Sports

MELBOURNE: Australia all-rounder Cameron Green conceded he has not made much of an impact recently with the team playing so well but he says he is in a “good space” and ready to play his part ahead of the ‘Boxing Day’ Test against South Africa in Melbourne. Green did not bat in the first of Australia’s two Test wins over …

ZURICH: Winning the World Cup was not enough to lift Argentina atop the FIFA world rankings with arch-rivals Brazil keeping the No. 1 position, the global governing body announced on Thursday. Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Croatia but built enough rankings points from results over recent years that feed into FIFA’s calculation. Argentina climbed one place to second …

SAO PAULO: Brazilian football great Pele’s cancer has advanced and he requires care related to renal and cardiac dysfunction, according to a medical report, and his family said he would remain in a Sao Paulo hospital over Christmas. Widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, the 82-year-old has been hospitalised in the Albert Einstein hospital since late …

Dubai-based chef Nusret Gökçe, popularly known as Salt Bae, has been banned by US Open Cup — the oldest national soccer competition in the US — after his antics at the FIFA World Cup final upset fans. FIFA has launched an investigation to find out how he gained “undue access” to the pitch and has promised to take action. On …

LAHORE: While Ramiz Raja stood sacked as Pakistan Cricket Board chairman on Thursday, former chief Najam Sethi as the head of a 14-member PCB Management Committee appointed by the prime minister categorically said the 2014 Constitution was restored and reforming domestic game through the revival of departmental and regional cricket was on the agenda. “The cricket regime headed by Ramiz …

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera on Friday accused Argentine players of being “inelegant winners” and “vulgar” for mocking her country’s star Kylian Mbappe after winning the World Cup final. “As much as our French team knew how to lose with panache, so the manner in which this Argentine team acted after this victory was not worthy of the match we saw”, …

PARIS: France star Kylian Mbappe returned to training with Paris St-Germain on Wednesday just three days after he ended up on the losing side despite scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final. The 24-year-old cast a despondent figure in the aftermath of France’s loss to Argentina — led by his PSG team-mate Lionel Messi — in a penalty shootout, …

MELBOURNE: The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is under pressure to produce a pitch that delivers a fairer contest between bat and ball in the Boxing Day Test between Australia and South Africa after the series-opener at the Gabba was over within two days. Australia won the Brisbane Test by six wickets as batters struggled on a green-top pitch that was …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has attained a career-best second position in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) men’s Test player rankings after notching two half-centuries in the final Test of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) series against England in Karachi. Babar’s knocks of 78 and 54 have helped him overtake Steve Smith, who managed 36 and six in …

ISLAMABAD: In a major top-level change in Pakistan cricket administration, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday nominated a 14-member management committee headed by Najam Sethi to run the affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) till the elections to be held within the next four months. “The Prime Minister has seen and is pleased to approve the proposal at para …