Sports

MIAMI: Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper has been appointed as assistant to new coach Daren Sammy as the Caribbean side prepare for their World Cup qualifying campaign. Cricket West Indies (CWI) said on Thursday that Hooper and Barbadian Floyd Reifer had been named as assistant coaches to Sammy with former New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin also joining the staff. …

LAHORE: Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq and fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah were among 39 players called up for specialised camps at the National Cricket Academy this month with the Pakistan Cricket Board stating on Friday the aim of the camps is to “develop a deep and strong core ahead of a challenging season”. As many as 13 spinners, 11 …

LAHORE: Pakistan head coach Roelant Oltmans hailed the “immense talent” in Pakistan players after seeing his charges go down 2-1 to India in the final of the Junior Asia Cup in Oman on Thursday. Oltmans was appointed as consultant for the team ahead of the tournament before acting as head coach with Pakistan securing qualification for this year’s Junior World …

LAUSANNE: UEFA began disciplinary proceedings on Friday against AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho for using insulting and abusive language against an official in the Europa League final. Mourinho, 60, was shown the yellow card by English referee Anthony Taylor during the bad-tempered final in Budapest on Wednesday. He criticised Taylor in his post-match news conference, and was later filmed in …

MARSEILLE: Olym­pique de Marseille manager Igor Tudor will vacate his role at the end of the season, the Ligue 1 club’s president Pablo Longoria said on Thursday. Former Croatia international Tudor, who has previously managed Hajduk Split, PAOK, Galatasaray, Udinese and Hellas Verona among other clubs, signed a two-year contract with Marseille in July 2022, replacing Jorge Sampaoli. The 45-year-old …

SALALAH (Oman): Pakistan fought valiantly but it wasn’t enough for the Junior Asia Cup crown. Having gone down 2-0 in the 19th minute, Pakistan pulled a goal back but despite exerting immense pressure, they couldn’t find the leveller as they fell to a 2-1 loss to arch-rivals and defending champions India in the final on Thursday night. It was a …

LONDON: Daniel Vettori reckons England’s winning record rather than their aggressive style of play is what has caught the attention of Australia ahead of this season’s Ashes series. England have won 10 of their 12 Tests since coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes joined forces last year, with the team undergoing a dramatic revival while adopting a dynamic approach. …

LAHORE: Interna­tional Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Greg Barclay and chief executive Geoff Allardice’s two-day visit to Pakistan ended on Thursday with the officials being “impressed” by the progress of the sport in the country. The top officials were here since Wednesday morning and conducting meetings with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s top officials including the body’s interim Management Committee chairman Najam …

PARIS: Lionel Messi will play his last game for Paris St Germain against Clermont on Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said on Thursday as he called on fans to give the Argentine forward a warm send-off at the Parc des Princes. Messi, who has 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season, moved to the French capital …

Kosovo’s top Olympic body said on Wednesday it had asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic over his public statements on clashes in the country. On Monday, after confrontations began between ethnic Albanians and Serbs, Djokovic scrawled the message “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence” on a camera …