PORT ELIZABETH: With relations between the teams already severely strained, two South African cricket officials have been photographed smiling with fans who were wearing masks designed to taunt Australia vice-captain David Warner.
The photograph, taken on the first day of the second test in Port Elizabeth on Friday, shows Cricket South Africa’s commercial and marketing head, Clive Eksteen, and communications head Altaaf Kazi standing and smiling with three men wearing masks with the face of New Zealand rugby international Sonny Bill Williams.
They are posing for the photo near a bar inside the St. George’s Park stadium. Eksteen and Kazi are wearing shirts and ties and their official cricket accreditations. Kazi has his arm around one of the fans.
Warner’s wife, Candice Warner, had a sexual encounter with Williams in a hotel toilet in Australia in 2007 before her relationship with the cricketer began. David and Candice Warner were married in 2015.
The masks, which Cricket South Africa labeled “distasteful” on Saturday when the picture became public, were being used by a small number of fans at the ground in Port Elizabeth to taunt Warner. He is currently a figure of hate in South Africa after his confrontation with South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock in a fractious first test in Durban last weekend.
While sports fans often engage in questionable behavior at stadiums, officials Eksteen, a former South Africa player, and Kazi are accused of condoning the taunting of Warner and his wife by South African supporters.
Candice Warner is with her husband on tour in South Africa and was at the ground on Friday with their two young daughters, according to Australian media, when the masks were being worn in the crowd.
“While CSA respects the rights of its fans to represent their own points of view, CSA does not associate itself with these actions and urges all ... supporters from refraining from being involved in distasteful or unwelcome actions that may impact the image of the sport and its supporters,” the South African cricket body said.
CSA said Eksteen and Kazi were now subject to “internal processes.” CSA president Chris Nenzani apologized to the Australian cricket board, the team management, players and their families for the incident.
Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Australia team was “outraged” by the South African officials apparently condoning the masks. Candice Warner’s encounter with Williams was widely reported in the Australian media, which coined the phrase “toilet tryst” to refer to it.
Candice Warner gained recognition in Australia as an “Ironwoman” endurance athlete. She is also a model and celebrity TV star.
The mask saga in Port Elizabeth is the latest incident to overshadow the cricket contest between two of the leading teams in the world, a series which was expected to be fierce but has been undermined by verbal exchanges between players, off-field incidents, and resulting disciplinary cases.
The Warner and de Kock confrontation in the first test happened when de Kock, apparently frustrated at prolonged on-field verbal abuse from Warner, responded with a comment about Warner’s wife and the encounter with Williams. Warner then had to be restrained by teammates as he argued with de Kock on a staircase leading to the dressing rooms as players came off the field for a break.
That incident came to light after security camera footage of the players making their way back to the dressing rooms inside the stadium was leaked to the media.
Warner and de Kock were both fined and given disciplinary sanctions for the altercation. Australia’s Nathan Lyon also was punished for an over-zealous celebration of a wicket in that first test.
On Saturday, South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was charged for another breach of the disciplinary code for intentionally bumping into Australia captain Steve Smith on the field during day one on Friday.
Rabada denies the contact was intentional but faces being banned for the final two tests of the series if found guilty.
‘Distasteful’ masks mark the latest low point in South Africa-Australia Test series
‘Distasteful’ masks mark the latest low point in South Africa-Australia Test series
Hawks hold off Celtics in NBA overtime thriller
- Murray scored all 11 of the Hawks points in overtime, posting a career-high of 44 to help the Hawks maintain their push for an Eastern Conference play-in berth
- Zion Williamson scored 28 points and CJ McCollum added 25 to lead the Pelicans to a 107-100 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks
LOS ANGELES: Dejounte Murray drilled the go-ahead jump shot in the final second of overtime to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-122 victory over Boston Thursday, their second win over the NBA-best Celtics in four days.
Murray scored all 11 of the Hawks points in overtime, posting a career-high of 44 to help the Hawks maintain their push for an Eastern Conference play-in berth.
The Celtics, with a league-best record of 57-16, are already assured of top seed in the East, but they’ve dropped two games this week in Atlanta, where the Hawks erased a 30-point deficit to triumph on Monday.
The rematch was a tense back-and-forth battle that featured 41 lead changes — neither team leading by more than eight points.
Boston star Jaylen Brown’s pull-up jumper put the Celtics up 122-121 with 6.6 seconds left in overtime.
Murray responded with his basket over Jrue Holiday.
“That’s the best team in the league — we competed,” Murray said of a Hawks team coming off a 120-106 victory over Portland on Wednesday. “We didn’t use being tired, a back-to-back, as an excuse.
“We came out and competed, and these are games I want to be a part of.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 24 points and De’Andre Hunter added 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who won their fourth straight game.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 31 points and 13 rebounds but missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final second of regulation.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points and Brown finished with 18.
But the hustling Hawks out-rebounded the Celtics 53-43 and had 28 second-chance points to Boston’s 11.
“We’re fighting for a play-in/playoff spot,” Murray said of the Hawks team currently holding down 10th place — and the final play-in spot. “We all showed up.”
In New Orleans, Zion Williamson scored 28 points and CJ McCollum added 25 to lead the Pelicans to a 107-100 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jonas Valanciunas notched his 32nd double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Milwaukee, but the Bucks dropped their second straight, unable to bounce back after a stunning overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The Pelicans led by as many as 18 in the first half but the Bucks had cut the deficit to five with 3:27 left to play.
New Orleans kept attacking and closed it out from the foul line, Williamson making five free throws in the waning minutes.
“Z’s been amazing, night-in, night-out,” said Pelicans coach Willie Green. “He’s putting the team on his shoulders.”
The Pelicans pulled off the victory despite a poor shooting night. They made just 36 of their 91 attempts from the floor and just eight of 32 from three-point range.
“That was a gutsy win on our home floor,” Green said. “It was a good defensive performance by us. We played with force from start to finish.
“Even when we didn’t hit shots we still continued to make winning plays.”
Ohtani wins in Dodgers home debut, Rangers open Major League Baseball title defense with victory
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts liked what he saw from the leadoff trio of Betts, Ohtani and Freeman
- Juan Soto made a spectacular New York Yankees debut, throwing out Houston’s Mauricio Dubon for the second out of the ninth inning to deny Astros a tying run
LOS ANGELES: Japanese star Shohei Ohtani made a triumphant Los Angeles Dodgers home debut on Thursday, getting help from fellow Most Valuable Player teammates in a 7-1 rout of St. Louis.
Leadoff hitter Mookie Betts bashed a solo home run in the third inning and scored three times, Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and Ohtani went 2-for-3 and scored on Freeman’s homer in the third to spark the Dodgers.
“I was the only guy who couldn’t hit a homer, but overall I thought I had a pretty good game,” Ohtani said. “Overall, I had quality at-bats.”
Tyler Glasnow struck out five while allowing only one run on two hits over six innings to earn the victory for Los Angeles, whose fans cheered Ohtani in his first home game since signing a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers following six years with the Los Angeles Angels.
“I’m very grateful... being able to be received by the Dodger fans,” Ohtani said. “Obviously, I’ve been here before, as a visiting player, so it was a little intimidating. But I’m very grateful for the fans — and there are a lot of them.”
Ohtani is part of a Major League Baseball investigation looking into alleged illegal gambling activity by his former translator, but controversy took a back seat to success as the US national pastime enjoyed the start of another campaign.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts liked what he saw from the leadoff trio of Betts, Ohtani and Freeman — all former MVPs producing a furious top of the batting lineup for his club.
“Mookie does what Mookie does, still swinging a hot bat and Shohei put on a nice show,” Roberts said. “I think in any discussion you can argue that they’re the best hitters in baseball.
“We’re fortunate to have three of ‘em at the top of the order. Certainly a first word that comes to mind is ‘daunting’ for me.”
Corbin Burnes struck out 11 batters, a record for any pitcher in his Baltimore debut, to spark the Orioles to an 11-3 home rout of the Los Angeles Angels.
Angels slugger Mike Trout smashed the first home run of the MLB season in the first inning off Burnes, who retired every other hitter he faced.
Burnes had the second-most strikeouts in an opener in the club’s 70-year history, the most since Dave McNally’s 13 in 1970.
The Orioles held a moment of silence for six workers killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge — less than 10 miles from Camden Yards ballpark — collapsed on Tuesday after a support was struck by a cargo ship.
A flag was also lowered in the ceremony, which came before a sellout crowd of 45,000 fans that included new team owner David Rubenstein.
Juan Soto made a spectacular New York Yankees debut, throwing out Houston’s Mauricio Dubon from right field for the second out of the ninth inning to deny the Astros a tying run and a preserve a 5-4 victory for the visiting Yankees.
Soto also ignited New York’s rally from a 4-0 deficit with a run-scoring single in the fifth, his first hit in Yankees pinstripes.
The World Series champion Texas Rangers celebrated last season’s success with fans, displaying the Commissioner’s Trophy before the game.
The evening was capped by a bases-loaded run-scoring single from catcher Jonah Heim in the 10th inning that sealed a 4-3 victory for Texas over the Chicago Cubs.
San Diego’s Yu Darvish struck out seven and scattered five hits over five innings but it was Japanese countryman Yuki Matsui who got the win with 1 2/3 innings of no-hit relief in the Padres 6-4 home win over San Francisco.
Cincinnati’s Nick Martini smashed a three-run homer and a two-run homer while Frankie Montas struck out four and scattered four hits over six scoreless innings as the Reds ripped visiting Washington 8-2.
Opening Day festivities in Miami included a ceremonial first pitch from Brazilian footballer Neymar before the Marlins’ home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Twelve innings later, Jared Triolo’s flare single scored Ke’Bryan Hayes for what proved to be the winning run in the Pirates’ 6-5 victory extra-innings victory.
Thailand’s Pajaree storms to top of crowded LPGA leaderboard in Arizona
- Pajaree: It was a great day out there. I actually was in the zone
- Vu, who withdrew from two tournaments on the LPGA’s recent Asian swing with back trouble, was delighted to find herself in contention
LOS ANGELES: Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn birdied her last five holes in a 9-under par 63 on Thursday to break free atop a log-jammed leaderboard after the first round of the LPGA Ford Championship in Gilbert, Arizona.
With five players in the clubhouse on 8-under, Pajaree rolled in a birdie putt at her final hole, the ninth to seize a one-shot lead over world No. 2 Lilia Vu of the US, Spaniards Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz, Germany’s Isi Gabsa and Australian Gabriela Ruffels.
“It was a great day out there,” said Pajaree, who claimed the most recent of her two LPGA titles at last year’s LPGA Match-Play. “I actually was in the zone. I didn’t realize that I holed my fifth birdie in a row on the ninth green. But it was a great day.”
Pajaree, who matched her career low round on the LPGA tour, said she knew she had the makings of a good round after her third birdie of the day at the 18th.
“Bogey-free, came out with three-under par going into the back nine. I played some really good shots today,” she said. “Hit a lot of good drivers off the tee and gave me a lot of benefit just going into the green with short irons.
“I was able to just hit some good long irons in as well, so that helped,” she added.
Vu, who withdrew from two tournaments on the LPGA’s recent Asian swing with back trouble, was delighted to find herself in contention.
“Today, honestly, my only goal was to hit the ball solid,” she said. “It’s been rough the past couple weeks with how my body is doing and just struggling with a back injury.
“But I’m almost 100 percent, so it was really fun to play without pain today and focus on where I wanted to hit the ball instead of bracing for pain.”
Vu had nine birdies with one bogey, joining the group on eight under with a birdie at the 18th.
“I was really excited to pull off shots that I saw in my head,” Vu said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to hit a shot that I see, so I think it was super fun to be like, OK, I can hit a nice little draw here. Ends up maybe like 10, 15 feet, and go and try and make it.”
Ciganda and Gabsa both had eight birdies without a bogey, while Ruffels and Munoz each had an eagle on the way to 64 at the Seville Golf and Country Club.
French star Celine Boutier, who won the LPGA’s most recent event in Arizona when she won at Superstition Mountain last year, was two off the lead on 65, where she was joined by South Korean Kim Hyo-joo.
Another 11 players were a further stroke back on 66. That group included American Nelly Korda, who supplanted Vu as No. 1 in the world with her victory in the Seri Pak Championship on Sunday — Korda’s second victory in as many starts this season.
Grigor Dimitrov ousts top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz in the Miami Open quarterfinals
- This was Dimitrov’s first victory over a top-five player since he beat then-No. 3 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2019 US Open
- On the women’s side, Elena Rybakina once again had to go three sets, pushed to the edge before beating No. 27 Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Eleventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov came out strong against top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday night and went on to win 6-2, 6-4 in the Miami Open quarterfinals, his first victory over a top-five player in nearly five years.
Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev, who beat unseeded Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-5, will play Dimitrov in the semifinals Friday. Second-seeded Jannik Sinner will face No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in the other semifinal, a rematch of last year’s final that Medvedev won.
Dimitrov said he didn’t want to evaluate the quality of his play against Alcaraz “since I have to play again tomorrow. I’m trying to stay on point. This is how our sport is. You appreciate it, of course. You’re very happy with the current win. Then you have to quickly move on and start focusing on the next match.”
Alcaraz, the 2022 champion, entered this tournament off a victory over Medvedev at Indian Wells. But the world’s second-ranked player had trouble finding his game against Dimitrov and became visibly frustrated numerous times in the first set.
But Alcaraz didn’t go away even after falling behind a break at 4-2 in the second set. He broke Dimitrov at love and then held serve to even the set at 4-4. Dimitrov, though, won the final two games, breaking Alcaraz in the clincher.
Alacaraz said Dimitrov played “almost perfect.”
“I have a lot of frustrations right now because he made me feel like I’m 13 years old,” the 20-year-old Alcaraz said. “It was crazy. I was talking to my team saying that I don’t know what I have to do. I don’t know his weakness. I don’t know anything.”
This was Dimitrov’s first victory over a top-five player since he beat then-No. 3 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2019 US Open.
On the women’s side, fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina once again had to go three sets, pushed to the edge before beating No. 27 Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (2) in the semifinals.
Rybakina, ranked fourth on the WTA Tour, will on Saturday face unseeded Danielle Collins, who defeated No. 14 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2. Rybakina also made last year’s final, losing in straight sets to Petra Kvitová.
“This year, it’s much different,” Rybakina said. “I was not expecting, honestly, to be in the final because I was not prepared that well for this tournament, but really happy that I managed to battle through all these matches and be in the final again.”
A day off will likely be welcome for Rybakina, who has been pushed to three sets in all but one match this tournament. Thursday’s match lasted 2 hours, 33 minutes, and she told the Tennis Channel that for the first time in her career, she has rested on the days between matches during a tournament.
“In the beginning, these long matches were helping me to get back in shape,” Rybakina said. “Now I’m not in shape just because I’m tired of all these long matches, but overall, it was really successful tournament no matter how I do in the final.”
Rybakina appeared to take control when she broke Azarenka’s serve to take a 3-2 lead in the third set. Azarenka fought off four break points before hitting a two-handed backhand into the net to give Rybakina the game.
It was quite a response from the second set when Azarenka lost only two points on her serve, and one came on a double fault.
But Azarenka wasn’t done. With Rybakina serving for the match, Azarenka broke back to even the final set at 5-5. Both players then held serve to send the match to a tiebreaker, which belonged to Rybakina, who went up 6-1. She wrapped up the victory with a cross-court forehand.
Rybakina is seeking her third title this year. She is 4-0 in her career against Azarenka, including two victories this year.
Azarenka, 34, was attempting to become the tournament’s oldest winner. She became the second-oldest semifinalist; 36-year-old Venus Williams made the semis in 2017.
Holders Barcelona, PSG win through to Women’s Champions League semis
BARCELONA: Barcelona eased to a 3-1 win over Brann on Thursday to set up a repeat of last season’s Women’s Champions League semifinal against Chelsea, progressing 5-2 on aggregate, while Paris Saint-Germain also clinched a place in the last four of Europe’s elite club competition.
Reigning Ballon d’Or Aitana Bonmati, Fridolina Rolfo and Patri Guijarro struck for the defending European champions in the quarter-final second leg, with Barca targeting a third triumph in four seasons.
Stubborn Norwegian surprise package Brann held their own in a 2-1 first-leg defeat and battled hard at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, but Jonatan Giraldez’s side patiently unpicked them.
Tomine Svendheim’s second-half goal gave a strong traveling contingent reward for their noisy support, but Guijarro, who scored twice in last season’s final, killed off any chance of an unlikely comeback.
Barcelona, who beat Chelsea 4-0 in the 2021 final, have now reached the semis for six consecutive seasons.
“I think like last year it will be a very equal tie,” Barca coach Giraldez told reporters.
“(Chelsea) have invested a lot and have a high quality squad.
“For sure we will see a great semifinal, they are in great form — but so are we.”
Bonmati broke the deadlock brilliantly after 24 minutes, wriggling free on the edge of the box and bending home beyond the reach of Brann goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen.
Barcelona grabbed their second on the night when Caroline Graham Hansen glided inside effortlessly and her blocked cross sat up nicely for Rolfo to tap home in the 56th minute.
The Swedish winger, who scored the winner for Barcelona in last season’s thrilling final against Wolfsburg, has returned from her knee injury with three goals in seven games despite playing at left-back.
Brann then pulled a goal back when Svendheim stole in behind Lucy Bronze and slid a low effort into the far corner after a long drive forward by Signe Gaupset.
Rolfo struck the post for Barca and Guijarro then sealed the win with a tap-in after the vibrant Graham Hansen picked the locks again and put the ball across the face of goal.
“We came here and we pushed them,” said Brann coach Martin Ho.
“We didn’t want to come here and lay low for the whole game, we wanted to make it a challenge.”
In Paris, the home side built on a 2-1 quarter-final first-leg win away to Hacken by beating the Swedish side 3-0 at the Parc des Princes to progress 5-1 on aggregate and set up a semifinal against domestic rivals Lyon.
Impressive Malawi striker Tabitha Chawinga, the top scorer in the French league this season, gave PSG the lead on the night just before the half-hour mark, firing a shot in off the far post on her left foot after collecting a pass from Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
They doubled their lead on 70 minutes as a long-range strike by Korbin Albert sailed into the top corner.
Albert, a 20-year-old midfielder, is a rising star in the US but is at the center of a brewing storm over controversial social media posts which have drawn a strong response from American great Megan Rapinoe.
PSG’s third goal arrived soon after that as Katoto headed in from a Sakina Karchaoui cross for her fifth goal in this season’s Champions League.
The result means there is guaranteed to be a French side in the final in Bilbao in May, with PSG and Lyon meeting in the semifinals next month.
They also clashed in the last four two years ago, when Lyon went on to win the trophy for a record-extending eighth time.
Lyon, who beat Benfica in the quarter-finals, are currently seven points ahead of PSG at the top of the French league.