Australia beat England by five wickets in Champions Trophy
LAHORE, Pakistan : Australia beat England by five wickets in a high-scoring Champions Trophy Group B match at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
Australia Sport News
Arsenal lose to West Ham to dent Premier League title challenge and have another player sent off
LONDON: Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge was dented by an unexpected 1-0 home loss to West Ham on Saturday that featured a fifth red card of the season for Mikel Arteta’s team. Second-place Arsenal squandered a chance to trim the gap to Liverpool to five points as Jarrod Bowen’s first-half header secured a win for West Ham, which arrived at Emirates Stadium with just one victory in their last eight games. There was worse to come for Arsenal, with left back Myles Lewis-Skelly handed a red card following a video review for his foul as the last man.
Patrik Schick scores for Leverkusen to send his coach Xabi Alonso a message before Bayern games
BERLIN: Patrik Schick showed Bayer Leverkusen what it was missing against Bayern Munich last week by scoring in a 2-0 win at Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Schick, who was omitted by Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso in the top-of-the-table clash with Bayern, got Leverkusen off the mark in the ninth minute in Kiel after Amine Adli did well against two Kiel defenders to set him up. It was Schick’s 15th league goal of the season. Alonso’s decision to only send Schick on late in stoppage time against Bayern raised eyebrows as his team had dominated without scoring for the previous 90 minutes and more with both Schick and fellow striker Victor Boniface watching from the substitutes’ bench. That 0-0 draw kept Bayern eight points clear with 12 rounds left to play. Florian Wirtz played Adli in to make it 2-0 before the break in Kiel, where Leverkusen’s win narrowed the gap to five points before Bayern host Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Leverkusen face Bayern again over two games in the last 16 of the Champions League on March 5 and 11.
'Soft' Man Utd have to survive this season, says Amorim
LIVERPOOL: Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim described his side as "soft" despite fighting back from 2-0 down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday. United looked destined for a ninth defeat in 13 Premier League games when goals from Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure gave Everton a deserved half-time lead. However, captain Bruno Fernandes inspired a fightback from the visitors to at least prevent another defeat for Amorim's men. Fernandes curled in a free-kick with United's first shot on target on 72 minutes. Manuel Ugarte levelled shortly afterwards after another Fernandes set-piece delivery was only partially cleared. United, though, were fortunate to escape Goodison Park with a point as Everton had a penalty controversially ruled out after a VAR review in stoppage time. The Red Devils remain down in 15th, but are 13 points clear of the bottom three and should be safe from the embarrassment of relegation. "The worst part is that we are losing the ball without pressure and we are not doing what we need to do. We were soft", said Amorim, who has taken just 15 points from a possible 45 since taking charge in November. "In this moment, we need to focus on day-by-day.
Buoyant Frankfurt aim for ‘perfection’ against league leaders Bayern
BERLIN: Despite their best Bundesliga season in decades, Eintracht Frankfurt know only something close to a perfect performance will help topple league leaders Bayern Munich on Sunday. With 22 of 34 games played this Bundesliga campaign, Frankfurt sit third and are on track for their first top-four finish since the 1992-93 season. Frankfurt’s 2022 Europa League win meant a first-ever Champions League participation. Another crack at the European elite from finishing in the top four this season would be a just reward for Dino Toppmoeller’s impressive side, who have rebounded despite the loss of Omar Marmoush to Manchester City. Up next is a trip to Bayern, who are eight points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen and on track to win back the Bundesliga title. Frankfurt will be the underdogs on Sunday but have recent form against the German giants. Frankfurt held Bayern to a 3-3 draw in October, making them one of only four teams alongside Leverkusen, Mainz and Borussia Dortmund who have taken points off the league leaders this season. Bayern may have won only one of their past four against Frankfurt, but Eagles captain Kevin Trapp was not getting ahead of himself on Thursday. “We are third and Bayern are 13 points ahead of us, that speaks volumes. Trapp said the visitors “must get close to perfection in order to get a point or better there.” Bayern may be sailing in the league but they come into Sunday’s game after two straight draws and Trapp said the hosts will fight hard “so that a crisis isn’t declared in Munich.” Bayern look set to be without star striker Harry Kane, who was subbed off at half-time in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Celtic. Frankfurt have their own injury woes, with German defender Robin Koch out and
PCB Takes Drastic Step In Hosting Champions Trophy, Refuse Distribution Of...
For the first time, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not distributing free passes for enclosures, VIP areas, or hospitality boxes during the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, a departure from past practices for international series in Pakistan. Typically whenever an international series is held in Pakistan, the PCB reserves tickets to be given out as free passes to some stakeholders including the media, government departments, VIPs and sponsors. However, this time except for a few tickets given to the Chairman for his personal guests and sponsors, the PCB has not been allocated any quota for complimentary passes, an official source close to the ticketing process for the Champions Trophy said.
Very Unlikely Rohit Sharma Will Be There For 2027 World Cup: Sanjay Manjrekar
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels it's "very unlikely" that Rohit Sharma would be around till the 2027 Cricket World Cup, saying that the ongoing Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai could be the last ICC tournament for the stylish opening batter. Rohit struggled for runs during the three-Test series against New Zealand and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. He returned to form in style by smashing a century in the second ODI against England at Cuttack earlier this month, giving India hope as they prepared for the Champions Trophy.
1st Time In History: Ben Duckett Achieves Unique Feat With Massive Champions Trophy 2025 Ton
Opener Ben Duckett struck a Champions Trophy record score of 165 off 143 balls as England racked up the highest total in the event's history after making 351-8 against Australia on Saturday. The 30-year-old left-hander smashed his highest ODI score, and third century, as England built a commanding total after being sent in to bat on a flat Gaddafi Stadium pitch in Lahore. Duckett hit 17 four and three sixes to beat the previous best individual score of 145 in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand's Nathan Astle (2004) and Zimbabwean Andy Flower (2002) had shared the record. In their opening Group B encounter, England also surpassed the previous highest innings tally in tournament history of 347-4 by New Zealand against the USA at The Oval in 2004.