SPORTS DIGEST

MARK ALLEYNE has warned cricket will need time to recover from last year’s ‘horror stories’ of historical racism and has urged the sport to bring through more black players and coaches. Alleyne, who played 10 ODIs for England, said it took a while for black cricketers to speak out ‘for fear of things grinding to a halt’. He will try to boost diversity by coaching youngsters as part of a new African-Caribbean Engagement project based at Gloucestershire’s Nevil Road.

VIRAT KOHLI has announced he will step down as India’s T20 captain after next month’s World Cup in Dubai. Kohli, 32, will continue to play for the T20 side as well as leading the Test and one-day international teams. He said: ‘Considering my immense workload playing all three formats and captaining for the last five-six years, I feel I need to give myself space to be ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI cricket. I will continue to serve Indian cricket to the best of my ability.’