In brief

Perth time travellers

Glory players will keep their body clocks tuned into Perth time as they attempt to snare all three points from a tough A-League trip against the Phoenix at 4.30pm tomorrow in Wellington. With a five-hour time difference, most Glory players will act as though they are still in a Perth time zone, treating the kickoff as if it is an 11.30am game. “It’s an individual thing with us, but I stay on Perth time,” Glory goalkeeper Liam Reddy said.

Devine blitzes Pakistan attack

Sophie Devine was brutal once again for the White Ferns as they took command of their Twenty20 series against Pakistan in Sharjah, winning game two by 39 runs. Allrounder Devine has been a dominant force in the ODI and T20 series and yesterday she blasted 70 off 44 balls at the top of the order. A 116-run opening stand with captain Suzie Bates (52 off 43) was the backbone of New Zealand’s 150-8 before the hosts were restricted to 111-7. The White Ferns, who won the ODI series 2-1, move 2-0 up in the fourgame shorter format series with matches remaining on Sunday and Tuesday.

Schmidt in contention

New Zealand’s Dylan Schmidt has recorded the sixth best qualifying score on the opening day of the trampolining world championships in Bulgaria. Schmidt will fight to become New Zealand’s first medallist at world championships level when he contests the men’s individual semifinal and, hopefully, final on Monday (NZT). Schmidt was ranked fourth out of 85 gymnasts, following the first round of qualifying courtesy of a score of 52.670. The 20-year-old from Auckland lost ground slightly after managing 59.505 in the higherscoring second round.

Vukona milestone on mind

Both teams will have Mika Vukona on their mind when the NBL-leading New Zealand Breakers and Perth Wildcats complete their double-header tomorrow. Tall Blacks veteran Vukona will play his 400th league game in the return match at Perth, where the hosts will be out to avenge their 88-84 loss in Auckland on Thursday. Coach Paul Henare admits Vukona’s latest milestone will be on their mind. “Mika won’t want any recognition but for the rest of us, the best way we can honour him is by playing with the same passion that he has for the game and his team-mates.” Perth counterpart Trevor Gleeson said Vukona was the “ultimate warrior”. Gayle out to sell his story

Chris Gayle is asking more than $400,000 to do a tell-all interview about his Sydney court win, declaring his exclusive account of suing Fairfax Media for defamation would be “like a movie”. The West Indian cricket star has claimed on Twitter he was taken lightly ahead of his legal proceedings against Fairfax over articles it published claiming he exposed himself to a female massage therapist. The powerful opening batsman said the 60 Minutes-styled interview would be awarded to the highest bidder. “I have a very interested successful story to tell!! It can be an exclusive 60-minute interview or y’all just have to wait on my next book!” he said.

Barras joins Cycling NZ

Australian cycling guru Martin Barras will join Cycling New Zealand as its new high-performance director. Barras, coach of Australia’s national women’s road team and director of the Orica-Scott women’s team, has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. He has also worked in Canada and Great Britain. “Without reinventing the wheel, we can improve our systems and delivery so that New Zealand continues to punch well above its weight,” Barras said.

Controversy mars Swiss win

A penalty awarded for a disputed hand ball gave Switzerland a controversial 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland in the first leg of their World Cup playoff on Thursday. A volley by Xherdan Shaqiri struck Corey Evans’ shoulder as the Northern Ireland midfielder attempted to block the shot. Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan pointed to the spot, sparking angry protests from the Northern Ireland players. Ricardo Rodriguez duly converted the penalty in the 58th minute, putting the Swiss in the driving seat to qualify for their fourth World Cup in a row. Boos rang out at the final whistle as home fans directed their ire at the match official.

Khachanov returns

Tennis young guns Karen Khachanov and Hyeon Chung have signed up for next year’s ASB Classic tournament, meaning half of all entrants to the inaugural ATP Next Gen Finals will be present in Auckland. The 21-year-old Khachanov will return to New Zealand for the second consecutive year, while Chung will make his Classic debut. Both are playing in this week’s Next Gen Finals in Milan, as are fellow Classic participants Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov.