Sport news in brief
Draw still favourite as Kiwis and India head into overtime
New Zealand and India’s battle to be crowned as Test cricket’s first “world champions” enters its sixth day today, but things will still need to happen in a hurry to avoid the inaugural final ending in a draw. New Zealand were bowled out for 249 before India cleared a 32-run deficit to finish on 64 for two, but with a maximum of 98 overs left a shared title remains firmly in play.
With “timeless Tests” a thing of the past, the last time a Test match was allowed to stretch beyond a fifth day came during
Australia's Super Series against a World XI in 2005. But the International Cricket Council activated the option of a reserve day after this flagship contest at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, was beset by two washouts and bad light.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor blocked their way to just 16 runs in the first hour to nudge their overnight score along from 101 for two. Williamson remained defiantly watchful throughout his near five-hour stay at the crease, making 49 from 177 deliveries. Mohammed Shami finished with four wickets before India’s openers both fell to the bowling of Tim Southee, leaving captain Virat Kohli (8*) and Cheteshwar Pujara (12*) together at stumps.
Watson beaten by former French Open winner at Eastbourne
Heather Watson let a 4-1 lead in the deciding set slip as she was edged out by Iga Swiatek at the Viking International in Eastbourne. The British No 2, fresh from her run to the semifinals in Birmingham last week, was on the verge of registering one of the biggest wins of her career against last year’s French Open champion. But world No 9 Swiatek battled back to secure a 6-3 6-7 (4) 7-5 victory.
Watson dropped the first set thanks to a solitary break but hung on in the second to force a tie-break. Swiatek’s composure began to desert her as she trailed 3-0 and Watson was able to level the match. Watson, twice a semi-finalist at Devonshire Park, was then gifted a break by a double-fault from the 19-yearold and converted another break point with a spectacular backhand down the line. But Swiatek clawed her way to 4-4 and despite some stiff resistance from Watson she was unable to complete a third career win over a top-10 opponent.
Britain’s Harriet Dart gave a good account of herself against Kazakh Elena Rybakina, who defeated Serena Williams at the French Open, saving a match point in the second set before eventually going down 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-4. In the men’s event, there were defeats for British duo Jay Clarke and Alistair Gray; Clarke went down 6-3 6-2 to Australia’s John Millman while Gray, who
earned a place in the main draw as a lucky loser, was beaten 6-2 7-6 (5) by Ilya Ivashka.
Teen trio impress in first round of Wimbledon qualifying
British teenagers Arthur Fery, Felix Gill and Jack Pinnington Jones all secured notable victories in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying. With play completely rained off on Monday, the competition got under way yesterday, and 19-yearolds Fery and Gill and 18-year-old Pinnington Jones overcome huge ranking gaps.
Fery defeated 29th seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India, ranked 891 places higher, 6-1 7-6 (5), while Gill was a 7-5 7-6 (6) winner against Serbian Danilo Petrovic, who stands 823 places above him. Pinnington Jones, meanwhile, overcame a deficit of 983 places for a 6-4 6-3 victory over Brazil’s Joao Menezes.
Anton Matusevich won the all-British clash with 16-year-old William Jansen, who earned his place in qualifying by winning the national under-18 title, 4-6 6-0 6-4, but there were defeats for Aidan McHugh, Ryan Peniston and Stuart Parker.
More than 60,000 at Wembley for Euros semi-finals and final
Wembley will host 60,000 fans for the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final, the government has confirmed. The new levels mean the stadium will be at 75 per cent capacity for the final three games, which conclude with the final itself on 11 July. The current capacity limit is 25 per cent of Wembley’s 90,000 total, meaning up to 22,500 fans attended England’s group games against Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic. There had been doubts over whether that figure could be increased after the government pushed back its plans to end lockdown measures on 21 June, citing an increase in the rate of coronavirus infection in the UK.
Uefa had stressed yesterday there were no plans to take the semi-finals or final away from Wembley despite the stumbling block quarantine-free travel and president Aleksander Ceferin
welcomed the news of increased capacity. “It is great news that so many fans will be able to watch the final three matches of Euro 2020 at Wembley,” he said. “The last 18 months have taught us – both on and off the pitch – how integral fans are to the fabric of the game.”
Covid puts paid to Team GB’s Olympic warm-up with Zambia
Great Britain’s Olympics warm-up match against Zambia is off, with the Football Association announcing the African side have had to withdraw. The fixture had been scheduled to take place at Stoke’s bet365 Stadium a week tomorrow. But a statement from the FA yesterday said: “Due to circumstances beyond everyone’s control Zambia have had to withdraw from the National Lotteryhosted GB Women’s Football send-off game on 1 July. The African nation – who will also be taking part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo next month – had to pull out because of complications linked to Covid-19 restrictions. Ticket refunds will be issued to all purchasers.”
Hege Riise’s GB side are scheduled to begin their Olympic campaign by facing Chile in Sapporo on 21 July, then take on hosts Japan at the same venue three days later before concluding their Group E fixtures with a 27 July clash in Kashima with Canada.
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