Contingency planning to prepare for the possibility of a severely affected home summer has forced a delay in the release of Cricket Australia’s annual contracts for men and women, with state and Big Bash League contracts also uncertain. Contracted players were informed on Friday that the annual contract rankings for the national teams will be held off until April 30, ...

Wimbledon organisers will announce the cancellation of the 2020 tournament on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the German Tennis Federation (DTB) vice-president, Dirk Hordorff. All England Lawn Tennis Club officials had said the tournament, scheduled to begin on 29 June, would not be played behind closed doors and postponement was not without significant risk and difficulty. “Wimbledon ...

LONDON: West Ham have eight players in self-isolation after showing mild symptoms of the coronavirus, according to the club’s vice-chairperson Karren Brady. The Hammers are the latest Premier League club to be hit by the pandemic. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi — both now recovered — and several unnamed Leicester players tested positive for the virus. “I ...

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese organisers are in final stages of talks to set the opening date for the Tokyo Games in July next year, Japanese media said. The Tokyo event, postponed last week due to the coronavirus pandemic, will most likely have its opening ceremony in 2021 on July 23 and closing ceremony on August 8, each ...

ANKARA: Former Turkish national team and ex-Barcelona goalkeeper Rustu Recber is in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, his wife said. Recber took on hero status in Turkey as he kept goal at the 2002 World Cup, anchoring his team to the semi-finals and ultimately third place, their greatest ever performance in the tournament. The powerfully built and poney-tailed goalkeeper ...

England’s cricket players must “realise the bigger picture” and will be expected to take a pay cut as the country’s cricket governing body (ECB) tries to deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times here reported on Sunday. More than 662,700 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world and 30,751 have died, according to a Reuters tally, ...

Roger Federer and his wife Mirka have donated 1m Swiss francs (£857,000) “for the most vulnerable families in Switzerland” and have called on others to add their support. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Switzerland has imposed a ban on all private and public events and has closed all non-essential businesses until at least 19 April. “These are challenging times for ...

Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry has had surgery on the hamstring problem which kept her out of the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals and final. The 29-year-old was injured while fielding during their final group game against New Zealand on 2 March. “The recovery is looking good, all our medical staff are happy with how the surgery went,” said coach Matthew ...

The All England Club says a decision regarding this year’s Wimbledon will be made next week. In a statement on Wednesday, the club said postponement and cancellation of the event, scheduled between 29 June-12 July, because of the impact of coronavirus were possible outcomes. Playing behind closed doors has been formally ruled out. Earlier this month, the French Open, due ...

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have each donated one million euros ($1.08 million) towards the fight against coronavirus. Argentina international Messi’s donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical centre in his home country, according to a report in Marca. “Leo Messi made a donation to the clinic to fight the ...