Reuters, Author at ASports.tv

Indonesia police say 129 people killed after stampede at soccer match

JAKARTA: At least 129 people were killed and around 180 injured at a soccer match in Indonesia after panicked fans were trampled and crushed trying to flee during a riot, police said on Sunday, in what appeared to be one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.

When supporters of the losing home team invaded the pitch in East Java province on Saturday night to express their frustration, officers fired tear gas in an attempt to control the situation, triggering a stampede and cases of suffocation, East Java police chief Nico Afinta told reporters.

“It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” Nico said, adding that the crush occurred when fans fled for an exit gate.

Video footage from local news channels showed fans streaming onto the pitch in the stadium in Malang after Arema FC lost to Persebaya Surabaya. Scuffles can be seen, with what appeared to be tear gas in the air.

Images showed people who appeared to have lost consciousness being carried away by other fans.

The head of one of the hospitals in the area treating patients told Metro TV that some of the victims had sustained brain injuries and that the dead included a five-year-old child.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA specifies in its safety regulations that no firearms or “crowd control gas” should be carried or used by stewards or police.

East Java police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they were aware of such regulations.

Indonesia’s human rights commission planned to investigate security at the ground, including the use of tear gas, its commissioner told Reuters.

The country’s chief security minister, Mahfud MD, said in an Instagram post that the stadium had been filled beyond its capacity. He said 42,000 tickets had been issued for a stadium that is only supposed to hold 38,000 people.

Financial aid would be given to the injured and the families of victims, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa told reporters.

There have been outbreaks of trouble at matches in Indonesia before, with strong rivalries between clubs sometimes leading to violence among supporters.

Zainudin Amali, Indonesia’s sports minister, told KompasTV the ministry would re-evaluate safety at football matches, including considering not allowing spectators in stadiums.

The Indonesian top league BRI Liga 1 has suspended games for a week and an investigation had been launched, the Football Association of Indonesia said.

READ: Lewandowki strikes as Barcelona sink Mallorco 1-0 in LaLiga

England suffer Livingstone injury scare before T20 World Cup opener

Dubai: England all-rounder Liam Livingstone suffered a finger injury in Monday’s warm-up match against India ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup, raising doubts over his availability for their opening game this weekend.

Livingstone left the field with the little finger on his left hand swollen after he dropped a catch at deep midwicket during England’s seven-wicket defeat by India.

Livingstone was named in coach Chris Silverwood’s squad for the World Cup as a replacement for Ben Stokes, who had taken an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health while also recovering from a second operation on a broken finger.

England face New Zealand in their final warm-up match on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi before starting their World Cup campaign against defending champions West Indies in Dubai on Saturday.

Read: Sri Lanka thump Namibia by seven wickets

Ronaldo nets hat-trick as Portugal rout Luxembourg

Faro: A 58th career hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal stroll to a 5-0 home win over Luxembourg in Group A of World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

The treble, which meant Ronaldo became the first man to net 10 international hat-tricks, takes his tally to 115 international goals from 182 caps as he continues to pull away as the top men’s international goalscorer of all-time.

Victory ensures Portugal remain a point behind leaders Serbia, who moved onto 17 points with a 3-1 home win over Azerbaijan, with a game in hand and superior goal difference.

Portugal had the game all but won within the first 18 minutes.

Ronaldo struck twice from the penalty spot before his Manchester United team mate Bruno Fernandes made it three as he fired in following good work from Bernardo Silva.

The forward then missed two gilt-edged chances either side of the break as he sought a third, before being denied a spectacular hat-trick goal when Anthony Moris kept out his acrobatic overhead kick.

Portugal did not have to wait long for their fourth, however, as midfielder Joao Palhinha headed in from the resulting corner with just over 20 minutes to go.

Ronaldo was not to be denied as the hosts pushed on, netting three minutes from time with a header from close range.

Next month Fernando Santos’s Portugal side travel to Ireland before then hosting Serbia in what could be a winner-takes-all fixture to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

England name strongest available squad for Ashes

London: England on Sunday named their strongest available squad for the Ashes tour to Australia as all-rounders Ben Stokes and Sam Curran missed out but seamer Stuart Broad was included despite the calf injury he picked up in the test series against India.

Stokes was unavailable as he continues his indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health, while also recovering from a second operation on a broken finger. Curran was omitted due to a stress fracture in his lower back.

There were no uncapped players in the 17-member squad that included recalls for batsman Zak Crawley and spinner Dom Bess.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer was also unavailable after he suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture in his elbow and Olly Stone was ruled out with a back injury.

The series had been in doubt following concerns over touring conditions in a country where international arrivals have to isolate in quarantine hotels for 14 days, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.

England players had expressed concerns about the tour due to “bubble fatigue” and because their families would not be able to travel with them due to Australia’s strict COVID-19 protocols, but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) gave conditional approval for it to go ahead on Friday.

The first test is due to begin in Brisbane on Dec. 8, followed by a day-night match in Adelaide from Dec. 16 before the traditional Boxing Day test in Melbourne.

Sydney will host the fourth match and the final test will be in Perth starting on Jan. 14.

Australia retained the Ashes when the teams last met in 2019 in England after a 2-2 series draw.

Squad: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Read: Watmore to leave ECB’s chairmanship following Pak tour cancellation pressure

ICC to switch to inclusive term ‘batter’ from ‘batsman’ from T20 World Cup

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council will change “batsman” to the gender-neutral term “batter” in its playing conditions starting from this month’s Twenty20 World Cup, the world governing body said on Thursday.

The Lord’s-based Marylebone Cricket Club, the sole authority on the laws of the game since it was founded in 1787, last month made the change in the Laws of Cricket to stress the importance of the women’s game.

“The ICC has been utilising the term batter for some time now across our channels and in commentary and we welcome the MCC’s decision to implement it into the Laws of cricket and will follow suit with our playing conditions that are derived from the Laws,” said ICC acting CEO Geoff Allardice.

“This is a natural and perhaps overdue evolution of our sport and now our batters are gender-neutral in the same way as bowlers, fielders and wicket keepers!

“It’s a small change, but one that I hope will have significant impact on cricket being viewed as a more inclusive sport.”

The preliminary round matches of the men’s T20 World Cup will start on October 17 in United Arab Emirates and Oman.

England won the 2017 women’s World Cup final in front of a capacity crowd at Lord’s while the women’s World T20 final between Australia and India in 2020 attracted more than 80,000 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in increasing signs of popularity of the women’s game.

Women’s cricket will also feature at the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 2022 in Birmingham, England.

“Why not take a small step to ensuring we’re a sport that doesn’t exclude 50% of the world’s population with outdated language choices,” Allardice said.

“Whilst some may have made lots of noise against this common-sense change, the majority of people within the game have welcomed the move.”

Read: MCC changes ‘batsman’ to ‘batter’ in Laws of Cricket

Oman almost had to wave ‘Goodbye’ to World Cup due to deadly storm

Muscat: The chairman of Oman’s cricket board told Reuters he would have had to wave “Goodbye” to the Twenty20 World Cup had a deadly storm that ripped through the Gulf state on Sunday taken a slightly different path.

Eleven people were killed as heavy winds and rain swept through the country after tropical storm Shaheen made landfall in Oman.

The Gulf state will host six Group B matches at Al Amerat near Muscat, including three involving their own team, and Oman Cricket Chairman Pankaj Khimji said they were “very fortunate” to have missed the worst of the storm.

“We were so close to being virtually wiped out,” he told Reuters.

“We had the cyclone only a few nautical miles north. It made the landfall there and it’s devastated that whole region and flooded the whole plain over there.

Read: 70% fans allowed at UAE venues as tickets go on sale for T20 World Cup

“Had this had happened over here in this area, I’d have said ‘Goodbye’ to the World Cup.”

While a handful of hospitality tents bore the brunt of the storm, the organisers were pleased with the greener look of the outfield following the intense rain.

“We got about three to four inches of rain,” said Khimji. “And that made the ground even more lush and greener, it looks even prettier now. It washed off all the dirt and sand.”

The tournament was moved to the United Arab Emirates and Oman from India due to a COVID-19 surge and Khimji said it was a huge honour for minnows of the cricket world to stage such a prestigious event.

“This cricket coming to Oman is gigantic,” he said.

“To think that there will be tens of millions of people watching the first game, it’s overwhelming to an extent.

“How often will an associate country get a chance to host and play in the World Cup at the same time? This is unreal, I’m living a dream.”

Zeeshan Maqsood will lead a bunch of Omani amateurs in the tournament and Khimji was hopeful they could make the Super 12 stage with a top-two finish in Group B, which also includes Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea.

“They have been fantastic. These are rank amateurs, they have a job which they do nine-to-five, and they’ve taken a month or two off just to compete in this World Cup.”

England arrived in Muscat on Tuesday to begin their 10-day preparatory camp before the Super 12 stage in the United Arab Emirates.

The World Cup gets underway on Oct. 17.

NZ coach says no tension around World T20 opener against Pakistan

Auckland: New Zealand coach Gary Stead played down suggestions of any tension around their T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan after the Black Caps recently abandoned their limited-overs tour of the South Asian country citing a security alert.

New Zealand’s withdrawal dealt a massive blow to Pakistan’s hopes of staging regular international cricket, with England subsequently calling off their men’s and women’s tours.

New Zealand face former champions Pakistan in their opening Group 2 match on October 26 in Sharjah and Stead said his side was focused only on that.

“I’m not sure if there’s any more tension on it from our perspective,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“Obviously, what happened in Pakistan was sad for Pakistan cricket, their players, and also our players, who missed out on that opportunity as well.

“We can’t change what has happened there. All we can do is prepare for the tournament and we face Pakistan first up.”

New Zealand is bidding to win a second world title this year after claiming the inaugural World Test Championship in June by beating India in the final.

Stead said they would not set too many goals.

“I guess our first one is focusing on one game at a time, but the main goal is to get to that semi-finals stage and if you’re there, you’ll know that you’re only two wins away from a title,” Stead added.

“We’re in a tough pool, I genuinely think there are six to seven teams that could win this tournament and I guess that’s good for world cricket as well.”

Read: Pakistan to take legal action against New Zealand, England

Australia skipper Paine says Ashes going ahead, with or without Root

Melbourne: Australia captain Tim Paine said the Ashes will go ahead regardless of some England players’ reluctance to deal with tough COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.

England skipper Joe Root and others on his team have expressed doubts about the tour due to ‘bubble fatigue’ and concerns their families will not be able to travel with them due to Australia’s strict protocols.

“The Ashes are going ahead. The first test is on Dec. 8 — whether Joe is here or not,” Paine told radio station SEN Hobart.

“It’ll be worked out above us and then they’ll have a choice whether to get on that plane or not.

“No one is forcing any England player to come. That’s the beauty of the world we live in — you have a choice. If you don’t want to come, don’t come.”

Cricket Australia is negotiating with authorities and England’s board over travel conditions and whether players’ families can come.

Australia has caps on international arrivals and there is a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine even for the fully vaccinated.

Former England batsman turned pundit Kevin Pietersen said England players should not travel if placed under any restrictions.

“There is NO WAY I would go to The Ashes this winter. ZERO chance!” he tweeted.

“Unless, the ridiculous quarantine rules were squashed and my family could travel with zero restrictions.”

Paine said Pietersen did not speak for the players and said he should leave the decision-making up to them.

“If you want to know anything on any topic in the world, you just ask Kevin Pietersen. He is an expert on everything,” added the captain dryly.

“We have not heard one England player come out and say they will not be coming. I think it‘s been beat up and people like Kevin like to get themselves a little bit of exposure in the media.”

Ngidi gives South Africa edge in first Test against West Indies

St. Lucia: Seamer Lungi Ngidi showed all his guile to take five wickets for 19 runs as South Africa skittled West Indies for 97 and seized the initiative on the first day of the first test in Saint Lucia on Thursday.
After winning the toss, the home side posted their lowest test total against South Africa, who reached the close on 128 for four in reply, a lead of 31 runs on a wicket that is proving difficult to score on.
Rassie van der Dussen (34 not out) and Quinton de Kock (4 not out) will resume on the second day, seeking to steady what has been a brittle top six for the touring side in recent times.
West Indies’ firebrand teenage fast bowler Jayden Seales – who has only played one previous first-class match – accounted for fellow debutant Keegan Petersen (19) in South Africa’s innings.
The impressive Seales (3-34) also removed opener Aiden Markram (60), and another debutant Kyle Verreynne (6), all caught behind the wicket, validating his selection in place of the injured Shannon Gabriel.
South Africa’s tight lines and nagging length with the ball starved the West Indies of scoring shots as Ngidi and fellow seamer Anrich Nortje (4-35) claimed nine of the wickets to fall.
Nortje also cracked the helmet of batsman Nkrumah Bonner, who went on to make 10 from 32 balls but was later diagnosed with concussion.
He has been replaced in the game by Kieran Powell, who will bat in West Indies’ second innings.

Sri Lanka agree to England tour despite contract row

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s cricket board said on Tuesday its players have agreed to tour England, even though a contract dispute remains unresolved.
The players, including test captain Dimuth Karunaratne and ODI skipper Kusal Perera, had refused to sign new contracts which offer lower base salaries and more performance-based incentives.
“The team will go ahead with the tour. All the players are available,” a Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman told Reuters.
The players will leave for England early on Wednesday, he added.
The players had criticised the “unfair and non-transparent” contracts in a statement last month but continued with their tour of Bangladesh for a three-match one-day series.
“They will play this tour without signing any contract,” players’ representative Nishan Premathiratne told the ESPNcricinfo website ahead of the players’ departure for London.
“They have signed a voluntary declaration, but there’s nothing there about player remuneration. They have always been committed to playing for Sri Lanka.”
Sri Lanka will play three one-dayers and three Twenty20 Internationals in England. The limited-overs tour begins on June 23.