WORLD OF SPORT
▷▷▷ Returning Stokes a flop with bat and ball Suspended England star Ben Stokes gave a rusty performance on his highly anticipated return to cricket yesterday in a provincial one-day match in New Zealand, his country of birth. Amid speculation the all-rounder was using the match as a tune-up in case he earns a dramatic Ashes call-up, he looked in need of time in the middle when he turned out for Canterbury against Otago. He is expected to play again for Canterbury in three days as he looks to work himself back into form. Batting at No 4, Stokes lasted only seven balls and contributed just two runs towards Canterbury’s 221. He then proved unsuccessful with the ball, taking 0-49 off nine overs as Otago chased down the target with 15 balls to spare. While England are playing before a 55,000-plus crowd in the second Ashes Test against Australia in Adelaide, Stokes turned out before a crowd of several hundred at a village ground on the outskirts of Christchurch, with many of them possibly disappointed by his outing.
▷▷▷ Goalkeeper grabs Benevento’s first point Benevento, beaten in their first 14 Serie A matches, grabbed their first-ever top flight point in extraordinary style when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli scored with a flying header deep into stoppage time to give them a 2-2 draw with AC Milan. The result was another deep embarrassment to bigspending AC Milan who were playing their first match under new manager Gennaro Gattuso, their fiery former midfielder, after sacking Vincenzo Montella on Monday. Milan, who spent over €200 million euros (Dh874m) in the summer transfer market compared to Benevento’s total of €20 million, twice led but were pegged back after Alessio Romagnoli was sent off for a second booking in the 75th minute. Brignoli scored with a flying header in the fifth minute of stoppage time to spark wild scenes at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito.
▷▷▷ Error from rival driver an apt birthday gift for Abt Germany’s Daniel Abt celebrated his birthday with a first Formula E victory yesterday after receiving a gift from all-electric series rookie Edoardo Mortara on the streets of Hong Kong. In Audi Sport’s second race since taking over the ABT Schaeffler team set-up by his father, Hans-Jurgen, the 25-year-old driver triumphed after his rival spun with less than three circuits of the 45-lap race left. “It’s unbelievable,” Abt said. “We started the day hoping we could get 25 points on my 25th birthday and we did. Edoardo drove a great race but made a mistake. Maybe that was his gift to me.”