South Africa to a comfortable 13 run win in their opening Super Eights match against New Zealand at the World Twenty20 here on Thursday. His innings at the Kensington Oval lasted just 18 balls but still featured five sixes and helped South Africa pile up a total of 170 for four. Together with AB de Villiers, who finished on 47 not out, he shared a stand of 72 in six overs as they built on a solid foundation laid by the top order. De Villiers faced 39 balls with two sixes and a four. New Zealand rarely looked like threatening South Africa's score, finishing on 157 for seven. "The key for me is to keep my shape, it was a short boundary down the ground and also with the wind, so it worked in my favour," man-of-the-match Albie Morkel explained at the post-match presentation. South Africa captain Graeme Smith added: "We played smart cricket, Albie made the most of his opportunity, and his partnership with AB could have been the turning point." His New Zealand counterpart, Daniel Vettori, was in no doubt though. "De Villiers and Morkel played well, we missed a couple of chances but let them get too much," Vettori said. "You needed to be inch-perfect with guys like Morkel hitting at the death, but we were a little off. We need guys at the top to play 40-50 balls to have a chance of chasing down this target." South Africa off-spinner Johan Botha justified his recall in place of left-armer Roeof van der Merwe with a tight spell of two wickets for 23 runs in three overs which saw him dismiss Martin Guptill (18) and innings top scorer Jesse Ryder (33). Herschelle Gibbs also contributed on his return to the side, after coming in for Loots Bosman, with an attractive 30 and two superb catches to get rid of New Zealand dangerman Brendon McCullum, in the first over, and Ross Taylor. New Zealand required 36 from 12 balls and then 27 from six. Smith then brought on Albie Morkel for his only over of the match and he was promptly hoisted over deep square leg by Vettori for four. However, Albie Morkel kept his head and the target became an impossible 22 off three balls. Earlier, the all-rounder was equally adept at striking left-arm spinner Vettori over long-off for six or depositing paceman Tim Southee for three sixes in an over. South Africa, who won the toss, saw Smith open alongside Jacques Kallis. The pair shared a first wicket stand of 40 before Smith holed out to deep midwicket for 14. And 40 for one became 55 for two when Kallis, who made 31, was brilliantly caught by a diving Southee at third man after uppercutting Jacob Oram. Both Group E rivals continue their bid for a semi-final spot here on Saturday when New Zealand face defending champions Pakistan and South Africa play England, who beat Pakistan by six wickets earlier on Thursday.

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	What’s wrong with Afridi? KARACHI: When Shahid Afridi flew out for the Caribbean last month, he promised to shine in three different roles to help Pakistan defend the ... more
	Mighty KP crushes Pakistan BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Kevin Pietersen’s unbeaten 73 saw England to a six wicket win over defending champions Pakistan in the opening Super E ... more
	Afghans ask for chance to shine again BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Afghanistan bowed out of their first major cricket tournament on Wednesday, then urged the game’s top nations to give ... more
	Dottin scores first women’s Twenty20 ton BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: West Indies’ Deandra Dottin wrote herself into cricket’s record books by becoming the first women to score a century i ... more
	SL to host Asia Cup in June COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is to host the four-nation Asia Cup tournament in June, the Asian Cricket Council said on Thursday. The tournament ... more
	Lull before IPL storm as Lalit Modi gears for a fight NEW DELHI: India is bracing for the next round of mudslinging in the Indian Premier League corruption scandal as the cricket tournament’s ch ... more
	Sports Ministry to forward PCB draft ISLAMABAD: The concerned authorities in the Presidency have directed the Sports Ministry to forward the proposed draft of the Pakistan Crick ... more
	Nannes wrecks Bangladesh hopes as Aussies progress BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Fast bowler Dirk Nannes took four wickets as Australia beat Bangladesh by 27 runs here at the Kensington Oval here on ... more
	‘Nobody blamed Younis for team’s troubles’ KARACHI: Younis Khan’s legal advisor has claimed that no player and official interviewed by the inquiry committee of the Pakistan Cricket Bo ... more
	Bits and Pieces Sarfaraz to donate lawsuit amount From our correspondent ISLAMABAD: Former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz pledged to donate Rs 50 ... more
	‘Match-fixing common in ICL’ LONDON: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has been told that “a large number” of matches in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) were fi ... more
	India in ‘fast vs spin’ dilemma BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: The Indian Premier League was the perfect platform for fancy innovations and crazy experiments. Some of them w ... more
	SA pace too much for Afghans BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: South Africa won through to the second round of the World Twenty20 with a 59-run win as newcomers Afghanistan were bow ... more
	Chinese cricketers end Pakistan tour with victory KARACHI: The touring Chinese cricketers ended their 25-day preparatory tour to Pakistan when they beat UBL Academy side by 29 runs at UBL Sp ... more
	Crouch heads Spurs into Champions League MANCHESTER, England: Tottenham qualified for the Champions League for the first time, beating Manchester City 1-0 on Wednesday night by Pete ... more
	Ronaldo keeps Real on Barca’s heels MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo netted his first ever hat-trick for Real Madrid to move onto 25 goals of the season as Real came from behind to wi ... more
	Inter Milan beat Roma 1-0 to win Italian Cup ROME: Inter Milan secured the first trophy in their historic treble quest as they beat AS Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico here on Wednesday. ... more
	Shoaib rules out date changes KARACHI: The change in dates of the 13th Sindh Games, to be held here from June 1 to 3, has been ruled out in spite of the rescheduling of t ... more
	Pakistan hockey needs Olympians’ services: Iqbal ISLAMABAD: The newly elected chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan has said that he wants f ... more
	OISSA organises first ever U12 event KARACHI: Olympian Iftikhar Syed Sports Academy (OISSA) is organising the first ever U12 hockey tournament of the country from May 15 at OISS ... more
	Federer takes first clay win of season ESTORIL, Portugal: Roger Federer got his clay season on back track as the Swiss opened his campaign at the Estoril Open Wednesday with a 6-3 ... more
	Cilic into second round MUNICH: Top-seed Marin Cilic had few problems booking his second-round place at Munich’s ATP tournament on Wednesday with a comfortable 6-4, ... more
	briefs... Clarke ready for spin trial against India BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Michael Clarke admitted his bowlers were ready for a trial by spin wh ... more
	Protease beat NZ by 13 runs in Super Eights BRIDGETOWN: South Africa have beaten Kiwis by 143 runs in Twenty20 match in Super Eights stage of ICC World Cup here late night. ... more

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  AP – 1 hr 30 mins ago  
  AP

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  AP – Fri May 7, 12:00 am ET  
  AP

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• Canadiens beat Penguins to even series at 2

  AP – Thu May 6, 9:35 pm ET  
  AP

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• Raider or bust? Russell the latter

  AP – Fri May 7, 3:35 am ET  
  AP

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• Ethier hits slam in ninth innings for Dodgers

  AP – Fri May 7, 2:02 am ET  
  AP

  LOS ANGELES - Andre Ethier hit a grand slam in the ninth off LaTroy Hawkins after the Dodgers blew a two-run lead in the top of the inning, and Los Angeles beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-3 Thursday night. Full Story »
  

• Magic conjure up second easy victory over Hawks

  Reuters – Fri May 7, 1:48 am ET  
  Reuters

  ORLANDO (Reuters) - The Orlando Magic followed up their series opening annihilation of the Atlanta Hawks with a 112-98 victory on Thursday to open a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-finals. Full Story »
  

• Mike Rice introduced as Rutgers new hoops coach

  AP – Thu May 6, 7:02 pm ET  
  AP

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• Liverpool hold "constructive" meeting with Benitez

  AFP – 2 hrs 17 mins ago  
  AFP/File

  LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) - Liverpool claim boss Rafael Benitez's crunch talks with chairman Martin Broughton and managing director Christian Purslow over the futute of the club were "constructive". Full Story »
  

• Tour of Missouri in doubt as state funding stalls

  AP – Thu May 6, 3:06 pm ET  
  COLUMBIA, Mo. - Organizers of the Tour of Missouri say the international cycling race likely won't be held in a few months because of uncertainty over state funding. Full Story »
  

• Franzen sets Red Wings mark record with 6 points

  AP – Thu May 6, 10:16 pm ET  
  AP

  DETROIT - Johan Franzen has set a Detroit Red Wings playoff record with six points, and tied another team mark with four goals against the San Jose Sharks. Full Story »
  

• Ivanovic comeback gathers pace at Rome tennis Open

  AFP – Thu May 6, 4:24 pm ET  
  AFP

  ROME (AFP) - Former world number one Ana Ivanovic continued her return to form at the claycourt Rome Open at the Foro Italico here on Thursday as she took her third successive seed's scalp. Full Story »
  

• College golfer finds the rough for a buddy

  AP – Thu May 6, 5:25 pm ET  
  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - On the first shot of the first playoff hole at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship last month, the University of St. Francis' top golfer hit a shot so bad that you'd have to wonder how he made the playoff in the first place. Full Story »
  

• Tito Ortiz arrested, accuses partner of drug use

  AP – Tue Apr 27, 1:50 am ET  
  AP

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  AP – Sun May 2, 7:27 am ET  
  AP

  LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. is usually content to just win a fight. This time, though, Money Mayweather wanted to earn his cash. Full Story »
  

• City approves deal to start Baltimore IndyCar race

  AP – Wed May 5, 1:26 pm ET  
  BALTIMORE - Traffic on Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore often moves at a crawl. But one weekend a year from August, the speed limit will increase — to 185 mph. Full Story »
  

• Olympic boxing champion Bohumil Nemecek dies at 72

  AP – Tue May 4, 6:49 am ET  
  PRAGUE - Bohumil Nemecek, an Olympic champion boxer who competed for Czechoslovakia at the 1960 Rome Games, has died, the Czech Boxing Association said. He was 72. Full Story »