AB de Villiers has opened up on the retirement controversy that erupted during World Cup 2019 after South Africa suffered their third consecutive defeat of the tournament against India on June 5. After the loss, the convenor of selectors Linda Zondi had said that AB de Villiers had approached him, captain Faf du Plessis and head coach Ottis Gibson and ...

LONDON: Simona Halep is the last woman standing between Serena Williams and achieving her long-held ambition of equalling Margaret Court’s Grand Slam title record after both recorded easy victories in their Wimbledon semi-finals on Thursday. Seven-time champion Williams made short work of plucky unseeded Czech Barbora Strycova, whose experience of her first ever Grand Slams singles semi-final in her 53rd ...

BIRMINGHAM: England star Jason Roy has been cleared to play in Sunday’s World Cup final against New Zealand despite showing dissent at an umpire’s decision while helping the hosts book their place in the showpiece match. The Surrey opener had made 85 to set England well on their way to an eventual eight-wicket against Australia in Thursday’s semi-final at Edgbaston ...

KABUL: The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) named leg spinner Rashid Khan captain across all the major formats Friday, despite a disappointing World Cup for the Twenty20 sensation. Asghar Afghan was also appointed Vice-Captain, the ACB said in the tweet announcing the decision, which gave no further details. Rashid Khan came into the World Cup as cricket’s hottest property after catching ...

By Ijaz Ahmad CHITRAL : Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan will inaugurate the three-day Shandur Polo Festival at the world highest polo ground on earth Shandur here today (Sunday). Shandur Polo ground is situated at a highest level 3800m called as the “Roof of the World” and the King Games has been held annually since 1936. The polo tournament ...

In another world, this could have been the ultimate match to finish the group stage: 20 years since the Greatest ODI Ever at Edgbaston which put Australia on track for the first of a hat-trick of World Cup titles and consigned South Africa to one of their most agonising near-misses. Instead, it’s largely an irrelevant match, except for potentially deciding ...

India will have a final chance, ahead of the semi-finals, to reassess their problems and work on the middle-order in their final World Cup 2019 league match against an already knocked-out Sri Lanka at the Headingley in Leeds on Saturday. Despite contributing regularly in the World Cup 2019, MS Dhoni has found himself under constant criticism for his slow approach. ...

Rafael Nadal may not end up winning a third Wimbledon singles title but he will take joy from having beaten his ‘bete noire’ Nick Kyrgios in an engrossing but bad-tempered grudge match on Thursday. The 33-year-old Spaniard came through in four sets 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3) which saw fiery but talented Australian Kyrgios receive a warning for unsportsmanlike ...

Defending champion Novak Djokovic went level with Boris Becker’s mark of 12 appearances in the Wimbledon fourth round on Friday despite a mid-match blip. The world number one and four-time winner defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-4. He will next face either Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime who, at 18, is the youngest man in the draw, or Ugo ...

Shoaib Malik has announced his retirement from One-Day International (ODI) cricket after Pakistan failed to qualify for the World 2019 semi-finals but the all-rounder will continue to ply his trade in the Twenty20 format. Pakistan ended their World Cup 2019 campaign on a winning note after defeating Bangladesh by 94 runs at Lord’s on Friday. Shoaib Malik played three matches ...