Tuesday, June 2, 2020Shawwal 10, 1441 AH

SPORTGULF TIMES

Liverpool stars take a knee in support for Black Lives Matter

Bumrah seeks ‘alternative’ to saliva on cricket ball

FOOTBALL | Page 2 CRICKET | Page 6

TENNIS

Major talk was too big too soon, says TsitsipasPage 5

Winning return blew away cobwebs, says jockey SullivanHORSE RACING

ReutersNewcastle, United Kingdom

Jockey Jimmy Sullivan was pleased to blow the cobwebs away after steering Zodiakos to victory in the 1pm race at New-

castle yesterday — the first competi-tive sporting action in England since the new coronavirus pandemic struck the country in March.

A thrilling finish was not greeted by the usual roars from the crowd though with no fans present — one of the gov-ernment’s criteria for the return to some semblance of sporting normal-ity.

Sullivan, like the 45 other jockeys involved in the 10-race card at New-castle, had to have a temperature check on arrival and adhere to strict social-distancing rules.

He also wore a face mask during the race, another mandatory requirement as racing returned for the first time in 76 days.

“I’m blowing a bit as obviously it’s

the first time I’ve ridden in a race for a while,” Sullivan, who delivered the 22-1 winner, told Sky Sports Racing. “Hopefully that would have blown the cobwebs away.

“In this heat today, riding in the mask, it is very warm and after pull-ing up I pulled it down a little just to get a few breaths in. It wasn’t too bad, though. It’s manageable and it’s the sort of thing that in a week you won’t even notice it.”

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy, also in action yesterday, said he was proud that horse racing was leading British sport back as the government loosens the coronavirus lockdown.

“It’s time to return and I really feel we can come back in a safe way in a way the public can be proud of,” he said.

“I’ve never ridden behind closed doors but when you’re under pressure at a big meeting you tend to block the noise out anyway. It might be different for (Italian great) Frankie Dettori but I’ll survive no problem.”

Martin Cruddace, CEO of ARC rac-

ing who own the course, said, “Every-thing has gone well so far. We’ve left no stone unturned. We are the first live sport on so there is incredible pres-sure. But there is enormous privilege too.

“If you had put a heart-rate moni-tor on me before the first race it might have been in the red zone. It’s calmed down now.”

No horse-racing has taken place for 76 days and the resumption was in a tightly-controlled environment.

Access to the course was limited and everyone present had to have com-pleted a medical questionnaire, have a temperature check on arrival and stick to strict social-distancing rules.

British horse-racing is estimated to contribute around 4bn pounds ($4.96bn) into the economy, with 20,000 people involved directly or in-directly in the industry.

As other sports prepare for a return, horse-racing will take centre stage this week with other courses opening up and this weekend Newmarket hosting the prestigious 2,000 Guineas.

Hamilton’s attack on ‘white-dominated’ F1 draws support

Japan race cancelled over virus as MotoGP looks to Europe

FOOTBALL MOTORCYCLING

‘I see those of you who are staying silent... in the midst of injustice’

AFPTokyo, Japan

The Japanese MotoGP was cancelled over the coronavirus yesterday as organisers said they would concentrate on holding as many races as possible in Europe this

year.The scrapping of the October 16-18 race in

Motegi follows the axing of the Australian Mo-toGP, which was due to be held a week later.

“The situations in Japan and Europe are un-predictable,” said Kaoru Tanaka, president of Mobilityland, which owns the Twin Ring Mo-tegi circuit.

“As a result of our discussions with Dorna, the managerial body of the series, we agreed that we have no choice but to cancel the Japa-nese GP in order to complete the season.”

The first 11 races of the MotoGP season have been either postponed or cancelled, and there have been discussions about how to preserve as much as possible of the European calendar.

At the moment, the sport hopes to resume with back-to-back races at Jerez, Spain.

The first, on July 19, would be the new sea-son-opener, with Dorna suggesting slotting in the second race at the same circuit on July 26.

A round of the Superbike Championship was also proposed for Jerez on August 2.

The opening legs, if approved, are most likely to be held without spectators, and with restric-tions on the number of people allowed in the paddock.

There have also been talks about holding the French MotoGP, which was scheduled for May, in October instead.

“The MotoGP family is working very hard to be able to restart the racing season and hold as many events as possible, and in the safest way possible,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports.

Revised calendarJuly 19: Spanish GP at Jerez (TBC)July 26: GP of Andalusia at Jerez (TBC)August 9: Czech GP at BrnoAugust 16: Austrian GP at SpielbergSeptember 13: San Marino GP at MisanoSeptember 27: Aragon GP at AlcanizOctober 4: Thailand GP at BuriramNovember 1: Malaysian GP at SepangNovember 15: GP of the Americas at AustinNovember 22: Argentinian GP at Termas de Rio HondoNovember 29: Valencia GP at Ricardo Tormo

Jockeys ride the horses out of the starting stalls at Newcastle Racecourse in United Kingdom yesterday. (Reuters)

In this March 12, 2020, picture, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton poses for a drivers portrait at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Australia. (Reuters)

AFPLondon, United Kingdom

World cham-pion Lewis H a m i l -ton drew a

rapid positive response from many of his rivals after accusing the “big-gest of stars” in “white-dominated” Formula One of failing to speak out against racism.

The Mercedes driver warned: “I know who you are and I see you” as he accused his fellow drivers of “staying silent” follow-ing the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during his arrest in Minneapolis.

The videotaped inci-dent has triggered unrest in several cities and led to an outpouring of con-demnation from figures including Michael Jordan and Serena Williams.

“I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice,” Ham-ilton wrote on Instagram.

“I would have thought by now you would see why this happens and say something about it but you can’t stand alongside us. Just know I know who you are and I see you.”

Hamilton’s team re-sponded with a statement of support.

“We stand with you Lewis,” Mercedes posted on Instagram. “Tolerance is an elementary principle of our team.”

Several drivers also re-acted, some addressing Hamilton, others finding their voice about Floyd.

“To be completely hon-est, I felt out of place and uncomfortable sharing my thoughts on social media,” tweeted Charles Leclerc, a 22-year old Monegasque who drives for Ferrari. “And I was completely wrong.”

STAND TOGETHERLeclerc drew a response from Williams driver George Russell.

“We all have a voice to speak up for what’s right — and until now I didn’t know how to use mine in this situation. To echo @charles_leclerc’s words, I just felt out of place shar-ing my thoughts on these atrocities publicly,” wrote the 22-year-old Briton.

Alex Albon, a 24-year old British driver with Thai roots, also said he had felt uncomfortable speaking out.

“Truthfully I have been quite hesitant hav-ing a voice around George Floyd’s death. I grew up in a very privileged way, shielded from rac-ism,” the Red Bull driver wrote. “It’s never too late to change and to ad-

dress what’s wrong, this is about justice and to stand up for racial equality.”

Hamilton’s call for stars to speak out seemed to strike a chord with Lando Norris.

“I have fans and fol-lowers,” the 20-year-old Briton who drives for McLaren wrote. “I have power through this to lead and inspire so many. But we also stand for what’s right.”

Nicholas Latifi, a 24-year-old Canadian of Iranian origin who drives for Williams, posted “This has to stop” with a link to a petition and Jus-ticeforGeorge and Black-LivesMatter hashtags.

Two 30-year-old vet-erans Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Mexican Sergio Perez did not re-fer to Hamilton in their posts.

“What happened to George Floyd and what continues to happen in today’s society is a dis-grace,” said the Red Bull driver.

The Racing Point man tweeted a video of a non-violent American sheriff and added the Blacklives-matter hashtag.

Carlos Sainz, the 25-year-old Spanish McLaren driver and Anto-nio Giovinazzi, a 26-year-old Italian who dives for Alfa Romeo, also con-demned racism.

MLS players approve salary cuts amid Covid-19 crisis

The Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) said its members voted on Sunday to approve a package of conces-sions for the 2020 season stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic, with cuts in salaries and bonuses across the player pool. The players’ body added that there would be modifications to a five-year collective bargaining agreement agreed in February, including a one-year extension. “The package has been formally submitted to the league for a decision by the owners,” the MLSPA said in a statement. “While a difficult vote in incredibly challenging times, it was taken collectively to ensure that players can return to competition as soon as they are safely able to do so.”

Rio club Vasco da Gama report 16 positive for Covid-19Rio de Janeiro side Vasco da Gama said on Sunday that 16 players had tested positive for Covid-19, the news coming a day before the state’s clubs are due to restart training after a two-month coronavirus shutdown. The club said the 16 players, out of 43 tested, would be isolated. Another three had already recovered from the disease. “This only proves that we are taking great action, identifying infection in our athletes as quickly as possible,” the club said in a statement. “This allows us to stop the virus being spread.” Players in Rio de Janeiro will be allowed to undergo physical tests and undertake individual training routines from Monday but contact training is not yet permitted. Other states have yet to rule on when their clubs can restart full training.

Italian FA chief hopeful small number of fans can attend gamesItalian football federation president (FIGC) Gabriele Gravina said yesterday he hoped that a small number of fans will be able to attend matches before the season finishes. “Fans in stadiums? It is my heartfelt wish to be able to see a small presence in stadium for the end of the championship,” Gravina told Italian radio. “It seems unthinkable that in a stadium with 60,000 or 80,000 seats, there is no space for a minimal percentage of spectators who can attend the match with all necessary precautions.” Ital-ian football has been suspended since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 33,500 in the coun-try, but will return to action mid-June with the season scheduled to end in early August.

Three Charlton players refusing to play when season restarts: BowyerThree Charlton Athletic players are refusing to play after a provisional plan was announced to restart the second-tier league season on June 20, manager Lee Bowyer has said, including their top scorer Lyle Taylor who fears getting injured. Bowyer told talkSPORT that defender Chris Solly, who has played for the club since 2009, and on-loan midfielder David Davis have also refused to play for the relegation-threatened side with their con-tracts ending on June 30. “We have 15 players out of contract... six loans and nine of our own contracted players out (at other clubs). Unfortunately for us three of those players have said they’re not going to play and Lyle is one of them,” Bowyer said.

Blatter confirms 2015 FIFA resignation under US pressureThe former FIFA president Joseph Blatter has admitted his resignation from the global football governing body was under massive pressure from the United States authorities investigat-ing corruption. “They said — the head must go! Then I have my mandate available — and suddenly FIFA was no longer a mafia organization for US justice rather a victim,” the 84-year-old Swiss told his country’s Keystone-SDA news agency. The freshly re-elected Blatter offered up his mandate on June 2, 2015, shortly after several FIFA functionaries were arrested in Zurich. In Octo-ber that year he was suspended by the FIFA ethics commission. Afterwards Blatter repeatedly said he had not resigned but at the next FIFA election he was not permitted to stand. His successor Gianni Infantino criticized him sharply.

Leicester to prepare for restart with practice games at empty stadiumLeicester City will hold practice matches at an empty King Power Stadium to prepare their players for games without fans when the Premier League resumes this month, manager Brendan Rodgers said. The English top flight, which has been suspended since March 13 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will resume on June 17 with all matches to be played behind closed doors “We’ll have some practice games in our own stadium before we play. We’ll play at the King Power, so they’ll feel and get a sense of that,” Rodgers told British media. The Premier League is explor-ing the use of audio effects and computer generated ‘fans’ to improve the viewer experience of watching behind closed doors games but Rodgers said the game would not be the same without fans.

FOOTBALLGulf Times Tuesday, June 2, 20202

Liverpool stars take a knee in support for Black Lives Matter

Portugal’s familiar two-horse race resumes in unusual conditions

La Liga announces fixtures as season re-start looms large

Man Utd extend Ighalo’s loan deal until January 2021

FOCUS

PRIMEIRA LIGA SPOTLIGHT

UPDATE

George Floyd’s death has been met with a strong reaction from sporting icons

AFPLondon , United Kingdom

Liverpool players showed their solidarity with the Black Lives Mat-ter movement following

the death of George Floyd in the United States by taking a knee around the centre circle at An-field yesterday.

Reds stars including Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold tweeted the same pho-tograph with the words “Unity is strength”, accompanied by the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

Made famous by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during pre-game ren-ditions of the US national an-them, bending down on one knee has become a symbol in the

fight against racial injustice.Manchester United striker

Marcus Rashford said he feared society was “more divided than ever” in the violent aftermath of Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

Floyd died last Monday after a white police officer held his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck for several minutes.

The shocking incident has sparked protests and riots in cit-ies across the world and has been met with a strong reaction from sporting icons such as Michael Jordan and Lewis Hamilton.

“At a time I’ve been asking people to come together, work to-gether and be united, we appear to me more divided than ever,” said Rashford. “People are hurting and people need answers.

“Black lives matter. Black cul-ture matters. Black communi-

ties matter. We matter.”Rashford’s United teammate

Paul Pogba said “violent acts of racism can no longer be tolerated.”

The French World Cup win-ner posted on Instagram: “I can’t tolerate, I won’t tolerate, WE WON’T TOLERATE. Racism is

ignorance, LOVE is intelligence.”England international Jadon

Sancho was one of several Bun-desliga footballers to make a stand over the weekend, while scor-ing his first career hat-trick for Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

Sancho displayed a T-shirt

with “Justice for George Floyd” written on it after scoring the first of his three goals in a 6-1 win over Paderborn.

“We shouldn’t fear speaking out for what’s right,” said San-cho.

The English Professional Footballers Association (PFA) said in a statement: “We want America to know that the world is watching. The action taken to ensure justice for George Floyd at this moment sends a clear message about the perceived value of black lives in America.”

Former England captain Dav-id Beckham, who owns Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, posted on Instagram: “I stand in solidarity with the black com-munity and millions of others across the world who are out-raged by these events.”

Liverpool players take a knee around the centre circle at Anfield yesterday. (Twitter/LFC)

AFPLondon, United Kingdom

Ma n c h e s t e r United ex-tended Odi-on Ighalo’s

loan spell until January 2021 yesterday to ensure the Ni-gerian striker will be able to fin-ish the 2019/20 season with the Premier League club.

Ighalo’s initial loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua expired at the end of May, but the 30-year-old has been rewarded for an impres-sive return of four goals in eight appearances for United before football was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic in March.

“Manchester United have reached agreement with Shang-hai Greenland Shenhua to extend the loan deal for Odion Ighalo,” United said in a statement.

“He will now remain with

the Reds until 31 Janu-ary 2021, enabling him to build on an impressive start to life with the club he supported as a boy.”

Ighalo could prove an important addition to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad ahead of a packed sched-

ule once games get back under way later this month.

The Premier League is due to return on June 17 and United could face up to 12 matches in lit-tle over a month should they also progress in the FA Cup.

Solskjaer’s men are also due to resume their Europa League campaign in August.

“They (Shanghai) have been great towards us, allowing him to play for his dream club,” said Solskjaer last week.

“It’s been a dream for him and hopefully he can finish what he started and win a trophy with us.”

‘ At a time I’ve been asking people to come together, work together and be united, we

appear to me more di-vided than ever. People are hurting and people need answers. Black lives mat-ter. Black culture matters. Black communities matter. We matter.

— Marcus Rashford,Manchester United striker

ReutersLisbon, Portugal

Portugal’s Primeira Liga restarts tomorrow in unusual conditions af-ter the novel coronavi-

rus stoppage but with a familiar feel as the country’s leading two teams resume battle.

While matches must be played without fans, as in other countries where football is re-awakening, the title contest will as usual be a two-horse race be-tween old rivals Porto and Ben-fica who have had a duopoly on the trophy since 2002.

Porto are one point ahead of holders Benfica with Braga 13 further behind in third place with 10 rounds of matches left.

The action starts on Wednesday when Portimo-nense host Gil Vicente (1800 GMT) before Porto visit pro-moted Famalicao (2015), while Benfica host Tondela (1815) on Thursday.

The league is due to finish on July 26.

Although government rules ban people assembling out-side stadiums, the Porto fan group known as “Super Drag-ons” have said they will fol-low their team to Wednesday’s game.

“If people respect social distancing, I don’t see a prob-lem. It’s not forbidden to walk in the street,” Fernando Ma-dureira, described as one of the group’s leaders, told the sports daily Record yesterday.

BUMPY ROADOverall, the path to restart-ing the championship has not been smooth, with a fair amount of bickering between clubs.

Despite a recommendation from the government’s DGS health directorate that as few venues be used as possible, all but two of the 18 teams — Azores-based Santa Clara and Lisbon-based Belenenses — are set to play in their own stadiums following argu-ments over who would play where.

The clubs also failed to agree using five substitutes per match — even though 10 rounds will be crammed into a 54-day period — and from showing matches on free-to-air television channels. Instead, games will be on the usual pay-TV channels.

To televise as many games as possible, each round of matches will be spread over four to six days with a rest day in between.

Some clubs are also now pressing for supporters to be allowed into games.

“When you can already see so many people on the beaches, in the mountains and in restaurants, I can’t accept that you can’t allow people in the stadiums,” said Maritimo president Carlos Pereira.

“We can ensure that fans are kept away and even pro-vide them with disinfectants, masks and gloves. What team likes to play in an empty sta-dium?”

ReutersBarcelona, Spain

Barcelona will recom-mence their bid to de-fend the Spanish title on Saturday, June 13,

away to Real Mallorca after a three-month pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while Real Madrid will host Eibar on June 14, organisers La Liga an-nounced on Sunday.

The season kick backs into ac-tion with a local derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on June 11 and there will be fixtures for the following seven days, with Barca hosting Leganes on June 16 and Real playing at home to Valencia on June 18.

As in the Bundesliga, which earlier in May became the first

major European league to start up again after being disrupted by the pandemic, all La Liga matches until the end of the season will take place without spectators.

Barca were leading Real by two points after 27 matches when the campaign was post-poned back in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Organisers have only released scheduling details for the first two rounds of fixtures although La Liga chief Javier Tebas confirmed that there will be matches every day of the week until the season is completed on July 19.

Tebas also gave details of a planned tribute to those who have died from the pandemic, whereby fans will be encour-aged to make audio record-ings of themselves applauding the victims, which will then be

transmitted in the stadium and broadcast on television in the 20th minute of each match.

“Fans make football so spe-cial and as they cannot be in the stadiums we have created this initiative so they can play a part in the return of the competition and show their support for the heroes of Covid-19,” Tebas told television network Movistar.

“We want them to feel close to their clubs even though they will be in the stadiums making noise. This way, the players will also be able to hear the support of their fans.”

The Spanish top-flight is poised to be the second of Eu-rope’s top five leagues to resume after the Bundesliga, with Eng-land’s Premier League re-start-ing on June 17 and Italy’s Serie A kicking off again on June 20.

QPR ‘appalled’ by quick restart for English Championship

AFPLondon, United Kingdom

Queens Park Rangers CEO Lee Hoos says he is “stunned” and “ap-

palled” by plans for the Cham-pionship to return on June 20 given how little time players will have to get up to speed.Clubs in England’s second tier did not return to any sort of training until May 25 and will only begin contact training this week.“I am absolutely stunned by this announcement, as is our director of football Les Ferdinand and our manager Mark Warburton,” said Hoos in a statement.“The players haven’t even re-

turned to full-contact training at this moment and yet they are now expected to be in a position to play at a competi-tive level in just three weeks’ time.“I have made our feelings known to the EFL (English Football League) and, having spoken with a number of CEOs

at other Championship clubs, I am not a lone voice on this matter. We are absolutely ap-palled.”The EFL confirmed the pro-posed return date on Sunday and said discussions were on-going with clubs over whether to allow the use of five substi-tutes and increase matchday squads from 18 to 20 to ease the stress on players.The remaining nine rounds of matches would be squeezed into a packed month of action, with plans for the play-off final to take place “on or around 30 July”.QPR were 13th in the table when the season was halted in March, six points off the playoff places and 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

Jordan ‘plain angry’ over ingrained racism and violenceAFPLos Angeles

NBA legend Michael Jor-dan decried “ingrained racism” in the United States as the sports

world’s reaction to the death of unarmed black man George Floyd leapt leagues and conti-nents.

“I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” Jordan said Sunday, as protests over Floyd’s death on May 25 spawned violence and looting across the US. “I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of colour in our country.

“We have had enough,” added Jordan, who was famously reluc-tant to comment on social issues during his playing career.

Floyd died after a white po-liceman in Minneapolis held his knee on the handcuffed man’s neck for several minutes.

“We need to continue peace-ful expressions against injustice and demand accountability,” Jordan said.

Jordan joined a chorus of voices from the NBA, NFL and other US sports demanding change for black Americans, but the demands went far beyond America.

World champion driver Lewis Hamilton lashed out at “white-dominated” Formula One for failing to speak out against rac-ism. Hamilton warned “I know who you are and I see you” as the Briton accused his fellow drivers of “staying silent in the midst of injustice” following Floyd’s death.

French footballer Marcus Thuram and England inter-national Jadon Sancho both mounted individual protests calling for justice for Floyd after scoring in Germany’s Bundesliga on Sunday.

Thuram took a knee after his goal for Borussia Moenchengla-dbach in a match against Union Berlin, while Sancho marked one of his three goals for Borus-sia Dortmund against Paderborn by lifting his jersey to reveal a T-shirt bearing the words “Justice for George Floyd”.

Thuram’s gesture echoed the protest against US racism spear-headed by former NFL quarter-back Colin Kaepernick, whose decision to kneel during the na-tional anthem at games in 2016

sparked outrage.NBA Commissioner Adam

Silver sent an internal memo to the league’s employees saying it shares “the outrage” at the death of Floyd — which comes in the wake of the police killing in Kentucky of emergency health worker Breonna Taylor in her home, and the fatal shooting of unarmed black jogger Ahmaud Arbery. “We are being remind-ed that there are wounds in our country that have never healed,” Silver said in the memo pub-lished by Yahoo.

“Racism, police brutality and racial injustice remain part of everyday life in America and cannot be ignored.”

With US pro sports on hold during the coronavirus pan-

demic, American athletes had no chance to demonstrate on the field of play.

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown drove 15 hours to lead a peaceful protest march in At-lanta, Georgia.

“First and foremost, I’m a black man and I’m a member of this community,” the Georgia native said.

‘TOO MANY TRAGEDIES’

Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, himself the son of a po-liceman, said that as violence escalated it was imperative to keep Floyd’s death at the fore-front. “The response we are seeing across the nation, to the murder of George Floyd, is dec-ades in the making,” Rivers said

in a statement. “Too often, peo-ple rush to judge the response, instead of the actions that prompted it.

“We have allowed too many tragedies to pass in vain. This isn’t an African-American issue. This is a human issue,” Rivers said.

US tennis great Serena Wil-liams posted an Instagram video featuring a young Afri-can-American girl overcome by emotion as she addressed a pub-lic meeting, finally able to force out the words: “We are black people, and we shouldn’t have to feel like this.”

Teenage tennis phenomenon Coco Gauff had a simple ques-tion on her Instagram post: “Am I next?”

And two-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and father Haitian, reminded her social media followers: “Just because it isn’t happening to you doesn’t mean it isn’t happening at all.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the violent protests “reflect the pain, anger and frus-tration that so many of us feel”.

With Kaepernick still unable to find a job in the NFL, not eve-ryone was convinced by Goodell or by San Francisco 49ers chief executive Jed York, who pledged $1mn to combat systemic racial discrimination.

Former 49er Eric Reid, who knelt alongside Kaepernick, tweeted: “Nobody wants your money Jed. We want justice.”

FOCUS

We need to continue peaceful expressions against injustice and demand accountability

Floyd’s death: NHL players call for changeReutersLos Angeles

A number of NHL players have voiced a call to stand together for change amid fiery clashes between po-

lice and protesters over last week’s death of a black man shown on video gasping for breath as a white policeman knelt on his neck in Min-neapolis.

Civil unrest flared and curfews have been imposed in several ma-jor US cities as demonstrators took to the streets to vent outrage at the death of George Floyd, whose dying words “I can’t breathe” have turned into a rallying cry.

“My hometown is burning. Busi-nesses where I grew up are being boarded up. America is not OK,” Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheel-er wrote on Twitter.

“Growing up outside of Minne-apolis I always felt sheltered from racism. That’s because I was. Most people I grew up with looked like me. I never had to be scared when I stopped at a traffic light or saw the police in public.

“My kids will never know that fear either. I’m heartbroken that we still treat people this way. We need to stand with the black community and fundamentally change how the leadership in this country has dealt with racism.”

Evander Kane, a forward with the San Jose Sharks, was one of the first NHL players to speak out after the Floyd incident and called on promi-nent athletes from the NHL and be-yond to lend their voices to causes of racial justice.

“We need so many more athletes that don’t look like me speaking out about this, having the same amount of outrage that I have inside, and using that to voice their opinions, voice their frustration,” Kane, who is black, said during a recent ap-pearance on ESPN’s “First Take”.

“It’s time for guys like (NFL quar-terback) Tom Brady and (Pittsburgh Penguins captain) Sidney Crosby, those type of figures, to speak up about what is right and, clearly in this case, what is unbelievably wrong. Because that is the only way we’re going to actually create that unified anger to create that neces-sary change.”

Brian Boyle of the Florida Pan-thers also showed his support and solidarity with the black commu-nity.

“This...I don’t know this pain. I can’t even imagine this pain. I’ve al-ways had the benefit of the doubt,” Boyle, who is white, posted on Twitter.

“But I can’t say I haven’t seen this before. We all have. The footage, the headlines, the media arguments that follow. What we need to see is change. We need to see it stop.”

SPOTLIGHT

SPORT3Gulf Times

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

File photo of NBA legend Michael Jordan. (Reuters)

Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

‘GOT TO DO BETTER!’ Chicago athletes speak out

in response to Floyd’s deathFour words from ZACH LAVINE stood out.

“Got to do better!” the Bulls guard wrote as part of a Twit-ter post Saturday.LaVine was one of many athletes with ties to Chicago to speak out in response to the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis.“This has been going on for hundreds of years now! And still with little to no change. Got to do better!” LaVine tweeted. “But how can there be change if the ones with POWER are not willing to listen or do anything about their actions!”As protests took place throughout the county this weekend, athletes took to social media to share their thoughts.

“I know it’s hard to fully grasp why black people are outraged,” Cardinals out-fielder DEXTER FOWLER, the center fielder on the 2016 World Series champion Cubs, wrote on Instagram on Thursday. “It’s hard to grasp unless you’ve seen people hold their purses tighter when you walk by, when you have people refer to you as ‘not black’ when you’re not ‘ghetto.’ When your parents have to give you a talk when you’re just a kid. ‘you can’t act like your white friends. you’ll get killed. they won’t.’“This is a generational discussion EVERY black family has. It terrifies you as a kid, and as an adult. You don’t understand why we know, those officers didn’t flinch at murdering that man, because he is black.”Fowler continued: “We don’t hold the privilege of being a criminal, making a mistake, or simply taking a jog, the same as a white man, and being treated the same. He couldn’t breathe. He was murdered. They were gently fired from their jobs. This isn’t right. This can’t go on.”

White Sox pitcher LUCAS GIOLITO mentioned the need for conversations some

might find “uncomfortable.”“I don’t know what it is to grow up Black in the USA because it was not my experience,” Giolito wrote Saturday in a post on Insta-gram and Twitter. “I do know that my parents never had to worry about me being pulled over & maybe never making it home.“It’s time to do better. It’s time for true equality & justice for all Americans. In fact, it’s way overdue. Stop turning a blind eye, stop refusing to talk about it because it’s ‘uncom-fortable.’ Complacency will only allow the scourge of rac-ism to survive. It’s been 400 years. Enough is enough.”

Sky center Stefanie Dolson wrote: “I am an ally and I am not staying silent!!! Be a part of the change.”

The Sky, Red Stars and Bulls were among the teams to issue statements.“The events of the past weeks have been disturb-ing and challenging for us all. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, as well as the incident with Christian Cooper, were gut-wrenching and heartbreaking,” Nancy Reinsdorf, president of Chi-cago Bulls Charities, and Michael Reinsdorf, the team president and COO, said in the Bulls statement. “The Bulls organization sends our condolences to these fami-lies who have been caused unthinkable grief and to all those who suffer because of these terrible incidents.“All too often, after these tragedies we talk but the conversations don’t result in any meaningful changes. Our communities can’t move forward or hope for peace when we’re constantly hitting the reset button after each incident. Everyone deserves to feel safe, to be respected and to be able to reach their full potential. Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of world we live in.”“There is a crisis in our coun-try, and we need to redouble our efforts and work harder than ever,” the Bulls state-ment concluded. “We have to rise above our differences and come together to affect real change for the future; otherwise we’re going to see the past repeat itself again. We have to listen to each other, act with love and be intentional and relentless in our pursuit of a better world. It is time. We at the Chicago Bulls organisation are com-mitted to working together to stand for real change. We can do this together.”

Sixers’ Harris joins protest in PhiladelphiaBy Marc NarducciThe Philadelphia Inquirer

Throughout his NBA career, 76ers for-ward Tobias Har-ris has been known

for his extensive community service. On Saturday, Harris took part in the Philadelphia protest of the death of George Floyd, the black man in Min-neapolis who died last Mon-day after a white police offer knelt on his neck.There have been protests in many cities since the incident.Harris was recorded on video by 6ABC during the march. While he was marching to-ward the Art Museum, Harris had teammate Mike Scott on Face Time. Harris was part of the peaceful protest. The pro-tests would eventually turn into widespread lootingThe 27-year-old Harris has only been with the Sixers for a little more than a year after being dealt on Feb. 6, 2019 in a multi-player trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. A free agent after last season, Harris re-signed with the Sixers to a five-year, $180 million contract. During his brief time in Philadelphia, he has made his mark with his community service. For instance, in Octo-ber, he announced a pledge of $1 million to assist nine under-served communities

in Philadelphia. Last year, he was among the 10 finalists for the 2018-19 NBA Community Assist award.This season, he has appeared in all 65 games for the Sixers, averaging 19.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. Shortly after the 76ers beat Detroit on March 11, the NBA announced it was suspending its season after Utah center Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19.Published reports indicate that the NBA could be return-ing on July 31. The format is expected to be agreed upon on Thursday when the NBA Board of Governors meet.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris in action. (TNS)

SPORTGulf Times Tuesday, June 2, 20204

By Dylan HernándezLos Angeles Times

Adrian Gonzalez isn’t some uninformed former jock.

He’s as thoughtful now as he was as an all-star first base-man for the Dodgers, so consider that when reading what he has to say about the possibility of a 2020 baseball season.

“I honestly don’t see a way to salvage it,” Gonzalez said in an in-terview with the L.A. Times this weekend. Yikes.

This is an opinion that’s in-formed by experience. As a player, he served on the union’s executive board. In retirement, he’s become an owner, with a portfolio that in-cludes several Jersey Mike’s fran-chises as well as a stake in Calidad Beer.

And he’s never been known for making outrageous remarks for the sake of attention.

As baseball owners and play-ers remain in a staredown over the economic and coronavirus-related health details of a potential season, Gonzalez explained why reaching an agreement would be difficult.

From Gonzalez’s perspective, saving the season would require owners to open their books, which they never have done and probably never will. So long as that’s the case, the players will remain jus-tifiably suspicious of any of their claims of financial hardship and reluctant to accept any salary re-ductions proposed by the league.

Although voices in and around the game have called for a compro-mise, neither side has any room to budge. Transparency is an all-or-nothing issue. Partial transpar-ency isn’t transparency.

Which is why Gonzalez is scep-tical about a season taking place, however bothered he might be by how the sport’s audience would be impacted.

“I get it,” he said. “It’s about having a game for the fans.”

He is also sensitive to how the acrimonious negotiations look from the outside.

“It’s really hard to speak about losing some dollars when some people are losing their jobs,” Gonzalez said. “You don’t want to offend somebody because you know how hard everybody’s had it. You’re almost talking about what people call champagne problems.”

But Gonzalez said that didn’t mean the players should cave to the owners.

“You can’t just give up eve-rything to get something going and destroy the whole business,” Gonzalez said.

If anything, Gonzalez believes the players have a responsibility to future generations of players to hold a line.

“I understand why people went on strike for us and I would hate for people to forget about that,” he said. The players’ strike in 1994, for example, prevented the implementation of a salary cap. That paved the way for Gonzalez, who broke into the major leagues with the Texas Rangers in 2004, to earn more than $190 million over a 15-year career. Without naming names, Gonzalez wondered how former players who were benefici-aries, the biggest beneficiaries, of previous labour efforts could turn their backs on the union. In re-cent weeks, former players such as Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira called on players to make massive concessions to the owners to ex-pedite the game’s return.

Gonzalez made it a point to mention how the overwhelming

majority of players weren’t af-forded anywhere near the finan-cial security he enjoyed. Most of them will be out of the game by their mid-30s; many will start new careers without having gotten a college degree.

This is reality, yet Gonzal-ez knows players are viewed as greedy whenever they stand up to the owners.

“I think the most frustrating part about that is the fact that (the owners are) going to play this card, and the minute the agree-ment is made, they’re going to ask the players to help them promote the league,” he said. “But, again, it goes down to transparency. As far as revenue, what walks in the door and what is sold in the stadi-um and what is generated via TV, if that is put out there, then you know how much is really involved. But nobody’s doing that.”

Gonzalez said he believed the league made a mistake by propos-ing a sliding pay scale in which the highest-paid players would have their salaries reduced the most, by nearly 80% in some cases. Those players are not only influential, but they also have the financial wherewithal to sit out a season.

Ex-Dodger Gonzalez doubts 2020 MLB return

Seahawks’ Collier ready to bust notion that he’s a draft bust

DPASeattle

No one on the Zoom call was going to use the word. LJ Collier is too nice of a guy, too new

to the NFL, and it would have just felt unnecessary. But after a rookie season that displayed limited promise amid limited snaps, you know the label is on fans’ and media’s minds. Bust.

No, the Seattle Seahawks’ 2019 first-round draft pick isn’t there yet. Collier’s season was partially hampered by an ankle injury, which kept him on the sideline during critical training-camp workouts.

But the defensive end knows that sceptics abound, and wants to make clear that he plans to

change their minds. “I’m champing on the bit to

get out there, because it’s one of those things where you didn’t have the year you wanted to get, so they just kind of shift you off to the side and say, ‘You can’t play.’ It’s disrespectful, and I feel very disrespected,” Collier said.

“But I’m the type of person where there is no need for talk-ing, I want to show what I can do. You run through a couple peo-ple’s faces, you make noise, and people, they’ll remember who you are very quickly.”

Collier didn’t run through many faces last season. He didn’t get much run, period. In 11 games he played just 152 snaps — less than 15 per cent of the Seahawks’ total defensive snaps. He finished with two solo tackles and one assisted tackle, and saw

few reporters’ tape recorders up close.

Given the expectations that come with being a first-rounder, it was a bit like a lead actor be-ing reduced to an extra. But talk to Collier, and he’ll tell you his draft status is irrelevant.

“I don’t really care about the first-round-pick stuff. I’m a football player at the end of the day, I can play at a high level just like everyone else can,” he said. “I’m out there to prove I’m one of the best and I can do what I need to do. I can rush the passer, I can stop the run, and I’m out there to prove that.”

Next season, the plan is for Collier to compete for time at defensive end and at three-tech-nique tackle. He’ll play on the inside or outside depending on the situation, much in the way

Michael Bennett did with the Seahawks.

Given how Seattle’s defensive line is probably still the weak-est part of the team (Jadeveon Clowney remains unsigned, al-though Bruce Irvin was a sound addition), Collier finding his footing in his sophomore year would serve as a much-needed boost on the pass-rushing front.

And he seems genuinely en-thused about the situation. Perhaps part of the reason Col-lier went as high as he did (26th overall) was because he nailed the interview. He certainly said all the right things during the call Friday.

Collier expressed disappoint-ment in not being able being able to make the “big play” and cel-ebrate with his fellow defensive linemen last

year. He thought his injury put him behind, and found it diffi-cult to catch up. But he also em-phasized that all those problems and shortcomings were very much last year.

“Last year is last year. I’m fo-cused on this year. I’m not wor-ried about last year,” Collier said. “It’s time to do what I can do and eat. At the end of the day it’s time to just eat, play ball, make some plays, get after the quarterback, help this team any way I can.”

Winning news conferences doesn’t mean much in the sports world. If it did, a guy such as Pa-triots coach Bill Belichick never would have broken.500. But it was encouraging to hear how Collier spoke.

The bust label looms over him. No doubt. But he’s ready to bust people up.

NFL

SPOTLIGHT

‘I CAN RUSH THE PASSER, I CAN STOP THE RUN, AND I’M OUT THERE TO PROVE THAT’

ReutersLos Angeles

The Major League Base-ball Players Associa-tion presented its ex-pected counteroffer to

owners on Sunday, standing firm on their stance on pay but offering concessions on sev-eral other issues, multiple out-lets are reporting.

According to the reports, the players countered the own-ers’ proposed 82-game regu-lar season with a 114-game schedule — with the flexibil-ity of doubleheaders and to be concluded by October 31. In addition, players would have the ability to opt out of playing in 2020; players deemed “high risk” would be paid and re-ceive service time, while those not deemed high risk who opt out would receive service time only.

High-risk players are those either with pre-existing con-ditions or with family mem-bers more susceptible to Cov-id-19.

Among the other proposals, per the reports:

Players would receive a $100mn salary advance during pre-season camp

The playoffs would be al-lowed to expand to 14 teams for the 2020 and ‘21 seasons

MLB can defer $100mn total in salaries should there be no postseason, with the defer-ments applied to contracts of $10mn or more

Players would agree to addi-tional implementation of on-field microphones and other broadcast enhancements

Players would be willing to hold events such as an offsea-

son All-Star Game or Home Run Derby to generate addi-tional revenue

ESPN’s Jeff Passan added that the proposal places the start of the regular season at June 30.

Passan also reported that players expect owners to re-ject the deal, but hope that the proposal helps build a bridge toward a potential agreement this week.

In late March, the union agreed to a deal to have play-ers paid on a prorated basis depending upon how many games are completed this year. However, that was with the assumption that fans would be in the stands. With sports, including baseball, now look-ing at the likelihood of a re-sumption behind closed doors, MLB’s economic model was greatly impacted.

MLB owners last week pre-sented the MLBPA with a re-vised economic plan for the yet-to-start 2020 season, proposing a sliding-scale of pay cuts, with the top-paid stars due to take the biggest hits. The proposal was MLB’s attempt to revise the year’s finances based on shifting realities amid the coronavi-rus pandemic, which caused spring training to shut down in mid-March and has led to Opening Day being postponed indefinitely.

The league proposal to fur-ther cut player salaries drew the players’ ire. Under the plan, the highest-paid play-ers would see the deepest cuts in pay, reportedly somewhere between 60 and 75%.

MLB officials have been hoping to start the season around July 1.

Players give owners 114-game counter-offer

MLB

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez signs baseball for fans before a game on August 25, 2012. (TNS)

Broncos’ Jake ready to move on from injury woes

Jake Butt hasn’t seen much of the field during three sea-sons with the Denver Broncos due to knee injuries.Butt, who turns 25 in July, is hoping things will be different in 2020. He has proclaimed that his left knee is 100% and is thankful that the Broncos have remained supportive.“I don’t know a lot of people that have been through my situation and the team would still be hanging there with them in Year Four,” Butt told the Denver Post late last week. “It really speaks a lot for the organisation and what they think of me and I’m very appreciative. It’s not a guar-antee — they’re not telling me I’m making the team by any stretch or rolling out the red carpet. I still have to go out there and work and earn it.“But the fact they’re standing by me and giving me an op-portunity, it obviously means the world to me and I’m going to try and go out there and prove them right and prove myself right.”Butt has played in just three NFL games — all in 2018 —

and has eight receptions for 85 yards.Butt’s knee issues started in college at Michigan when he suffered two different ACL tears in his right knee. The latter injury caused Butt to miss his rookie season with the Broncos in 2017.He then tore his left ACL during a practice in 2018 that ended that season. The knee acted up again last preseason and it was determined Butt needed surgery to repair the meniscus and he didn’t see any action all season.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end L.J. Collier.

Major talk was too big too soon, says Tsitsipas

TENNIS

‘Looking back to that I think this was too big of a statement to be taken seriously. I shouldn’t be looking so far so soon’

ReutersMumbai

Stefanos Tsitsipas set himself the target of claiming a Grand Slam title in 2020 after win-

ning last year’s season-ending ATP Finals but the young Greek feels that in hindsight the state-ment was “too big” and bur-dened him with extra pressure.

Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer have shared all the Grand Slams between them since Swiss Stan Wawrinka triumphed at the 2016 US Open and Tsitsipas has been marked as one of the few players capable of breaking that stranglehold.

The 21-year-old is ranked number six in the world and had announced he was “really close” to being crowned a Grand Slam champion after his triumph in the ATP Finals, which is contest-ed by the top eight singles play-ers and doubles teams.

“Looking back to that I think this was too big of a statement to be taken seriously. I shouldn’t be looking so far so soon,” Tsitsipas was quoted as saying by the Ten-nis Majors website.

“For sure, I want it to come, but I should be talking about stuff like this less often and con-centrate on the present.

“I guess I just put too much pressure on myself, aiming so high and I just have to take it step by step, not think too much about the future and be irration-al,” he added.

Tsitsipas has made some gi-ant strides in his young career and reached the Australian Open semi-finals and the fourth round of the French Open in 2019.

The Greek, who has been tipped by Djokovic as a fu-ture world number one, said he would have to learn to wait for his chance.

“I say it every single time like it’s the only thing I want to achieve in my life,” he said. “For sure it is.

“My theory behind it is that if you think about it too much it might as well never happen, so just relax and enjoy the process.”

SPORT5Gulf Times

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Rugby Australia announced the sack-ing of a third of its staff yesterday as the embattled organisation works to recover from the sport’s coronavirus-enforced shutdown.The organisation said 47 of its 142 full-time workers would leave over the coming months and those remaining have been asked to take a five percent pay cut. Thirty other contractors and casuals have also been sacked, with the moves reducing the company’s wage bill by Aus$5.5 million (US$3.7 million) a year. Rugby Australia’s interim chief Rob Clarke called it “an incredibly dif-ficult day” but said it was necessary to “ensure the viability and sustainability of the organisation”.“This is a difficult time for a lot of very passionate, hard-working rugby people and we are committed to helping those people find their next opportunity, whether it be within the game or else-where,” he added.Rugby Australia has been working with a skeleton staff since the sport ground to a halt in March due to Covid-19, with

Super Rugby postponed and July Tests against Ireland and Fiji cancelled.Australia’s four Super Rugby teams - Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels -- along with the previously axed Western Force, are set to kick off a domestic tournament on July 3 as coronavirus restrictions ease. The competition is contingent on a broadcast deal being finalised.The governing body, whose belea-guered chief Raelene Castle quit in April, posted a near Aus$10 million ($6 million) deficit last year, exacerbated by a hefty payment to former Wallaby Israel Folau after his sacking social media posts. Clarke said the job cuts were phase one of a planned organisational restructure.“The next phase will focus on the role of Rugby Australia and the member unions to find further opportunities for savings and efficiencies in the way we deliver our rugby programs and admin-istrative operations across each of our businesses,” he said.

Rugby Australia slashes a third of staff to stay afloat

Sunwolves confirm time in Super Rugby is overReutersMelbourne

The Sunwolves said yesterday that their final season in Su-per Rugby is over after the To-kyo-based team’s bid to play

in a domestic tournament in Australia fell through due to Covid-19 travel and logistics issues.

With rugby preparing to return from the coronavirus shutdown, the Sunwolves had been in talks to join Australia’s four Super Rugby teams and Perth-based Western Force in a 12-week tournament slated for July-September.

However, Rugby Australia (RA) said earlier that travel curbs and border controls had made it too hard to in-volve the team. Sunwolves CEO Yuji Watase said it had been an honour to play in Super Rugby.

“It is extremely unfortunate and disappointing but the reality is that the Sunwolves time in Super Rugby has come to an end for now,” Watase said in a statement.

“It has been an honor and privilege for us to be part of the toughest rugby

competition in the world.” The Sun-wolves were playing their last Super Rugby season in 2020 after the com-petition decided to cut them last year.

The team drew decent crowds to home games in Japan since joining in 2016 but struggled against the south-ern hemisphere’s established teams, winning a total of nine games. The

Super Rugby season was suspended in March due to Covid-19 but even if it does restart the Sunwolves said they would play no part. “With the implications of Covid-19 and the significant changes to the 2020 SAN-ZAAR Super Rugby season the Sun-wolves will no longer take part in any amended format of the competition,”

the team said. Governing body SAN-ZAAR has yet to officially abandon the season but the Sunwolves’ exit makes it a foregone conclusion. RA’s interim CEO Rob Clarke said in a statement that the Sunwolves would have been “severely compromised” by a lack of preparation time. Australia’s “Super Rugby AU” competition is scheduled to start on July 3, pending signoff from broadcasters.

England v Australia rugby league series cancelled

The Rugby Football League and the Australian Rugby League Commission yesterday announced the cancellation of this year’s England-Australia Ashes series. Three Tests had been due to take place in England in October and November, with the competition be-ing revived after a 17-year absence.

Talks have already begun about a series from 2022 onwards, with the World Cup taking place in England next year. The joint statement said the decision had been made in the context of the “continued complications sur-rounding global travel, and the need to extend the domestic season in both hemispheres”.

FOCUS

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates winning the ATP Finals with the trophy in London on November 17, 2019. (Reuters)

‘Weird’ playing sans fans, but good to be playing again: Kvitova

ReutersMumbai

Petra Kvitova has 27 ca-reer titles but winning an all-Czech exhibi-tion tournament last

week was a different experi-ence for her and it felt “weird” to play in the absence of fans, the two-time Wimbledon champion told Reuters.

The Prague tournament was one of the few global exhibi-tion events held after profes-sional tennis was suspended in early March as countries went into lockdown to contain the spread of Covoid-19.

While it was still a special occasion for the former world number two to lift the trophy at her home tennis club where she had won a WTA event two years back, the feeling was not the same. “I’m happy with the win for sure but it was a differ-ent kind of tournament,” said the 30-year-old, who wore the dress she had chosen for the postponed French Open. “Playing without fans was very weird as well.

“We hit some unbelievable winners and nobody was clap-ping, so it’s been really tough. But on the other hand it’s nice to have the game-feeling again.”

With motivation lacking to practise and train, Kvitova found it tough to mentally prepare for the event. The first match was most difficult as her focus was drawn to the empty stands.

It was after reaching the semi-finals that she was able to concentrate more on her game. But left with no other choice, Kvitova said players would learn to adapt.

“For me it was really different that I couldn’t have the towel between the points. It took a while to go for the towels, so I just left it on the bench,” she said in an interview.

“For me it was pretty an-

noying and, of course, the ball boys couldn’t hold it for me. And I didn’t know we couldn’t shake hands after the match. It felt such an ungentlemanlike thing.”

Currently the professional circuit has been suspended at least until the end of July. Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II while the French Open has been postponed to Septem-ber. The fate of the US Open in New York will be decided this month.

While playing in presence of fans remains Kvitova’s prefer-ence, she said players also need the sport to resume.

“It’s tough to think about Grand Slams without fans,” she said. “It’s really tough be-cause fans are very important for players... if we are playing Grand Slams without fans, it will be very sad.

“But still better to have a Grand Slam than no Grand Slams.”

Kvitova, currently ranked 12th, said she will not enjoy being in quarantine ahead of a tournament.

“It will be very difficult to be in quarantine in a foreign country and the hotel room for two weeks. It wouldn’t be very nice for sure,” she said, add-ing that it would be “great” if tournaments restart in August. “So it will be a tough decision.”

Kvitova required surgery on a stab wound to her racket hand she suffered during an attack by a knife-wielding home intruder in 2016. Besides the mental trauma, the inci-dent also taught her to cope with waiting on the sidelines.

“I missed tennis for five months when I had to really work (hard) to be back playing. I really missed it when I saw the other girls playing a tour-nament and fighting,” she said.

“We are all waiting to see what the future brings for us and we know that one day we’re going to be back.”

COMMENT

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova. (Reuters)

The head of French tennis said yesterday he would like a full house at the French Open but conceded only the government can decide if spectators can attend the re-arranged tournament.The claycourt Grand Slam, which would now have been into its second week under the original schedule, was pushed back by four months because of the coro-navirus outbreak.

Tickets bought for the event in its May-June slot were reimbursed rather than transferred, prompting fears the tourna-ment, now due to start on September 20, will be played behind closed doors.“The preferred option is to have a Roland Garros with as many spectators as pos-sible,” French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said in a video call with French player Gael Montfils.

“After that, depending on the health conditions, we will adapt to the directives the government gives us. The govern-ment will decide how many people can be there.”Giudicelli said the organisers were not keen on having the tournament behind closed doors “because Roland Garros, like all the major tournaments, is a meeting between the players and the public.

“That’s what gives this tournament its magic,” he added.Professional tennis has been halted since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic with tournaments unlikely to resume before August.Wimbledon was cancelled and while the US Open is still scheduled to go ahead, or-ganisers are considering moving it away from New York.

Govt will decide on spectators at French Open: federation head

This file photo taken on March 6, 2020 shows Sunwolves player Michael Stolberg (C) scoring a try during the Super15 rugby match between Australia’s Brumbies and Japan’s Sunwolves at the WIN Stadium in Woolongong. (AFP)

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

GULF TIMES CRICKET

India’s pacer Bumrah seeks ‘alternative’ to saliva on cricket ball

SPOTLIGHT

AFPSydney

Australia star Steve Smith admitted yes-terday he has barely picked up a bat since

cricket shut down, but said he was in his best physical shape in years. The 30-year-old, the world’s number one Test bats-man, has been out of action since March, when Australia’s one-day series against New Zealand was abandoned due to the coronavi-rus pandemic.

He returned to training with his New South Wales teammates yesterday as they await the green light for competitive cricket to start again, targeting a home one-day series against Zimba-bwe in August. “I feel like I’ve had a pre-season the last couple of months. Got myself into prob-ably the best shape I’ve been in years. Lots of running, lots of gym stuff,” Smith said. “It’s been a couple of months of good hard work and now back with the boys, which is great.”

But with no net practice, he has barely picked up his bat. “I haven’t touched a bat, really. A couple of little drills at home but that’s about it,” said Smith, who has plundered more than 7,000 Test runs. “I’ve just tried to switch off from it a bit, which I don’t do very often. I was just focusing on getting myself fit and strong and refreshing mentally.

“It’s been a bit different but I’m sure in the long run it will prob-ably be a good thing to freshen

up after what was a pretty long year-and-a-half since the World Cup and Ashes and summer here. I’m refreshed and ready to go,” he added.

If the virus had not struck, Smith would have been in the plane to Bangladesh this month for a two-Test series, after play-ing in the postponed Indian Pre-mier League. He was one of six Cricket Australia-contracted players in the New South Wales squad who rejoined their state teammates yesterday, includ-ing David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. The squad has been divided into four groups who alternate morning and af-ternoon indoor gym and skills

sessions as part of Covid-19 re-turn-to-training protocols.

Smith said Australia’s senior players will be ready to assume additional duties like giving throw-downs to teammates in practice if further cost-cutting means fewer support staff.

Cricket Australia (CA) has fur-loughed about 80% of its work-force and state associations have made deep staff cuts in recent weeks.

CA chief Kevin Roberts sug-gested on Friday there could be another round of cost-cutting to shore up the board’s finances. “Particularly the senior players being able to maybe take a bit of time off your own game and help someone else out at training or something like that,” Smith said.

“They (support staff) all have a role to play, particularly as the game evolved and got more pro-fessional. We’ve got people in different areas of expertise to help the team prepare and get ready to play. Guys might have to throw to one of the other batters or help out the bowlers in some way. If that happens, it will take a bit of adjusting.”

On the proposed ban on using saliva to polish the ball, Smith thinks it could disrupt the game’s bat-ball balance. “I’ve always been one for a fair contest be-tween bat and ball. Even as a bat-ter if that’s taken away, I don’t think that’s great,” Smith said.

“I actually spit on my hands most balls and that’s how I get grip and stuff. So that might take some adjusting to certain things like that.”

AFPNew Delhi

Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah said cricket should seek an “alter-native” for shining the ball if the game’s governing body ban the use

of saliva during the coronavirus pan-demic. The International Cricket Coun-cil (ICC) is likely to implement a ban for the game’s return when they meet next week after receiving medical advice that spit poses a Covid-19 transmission risk.

Handshakes, celebratory high-fives and hugs are also likely to be off-limits when international cricket resumes with safety protocols in place. “I was not much of a hugger anyway, and not a high-five person as well, so that doesn’t trouble me a lot,” Bumrah said in an ICC video chat with the former West Indies pace bowler Ian Bishop and the ex-cap-tain of South Africa, Shaun Pollock.

“The only thing that interests me is the saliva bit,” added the 26-year-old Bumrah. “I don’t know what guidelines that we have to follow when we come back, but I feel there should be an al-ternative. If the ball is not well main-tained, it’s difficult for the bowlers. The grounds are getting shorter and shorter, the wickets are becoming flatter and flatter. So we need something.”

Pace bowlers usually try to make the ball swing through the air by shining one side on their clothing aided by us-ing sweat or saliva and leaving the other half to become scuffed.

Anil Kumble, chairman of the ICC cricket committee that recommended banning saliva, insisted the move was only an “interim measure”.

Australian cricket ball manufacturer Kookaburra is developing a wax appli-cator that allows players to shine the ball without using saliva or sweat. But its use would need a change in the laws of cricket which forbid the use of any artificial substance to alter the ball.

Test players have in the past been ac-cused of using lozenges, petroleum jelly and resin to keep the shine on the ball, and also scuffing it with bottle tops, trouser zippers, grit or fingernails. The most notorious recent incident was in 2018, when Australian players attempt-ed to alter the ball with sandpaper dur-

ing a Test against South Africa in Cape Town, resulting in lengthy bans for the three involved — Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

Bumrah, who has emerged as India’s lead paceman since his Test debut in 2018, has claimed 68 wickets in 14 Tests and 104 scalps in 64 one-day interna-tionals. Bumrah said his short run-up is a product of his youth when playing

backyard cricket gave him little space to build up a head of steam but his ap-proach allows him to bowl long spells in Tests without compromising on speed.

The right-arm quick consistently bowls above 140kph despite his rela-tively brief run-up, and batsmen find him particularly tricky because of his unorthodox sling-arm action. “The run-up is because of playing in the

backyard,” the 26-year-old said. “We didn’t have a lot of space when

I used to play as a child. This was the longest run-up you could have, so maybe that could be a reason. I’ve tried a longer run-up and nothing changes — the speed is still the same. So why run so much? It comes especially handy in Test matches, he said.

“... when I’m bowling my fourth

spell, fifth spell, I’m relatively more fresh than the bowlers who play with me and have a longer run-up. This was my theory. This is not the best thing I should say but I am bowling quicker than them in my fourth spell as well. So I think I should stick to it. If I have some physical difficulty and if it’s giving me some trouble, then I’ll find solutions. But if it’s not broken, why fix it?”

IANSNew Delhi

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar San-gakkara believes India skipper Virat Kohli is currently the best batsman in the world. Sangakkara yester-

day participated in an Instagram live ses-sion with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa for Cric Mate. “Virat Kohli,” said Sangakkara when asked about naming the current best batsman in the world.

When he was asked to name the best bowler in the world at present, the former left-handed batsman said: “I think when it

comes to spin, you have to admire Nathan Lyon. What he has done over the last few years, it has been incredible. The way he has bowled, it was not easy for any orthodox bowler coming in the game with his mod-ern-day batsmen. He is incredible, probably worth saying, he is the best spinner”.

“When it comes to a fast bowler, in Eng-lish conditions, you have to go with a guy like James Anderson, he is exceptional. But you also have to go with guys who can bowl in any conditions, so guys like Mitchell Starc, maybe even Jasprit Bumrah if he can keep his fitness. They are the kinds of bowl-ers who can challenge the batsmen with the kind of firepower they have,” he added.

During the chat, the current MCC Presi-dent was asked to pick the best bowler of all times and he named his former team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan as best spinner and Wasim Akram as best fast bowler. “Fast bowler, definitely Wasim Akram, without a doubt. When it comes to spin bowling, it would definitely be Shane Warne. I, of course, had the luxury of not facing Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas in inter-national cricket, having kept to Murali, I will always say he is the best spinner to ever play the game,” Sangakkara said.

Muralitharan played 133 Tests and is at the top spot in the list of leading wicket-takers in the longest format of the game.

‘I don’t know what guidelines that we have to follow when we come back, but there should be an alternative’

AFPColombo

Lanka’s national team trained togeth-er yesterday for the first time in more than two-and-a-half months to sharpen their skills and fitness ahead

of a potential restart of the international game, skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said.

Cricket in the country came to a halt on March 13 when the visiting England team pulled out on the second day of a four-day practice match ahead of their two-Test se-ries. “I think it is high time to train ourselves and get back to our fitness level and skill lev-els,” the captain said in the capital Colombo.

“We want to start international cricket. That’s why we are starting practice.”

A 13-member squad began a 12-day train-ing session with indoor fitness drills yes-terday. Ground training will start today. The squad consists mostly of bowlers, with governing body Sri Lanka Cricket saying on Sunday they needed more conditioning be-fore returning to competitive games.

Among those training were Suranga Lak-

mal, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Lasith Embuldeni-ya, Lakshan Sandakan, Dasun Shanaka and Nuwan Pradeep. They will not be allowed to leave their hotel in Colombo or the practice venue for personal errands, the cricket board said. Sri Lanka has reported 1,633 corona-

virus infections, including 11 deaths so far. The Test series against England was put off indefinitely after the pandemic halted major sporting events worldwide. Coach Mickey Arthur had customised home-training re-gimes for many players in the national team after the lockdown was imposed.

Rabada committed to playing for S Africa

FOCUS

ReutersJohannesburg

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada says he is fully committed to playing for South Africa after a diffi-

cult 2019/20 season in which he felt ‘out of place’ and incurred a one-Test ban for overzealous celebration against England.

The 25-year-old topped the International Cricket Council’s Test bowler rankings in 2018 but was, by his own admission, below par in the last South Af-rican summer. “I am 150% fully committed to playing for South Africa,” he said in an interview released by Cricket South Africa.

“The past season was a dis-appointment, even though my stats were OK. I just felt really rusty and out of place. I am tak-ing it day by day to achieve my new set of goals.”

Rabada missed the crucial fourth Test against England af-ter collecting a fourth demerit point in a 24-month period for celebrating too close to visiting captain Joe Root after claiming his wicket. He has had several run-ins with authority around what is deemed over-aggression on the pitch, leaving some to question his attitude.

“It’s passion,” he says. “Every-body has their opinion and they are entitled to that. I have iden-tified things I needed to and will address them with the people who are closest to me and who I feel should be helping me.”

Rabada has featured in 142 international matches across all three formats since making his debut in November 2014 and he says his heavy workload has not helped. However, the rest he has had due to the Covid-19 pan-demic has been welcome, even if the circumstances are troubling.

“The five years has gone by re-ally quickly, but there has been a huge amount of volume in my cricket,” he added. “I am just glad that I can get a rest, though not in the way that it has come.”

Sri Lanka train with eye on international restartSmith ‘in best shape’ despite not picking up bat in months

Kohli best batsman in world currently: Sangakkara

BOTTOMLINE POSITIVE

OPINION

Medical officials brief Sri Lanka’s national cricket team members on measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, in Colombo yesterday. (AFP)