Dutch winger Arjen Robben announced on Thursday he is ending his playing career at the age of 35 after a 10-year spell with German giants Bayern Munich. “It is without a doubt the most difficult decision I have had to make in my career, my heart says yes, my body says no,” Robben said. His contract at Bayern had expired ...

Eight-time champion Roger Federer eased into the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday, beating British wild card Jay Clarke 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to equal American legend Jimmy Connors’s record of 17 appearances in the last 32. The 37-year-old Swiss great’s rival Rafael Nadal was locked in an engrossing tussle with the fiery but talented Australian Nick Kyrgios. On the ...

Pakistan have little more than pride to play for when they take on Bangladesh in their last World Cup 2019 league match on Friday. Once England beat New Zealand on Wednesday to qualify for the semi-finals, Pakistan’s faint hopes of making the knockout grade effectively came crashing down as now they need to beat Bangladesh by some outlandish margin to ...

LONDON: Pakistan faces an uphill task against Bangladesh on Friday if they want to qualify for the Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-finals, requiring victory with an unrealistic 316-run margin if they wish to finish among the top four. Currently, Pakistan is struggling with their net run rate (NRR), which was dented hugely after the team’s mammoth defeat against the West ...

LYON: A long-range strike from Jackie Groenen sent European Champions the Netherlands into their first women’s World Cup final as they edged Sweden 1-0 after extra time in their last-four clash on Wednesday. The 24-year-old midfielder scored in the 99th minute when she collected a deflected pass outside the box and struck it expertly into the bottom right corner of ...

LONDON: They live in a right-handed world, historically stigmatised and challenged by tasks as simple as using scissors – but when it comes to taking wickets at the World Cup, being a southpaw seamer is a distinct advantage. Mitchell Starc leads the way at the top of the World Cup bowling charts, with 24 wickets in eight matches so far ...

LEEDS: Chris Gayle removed Afghanistan top-scorer Ikram Alikhil with his tame off-breaks as the West Indies secured just their second win of a chastening World Cup campaign on Thursday. The Caribbean side scored 311 for six in their 50 overs in Leeds and although the Afghans put up a brave fight, they ultimately went down by 23 runs. Gayle, almost ...

LONDON: It’s Friday morning and Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza wins the toss and decides to bat first in their last group game against Pakistan at Lord’s. Such a call from Mashrafe, if he beats Sarfraz Ahmed at the spin of the coin, would end any faint hopes Pakistan have of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals. So bleak is the ...