Australia bans Pattinson from Pakistan Test for ‘personal abuse’
Australia fast bowler James Pattinson was suspended on Sunday for player abuse, ruling him out of the first Test against Pakistan this week with skipper Tim Paine saying he had let down the team. The paceman was found guilty of breaching Cricket Australia's code of conduct during Victoria's Sheffield Shield game against Queensland last week. It was not clear what he said, but the governing body characterised it as 'personal abuse of a player while fielding'. The Australian the Sydney Daily Telegraph it allegedly involved a homophobic slur. Given it was his third breach in the past 18 months, the incident triggered a one-match suspension. Pattinson's ban opens the door to Mitchell Starc to play in the Test at Brisbane starting on Thursday. The two were seen to be competing for one bowling slot to partner Josh Hazelwood, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon. Paine said he was disappointed, with the Australian team working hard to win back public support since the ball-tampering scandal last year led to long bans for Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. He told broadcaster ABC that Pattinson had ‘let himself down, he's let the group down’. Cricket Australia said no replacement will be called up for the Test squad.
US track legend Dillard dies at 96
Harrison Dillard, a 1940s track star who had been the oldest living US Olympic gold medallist, died on Friday at age 96, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced on Saturday. Dillard, who had been hospitalised at the Cleveland Clinic with stomach cancer, won the 100m at the 1948 London Olympics, edging compatriot Barney Ewell in the first photo finish in Olympic history. Dillard also won 110m hurdles gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and was part of the US 4x100 gold medal relays at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. He remains the only man in Olympic history to capture gold in the 100m and the 110m hurdles. Dillard, who received his first pair of running shoes from 1936 US Olympic star Jesse Owens, won the 1953 Sullivan Award as the top US amateur athlete.
Italian junior team coach sacked for 27-0 victory
The coach of an Italian junior league team was sacked on Saturday for inflicting a humiliating 27-0 defeat on its opponent. Paolo Brogelli, president of Invictasauro, a team based in Grosseto, Tuscany, slammed his team's win over rivals Marina Calcio as 'disrespectful'. "We learned with amazement and regret the score of the match in which our junior team scored 27 goals," Brogelli said in a statement reported in the Italian press. "The values of youth team football are antithetical to such a thing. The opponent must always be respected and today it has not happened. As president I sincerely apologise to the Marina team. Our board has decided, unanimously, to sack (coach) Mr. Riccini. "Our coaches have a duty to train and, above all, to educate children. This has not happened today.