Cook says four-day game may curtailed

Real’s Asensio wins gaming tournament

LONDON: Former England captain Alastair Cook has suggested the four-day County Championship may have to be curtailed or abandoned completely so officials can salvage “the most profitable parts of the English summer” following the coronavirus outbreak.

Friday saw the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that no professional cricket would be played in England and Wales before May 28.

The County Championship, which comprises fourday first-class matches — and which Cook helped Essex win last season — was due to start on April 12.

The Champion County match, the annual curtainraiser for the year, was to be played between the Marylebone Cricket Club and Essex later this month in Sri Lanka, but had been called off. County Championship matches do not generate as much money as limited overs fixtures or internationals but are seen as vital as preparing players for five-day Tests, still widely regarded as the pinnacle of the game.

“I could have retired from all cricket when I quit the international stage in 2018 but I stayed on because I loved playing for Essex and that means the County Championship,” wrote Cook, England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer in his Sunday Times column.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better first season back on the (domestic) circuit than winning the title in the last game of 2019. “Will we get to defend that title? As things stand, there will be no cricket in England until May 28 at the earliest. “I can say this because I have no financial interest in the outcome but it strikes me that those proposing that the authorities prioritise the most profitable parts of the English summer — The Hundred, T20 Blast and the national team — have a point.”

The 35-year-old left-handed opener went on to ask: “Can we salvage the four-day competition? “Possibly but that will demand that we all pull in the same direction. “We may well be looking at an abbreviated tournament, with more back-to-back matches and stretching into early October (sometimes warmer than the second half of April when the season usually starts). We may, as a result, see more floodlit cricket and ticket prices will almost certainly have to be reduced.

“None of this is ideal but we all have to see the bigger picture — for our sport and the country as a whole,” Cook wrote. —AFP

MADRID: Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio has missed the entire season with a serious knee injury but the time away from the pitch paid unexpected dividends when he was crowned champion of La Liga’s FIFA 20 video game tournament on Sunday.

With Spanish soccer on hold along with most live sports while the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, players traded the pitch for Playstation in an online tournament organised by esports commentator Ibai Llanos and endorsed by La Liga.

Over 170,000 people watched Asensio, playing as Real, beat Aitor Ruibal of Leganes 4-1 in the final, the culmination of a weekend of action involving 18 La Liga sides. Barcelona and Real Mallorca were not allowed to take part in the tournament as their clubs are sponsored by Konami, the creators of FIFA 20’s main competitor Pro Evolution Soccer.

The tournament, which was also broadcast on Spanish television, raised over 140,000 euros ($149,212.00) to fight the deadly COVID-19 virus, which has claimed over 13,580 lives worldwide and more than 1,720 in Spain.

The tournament built on the success of last week’s FIFA 20 version of the Seville derby between Real Betis’ Borja Iglesias and Sevilla’s Sergio Reguilon, also organised by Llanos to fill the void left by the derby which had been postponed.

The Spanish sports media enthusiastically covered the online tournament, with leading newspapers Marca and AS broadcasting the matches on their websites as well as publishing match reports and live blogs of the games.

La Liga commentator Miguel Angel Roman joined Llanos in presenting the matches, while players gave interviews afterwards in another move to replicate the feel of a real life match. —Reuters

WEIRD TRIP

Despite being in quarantine since last week, health officials have allowed them to train at a remote facility. With both teams unable to play, their opponents this weekend, Brisbane Roar and the Newcastle Jets, faced each other instead with Roar winning 1-0, thanks to veteran forward Scott McDonald’s first-half strike.

Despite the lockout, a handful of fans chanted and banged drums outside the ground during the game. “Incredible effort from this pair of Roar supporters #RoarAsOne,” the team tweeted afterwards, showing a video clip of players walking to the turnstiles to applaud them at the end of the game. Not everyone approved, despite the players keeping their distance. “Really... told to stay away for safety reasons and the players clap that! No idea of the times we are living in,” one supporter said on Twitter.

Coached by former Liverpool star Robbie Fowler, it was Roar’s third win on the trot as they moved up to fourth. Melbourne City were also in action, thumping the Central Coast Mariners 4-2 in an eerily quiet Central Coast Stadium to strengthen their hold on second place behind leaders Sydney FC. They also had some die-hard support with Melbourne fan Will Purssey finding a vantage point outside the ground at Gosford, north of Sydney, to catch a glimpse of the action.—AFP